merry christmas!

mmm. . .

i should be packing.

i'm almost packed.

STILL in sweats.  it's past noon.

(Christmas present to myself:  sweats for a week, Bob Goff's Love Does and Starbucks coffee all week)

sweet moments. . .

Francesca Battistelli's Marshmallow world is extremely annoying until you watch a toddler dance to it.  Then Marshmallow World becomes your favorite song of the year.

Cambria shrieking as she opened her trumpet: "This is the best christmas evvvvver!!!!!"

JD-- my boy-almost man-  trying to fix everything with the tools Daniel gave him. . .oh, time, stop. . . .

Daniel's first day not working in three months- TODAY! 

We are rocking this Christmas vacation.

our christmas picture with Gabe's name written in the sand seemed so right when we were in florida this summer.

by december. . .

{time heals is a true statement}

it seemed not so right.

Daniel, this is weird, I worried.

You all will be like oooh, there's Daniel and Hayley.  They never got over it.  They're still clinging.

Daniel said it was perfect and we were sending them.

(either he thought it was fine or he just didn't want to take another picture.)

I hesitated so much this year, and in the end, yes, we sent the photos.

Our little son's name is written on our hearts, his death, yes, forever changed us.

We will never be the same.

Yet there is so much healing and I thank YOU all who have walked this road with us. 

So merry Christmas from us. . . all of us. 

I never finished my advent.

I may.

I may not.

For now I'm sending you over to my beautiful sister's blog.

Here she writes about painful Christmases and how Jesus came and got involved in our messes.

As much as I am a glass half full kinda girl, I realize that Christmas is one of the most painful times of the year for many.

I love her and I love her writing. I'm terrible at reading blogs (I know, how hypocritical.  I blog, but don't read blogs) and just caught up on hers this morning.  Check out HER Christmas tree story! 

Anyway, so there's my little Christmas present to you; enjoy some farm-girl-chic Christmas.

Countryfried Chic(k)

 

 

 

 

and of course it wouldn't be Christmas without an awkward self portrait of us:  (Daniel is represented by his coat sleeve.)

 



I'm so humbled that each of you read, write, fb message, email, text, and tell me that you relate to what I  scribble type.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

Merry Christmas you guys!!

See you next year!