January 2019

We rang in the New Year gathered around Ezra’s hospital bed, so when January 1st dawned I was exhausted..both physically, emotionally and spiritually. I can think of a lot of other ways I would have rather rung in the New Year, but this was also a huge teaching moment for me.

Plus, it can only get better from here, right?

Thankfully, our hospital stay was not too long and on January 5th we busted out of the hospital! Oh, we were SO THANKFUL to all be home together again under one roof!!!

As I was heading home from the hospital early that morning, I got the phone call telling me that my Grandma had passed into eternity. It was a hard and heavy day, and I struggled to balance the joy of being out of the hospital with the grief of losing someone so dear to me.

Coming home from the hospital still meant caring for Ezra as well as the two other kids. It was pretty hard to get back into our routines! There were a lot of tears and snuggles and hard, hard work that went into that first week back from the hospital.

Ezra hit his 6 week mark, which means I was cleared to exercise again! Yay! I managed to go for a few runs, and once or twice I’ve done a workout…but mostly this month has been all about getting back into a routine on the basics. Plus…it’s SO COLD outside!

We started back into our homeschool preschool routine. My next step this year is to figure out what we are going to be doing for KINDERGARTEN! How is that possible?

We hadn’t seen a single flake of snow until the third week of January. And now, I’ve seen enough! Next, please!

The day that we got our first big snowstorm, Theo went back to work and I had my first official day solo parenting all three kids. We survived, but just check out my hair and outfit by bedtime: LOL.

Theo was at work and I decided to be brave and take the kids out in the snow. It took awhile to get them all dressed and I thought they wouldn’t last long at all, but they lasted almost an hour outside (and Ezra slept inside).

All that hard work playing outside meant a snack and some tea time! We’ve been doing tea time daily for the past few weeks and it’s safe to say we all love it!

The stir crazy has started, so I decided to rearrange my entire living room. Lol. #OnlyTwoMoreMonthsOfWinter


My little Aldi assistant! She’s got the routine down and it so so helpful to me!
Tera has started to become very independent, and one battle I’ve chosen to surrender is the clothing battle. I let her 100% choose her own outfits (sometimes I help her out on Sundays). AND, I let her go out in public wearing whatever she wants. We were recently at the library and the librarian went out of her way to compliment Tera on her incredible outfit. Tera was GLOWING, and I was so happy that I have let her have complete freedom over this area of her life. Besides…I’m pretty sure Pantone declared Coral to the 2019 color of the year!
The library is basically the only public place we have gone since Ezra was born… Ha! My kids love it there, and so do I!

This year, Theo and I are trying something new…a date rotation schedule with each of our kiddos! I’ll have another blog post on that coming soon, but how cute is my little man on our date?


I don’t think I did anything special to transition my kids to having a new baby, but they have adjusted SO WELL. Both Tera and Kiah adore Ezra, and he adores them!

January also meant some super special visitors! First up…Theo’s parents! The weatherman predicted we were going to get a HUGE snowstorm, but instead it just rained all day, then froze solid. I’m so glad I had Grandpa and Grandma around to help me!

My FIL took this photo of me + Ezra, and I love it so much. It’s not the most flattering or beautiful picture, but it’s motherhood.

The next special visitor was my Mom!!! My parents weren’t going to be able to come back from Niger until around Ezra’s first birthday. However, my Mom caught a flight back to America just in time to say goodbye to her Mom (my Grandma). Since she was already in the States, she also got to spend some time with us and my brother! We know the circumstances weren’t ideal, but we sure are glad we got to see her!!!

One night Tera decided she wanted us to have a special dinner. She set the entire table…BY HERSELF. I’m talking the tablecloth, placemats, plates, cups, silverware, etc.
Theo was laying on the couch with Ezra on his chest. Kiah hopped over to the couch, plopped down and placed the doll on top of his own chest. #likefatherlikeson

So much fun with Memaw!

Kiah came over while I was burping Ezra and stuck this piece of yardstick on top of his head. For some reason, it stayed balanced there and we were all hysterically laughing!
Two years apart. 10 pounds apart. How soon will they be wearing the same size?
Two months old and this kid is a big boy!

Ezra is two whole months old?! How is that possible?

January can be summed up by these four words: routine, cabin fever and smitten!

That’s a wrap!

Top January Posts:

  1. Let’s Find Enjoyment in Our Children
  2. Ezra vs. RSV
  3. GOALS

January Book List

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.