January 2025
My word of the year is order. For the past five-ish years, I've prayed for a word to serve as a theme for the following twelve months - not my idea, just something I picked up from a Catholic podcast. This year during Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, I heard the priest use the word order in a simple, very familiar prayer - but this time the word struck my heart in a different way. It was clear - order would be my word for the year. I was excited because after being pregnant and having a newborn in 2024, coming into this year feels like a breath of fresh air and a time to return to order.
As most things go, this month did not begin with order, but rather slight disorder. Dennis returned to work after his three month paternity leave, and Kate started watching the boys. Aunt Kate is wonderful and so, so good with the kids, but it was a stretch for all of us now that both parents are back at work. Around this same time, John Paul broke out in a rash, which we now know is because he has a Cow's Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA). Grass fed butter in his pureed sweet potatoes was apparently not the move. Right after we adjusted to the dairy-free life, JP got an ear infection and had to go on an antibiotic. Between the pain in his ear and the gas pains in his gut, he woke up every hour for almost a full two weeks. My baby, who has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old, still has not returned to his former sleepy self. Most days I wake up needing at least 30 minutes for coffee to kick in just to keep my eyes open. So all of my desires to re-order my life, like waking up early to start the day with prayer... well, they've gone out the window. There is no order here this month, just taking things day by day and reminding myself that the Lord meets us in the mess.
But truly, it hasn't all been chaos - there has been so much joy and so much fun. We've spent a lot of time outside because January in Alabama is mostly great weather (think partly cloudy and 60 degrees). We did have one snow day, and it was magical. Gianna and Joseph ran from window to window in our house watching the snow fall and played outside in random pieces of warm clothes that I found in the back of our closets. They thought that our light dusting of snow was actually a winter wonderland. We finished the day with hot chocolate and Christmas movies because snow days are RARE in this part of the world, and we wanted to soak up every snow day cliche possible. We also had a weekend visit from Nana and Papa that included a trip to the store to pick out new toys, Chappy's breakfast, McDonald's Happy Meals, driveway pickleball, card games after the kids went to bed, and Gianna's Grandparent's Day at school. I'm very grateful for parents who drive 7 hours to visit us as frequently as they do.
All in all, not the start to the year I expected, but still very good. Order will come eventually. Although...the Lord will probably surprise me, and it won't look anything like I imagine. I'll keep ya posted on how it plays out.
If you have time, please respond with what's going on in your life. I would truly love to hear about it.
- What We're Reading:
- Lauren: A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
- This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it before but currently finishing up a book club with some friends this time. It's been SO fun to talk about it every week. If you've never heard of it, you should really check it out.
- Gianna and Joseph: Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
- We listen to the audiobook every day after school while we eat a snack. We're so close to the end and very excited to have a movie night soon. Joseph likes Charlotte because, as he tells me, "I think she's probably cute" - I don't think he's actually picked up on the fact that she's a spider. But, this three year old boy does frequently tell me about all the girls he thinks are beautiful - pray for me (:
- Lauren: A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
- What We're Eating:
Lillie
^^LOL just kidding...this is what I'm eating. Ain't no way my kids are touching this if I put it on their plate. Oh, and if you have any dairy-free recipes you love, send them my way!!
- What We're Listening to:
