An Extra Special Christmas!

Christmas. One of my favorite times of year. The feel of the season, spending time with family, incredible food and the birth of our lord, Jesus. All good things that bring joy to all.

We just finished our Christmas morning together, Craig, Makena  and I. I cherish these mornings. Sweet sleepiness combined with overwhelming excitement of the day and the curiosity of what Santa brought and put under the tree. I always loved Christmas morning as a child, there is truly nothing better when you are young. Now, the joy and excitement is a different kind that comes from watching my daughter open her Christmas gifts and smile as she discovers what is in each wrapped package. Different, but just as exciting as being a child.

This morning was no exception. It was beautiful to wake up with those I love and hurry to the tree. Later, after all had been torn open, wrapping paper strewn all over the room, new toys and clothes ready to be loved, and then everything cleaned up...I sat rocking my sleepy girl and looking at my sweet hubby and finding myself thanking God for the amazing life he has provided for us. I truly feel so blessed and fulfilled.

I am so excited to share that this Christmas is even more special than usual as we get to announce to our families and friends that we have received an extra special Christmas gift as a family. We are having a baby!!!! She/he is due July 10th and we feel overwhelmed with joy. What a precious gift from God.
As many of our friends and family know, we struggled with a miscarriage in June (on Father's day to make it even worse) and so this pregnancy feels like such a wonderful miracle. It was during that difficult time we were reminded to lean on eachother during the hard times and to trust that God has a plan and knows what is best for our life. We have grown stronger as a family and feel really ready and overjoyed to welcome our new addition. Makena is excited to be a big sister and enjoys patting my tummy and saying "hi Baby!"

As I sit in the quiet now after the hustle and bustle of Christmas prep and the joy of the morning, I keep imagining what next year will be like. I cannot wait to meet this new little one in July and watch Makena as a big sister...and of course, Craig as a Daddy again. We are all so overjoyed! Thanks to all of our friends and family who have kept us in our prayers before and during this pregnancy. We are so happy! Lots of love!

This was our ultrasound at 6 weeks (we are now almost 12 weeks) and will have another done in a few days.

Winter is here!

Ahhh...winter.... That means that the last few weeks in our house have been filled with the smells of pine needles, cookie baking, mistletoe and symptoms of the flu :) All of the good things that come along with colder weather and winter time. I do truly enjoy this time of year as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and remember the reason for this season. However, I do not enjoy the illnesses that come along with the cold. Kena and I both caught the stomach flu and let's just say, it was far from pleasant. But, other than that we have been enjoying life!

 Last week we had a great visit with Mema and Papa. We always enjoy heading up to their house, snuggling by their fireplace and chatting with them. There is nothing better than having grandparents who are as precious to you as parents. I cannot imagine life without them. I have always felt blessed to have grandparents who were so involved in my life. I don't think they ever missed a sports game as I was growing up and  I always strived hard to get good grades in school to impress them. Always inspirations to me, now I love to share them with Kena and visit as often as possible. They are the home that I always can come to. I love that they have been married for so long and still randomly tell eachother "I love you" just when working around the house. They truly fill my heart with joy and I aspire to be just like them.

Last Tuesday we baked up a batch of cookies, bundled up and jumped in the car together in search of the perfect tree. We headed up to Smokey Point and stopped at a tree farm there. They happened to be closed for the day, but when we drove up the welcomed us to come in anway. Needless to say, we had the whole farm to ourselves. Kena entertained us by singing Frosty the Snowman, Bailey wanted to sniff every tree in sight and Craig and I enjoyed laughing and being with our silly family. We found the perfect tree (thankfully rather quickly because it was FREEZING) and took it home to be our Christmas Tree for the season. We both have always loved large trees and always seem to underestimate their size until they come towering in our door...and nothing changed this year :) I put the lights on as I watched my mom do each year and we have yet to put the ornaments on, which should be happening tonight.

Last Tuesday evening we had a nice get together with my family to celebrate Craig's birthday, which was yesterday (Dec. 12.) We had dinner at Famous Daves, Craig's favorite, and I baked a german chocolate cake for dessert (an annual tradition.) We had a wonderful suprise when Jessica, Justin, Audrey, Mia and Madison joined us! Audrey made Craig the most precious card ever! (see below) We enjoyed spending some fun time with them while they are visiting from California. And yesterday, we headed to Cinebarre in Mountlake Terrace to watch the Hawks game on the big screen. It was a great game and I think Craig enjoyed himself...which was exactly my goal. I love celebrating him!

New developments this week: Kena is making great sentences "I can't reach it" "Mama, do this" "Let's do it!" "I can see it!" I love to watch her develop. She loves to count and can count to 14 and we are working on learning colors. I can't believe how she is growing!

Life is good! We are excited for Christmas and to celebrate Jesus' birthday...and to spend time as a family!

Say Cheese!

We had a family photo session done for our Christmas cards this year by Michelle, of Letter M Photography. She is truly fantastic and I am so happy with our photos! Thanks Michelle! Here's a look...

It was a fun day!!!

Playing Catch Up...

Life as we know it...Let's take a moment to play a little catch up and talk about where we are in our life right now.


January 14, 2006: The day it all began. Craig and I went on our first date this day when we were going to school at CWU in Ellensburg, WA. The moment we met, we knew it was meant to be...sparks flew and the rest is history.

Our 1st picture together

July 19, 2008: The 1st day of the rest of our lives. Our wedding day was perfect and filled with family and friends celebrating the love we share. If I could relive it over and over, I would! I have felt so honored to call Craig my husband everyday of my life!

April 2009: Building our nest. This is the day we closed on our house and had the keys in hand! Lots of elbow grease and hard work later, our little house is just the home we had hoped to make it.

Front of house before

Back of house before

The back yard was awful!

Craig built a new patio, excavation, leveling, hydroseed... 

Our new backyard!

Craig installed new hardwood floors

Our new dining room!

Re-doing the front of the house

Makena making sure all was going well :)

Complete!

Sept 20, 2009: A new kind of love. The day our Makena was born. We had anticipated her arrival for 9 months but nothing could possibly prepare us for the love we were about to discover! After a week of contractions at home, 19 hours of hard labor at the hospital and an emergency c-section...our little bundle of joy was finally here! I would do it all again in a moment! Our life has never been the same since and we love and cherish every moment with our sweetie. What a blessing she is and we cannot imagine life without her. We are enjoying building family traditions every year together.

Today:
Craig is loving life as a dad! He and Makena have such a special bond that I love to see grow everyday. She certainly has him wrapped around her finger :) He is still working for Snohomish County Corrections and loves his work. (I commend him for what he does, I couldn't ever do it!) Still on the night shift, he sacrifices his sleep often for family time and we are forever greatful! He enjoys building fishing poles, fishing, hunting and watching football in his free time. As I am writing this, he is outside right now putting up Christmas lights. He LOVES this time of year and was chomping at the bit to get decorating :)

Makena is 2 years old and I can't believe how fast time is flying!!! She is amazing us everyday with her beautiful imagination and never ceases to amaze us with how much she knows! Her favorite things are: Bun Bun (her stuffed rabbit who goes everywhere with her) music, dancing, painting, chasing Bailey and Piper and Cinderella! This gal has moves and I definitely see dance classes in her future! She could watch Cinderella every single day, it is her favorite movie! She is starting to make 4 and 5 word sentences and her vocabulary amazes me everyday! It is so fun to watch her learn! We go to the YMCA as often as possible and I enjoy working out while she plays with kids in Child Watch. She loves it! I cherish the quiet moments together when she asks Craig and I to "snuggle" before going to bed. I know these won't last forever and I just want to drink them all in while I can. I love to look at her and kiss her forehead while she sleeps. I love to laugh together. I love that she calls me Mama. It is an honor to be her mother. I thank God for blessing us with her everyday. I have never known such love.

I love being a wife and mom. Those are the highlights of my life. I love to see my husband and daughter smile. It is a pleasure to spend everyday taking care of them and trying my best to make them happy. I love our crazy household of the 3 of us, our dog Bailey and our cat Piper. Sometimes the dishes may be dirty, laundry may not be done and the beds aren't made...but we have fun together! Aside from loving time at home (thanks to my hardworking hubby!) I work part time at the YMCA as the Youth Sports Coordinator and enjoy putting together all of our sports teams for our kiddos! Last year, I got the opportunity to begin building a dream I have always had. Meredith (my best friend from highschool) and I began Maris Events. We specialize in wedding and event coordination and love every moment of it! There is nothing better than turning your passion into a livelihood. It really isn't work at all! We love helping couples enjoy their wedding day while we take care of all of the work! In my free time (haha!), I enjoy crocheting, making cards, crafting of all sorts, cooking and music.

All in all, Life is good. We are truly blessed and I thank God every single day for what he has given us. He is so good. I have never known this kind of happiness.

(c) Letter M Photography