New Years Eve

We spent a very exciting New Years Eve at home. The most exciting thing about the day was that Brian and I each got to catch up on some sleep, while the other took point on baby duty. It was really great. Seriously, we got to sleep and spend our waking hours with one very cute baby. A great way to spend the last day of the year if you ask me.

And what a year it has been. It started out with us facing a daunting jump into the world of fertility testing, and all the worries, what-ifs, and unknowns that come with that. To our surprise, relief, and utter delight, that ended up being a very short-lived process, as we found out we were expecting a baby two months later. Then came the emotional roller coaster of the subchorionic hemorrhage, where we were almost certain that we were losing our baby only to find out that I was still pregnant and our little one was alive and well. To feel such fear and devastation and then the greatest relief, joy, and love in the space of only a few hours was quite the ride. We spent most of the year traversing the ups and downs of pregnancy (mostly ups). Overall, it was a very positive experience and I feel like I had a fairly easy go of it. We fell more in love as we watched our little boy grow. There have been other struggles, stresses, frustrations, and blessings throughout the year as well. All of that passed and 2016 ended with us welcoming our sweet Connor into the world. A truly joyful event and fulfillment of a long-held desire. We feel so very blessed to be able to end the year as a family of three.

This whole year has felt a bit like a roller coaster ride--an uncertain beginning full of hope but not without anxiety, a lot of highs and lows with a few loop-the-loops along the way, and an ultimately smooth ending with everything as it should be. Now that we're at the end looking back, we can see the whole picture and are grateful that we took the journey. Without the lows there would've been no highs, and that would have been a tragedy because the views on those highs were incredible and life-changing. The year 2016 has definitely been one for the books, and we end it with hearts full of love and gratitude to our Father in Heaven for all He has given us this year.