Thanksgiving | 2015

I went far more off the grid this year for Thanksgiving than I have in years past. I purposely didn't lug my big DSLR over to the Hollen's house. I tried to keep my phone in my bag during the meal. The photo above is the only one I took all morning while we were at home, looking at the snow and getting ready to eat donuts. I wanted to soak it all in without the distraction of getting the shot of the table settings, even though it was beautiful as always, and the smorgasbord of delicious food covering all open counter space in the kitchen. 

I wanted to rest, to recharge. To soak it all in. 

We made cranberry brie bites. I made homemade cranberry sauce from our Bountiful Baskets haul. (Which, sidetone, I love BB and I am pretty obsessed with them.) We made the cliche but always needed green bean casserole. We consumed turkey, veggies, corn casserole, potatoes, carrots, rolls, lefse, the list goes on and on. 

Marin didn't nap all day. We tried in the morning before we headed over for festivities: nothing. We tried after the meal...nothing. Needless to say, our tired little girl was zonked out in bed by 6:30pm Thanksgiving night. 

We ate too much. The turkey coma commenced. It snowed all day. 

I couldn't help but be thankful for everything in our lives. We are healthy. We have a warm home that is filled with things, some of which we probably don't need. Our fridge and cupboards have food to nourish our bodies. Our bank account isn't in the red. We are able to pay are bills on time. We get to spend every day raising up an amazing little girl that surprises us all of the time with the knowledge that she already has. We have good jobs. I can actually say that I love my job. I am thankful for good coffee and quiet mornings. We have an awesome church community that has been hit hard in the past week due to the death of a young boy. I am thankful for people that are willing and able to band together to live through the tough times, the hard times, the devastating times. 

I am thankful that we were able to slow down, even for a day. May I be ever aware of the pace of our lives. 

Easter 2014

My husband and I are very lucky. Both of our families like to hang out with each other. This makes holidays a lot easier. Everybody wins. This Easter we spent the afternoon at my parent's home with my sister, my grandparents, my parents, my aunt and uncle, his parents, and our brother and sister-in-law. Too much food was consumed and Marin was so exhausted by the end of the day because she was passed around into a different set of arms every so often. I love my family. I am very thankful for them and I am very thankful for Easter, for what Christ did for us. I know our lives would not be the same without that amazing, undeserved sacrifice. It is good to get together and live in remembrance, to look forward into what God is doing in each one of our lives, and to sit there and soak in the fact that this big, crazy, growing group of people are family.

Birthday BBQ 2013

We have quite a few August birthdays in our family. Mine is August 3rd. My man's is August 30th. My dad's is August 16th. So, this year, we planned a BBQ at our house for all three of us. It was a nice, chill time of hanging out with family, eating too much good food, and celebrating all three of us. 

My prego splurge for the day. I love coke in a bottle. 

Ryan grilling.

Family 

Get in my belly. 

Get in my belly, part 2. 

All of the men in the family. 

Earlier that day, we were also went in for our first ultra-sound. I feel like I'm just too huge already and wanted to make sure everything was looking good. We still don't know if it's a boy or girl, but I am measuring right along schedule and everything looks great. It was pretty crazy to see that little life on the screen, bouncing around like crazy. Definitely one of the coolest experiences for us as a couple.

Baby Hollen

I'm big. 

This year for was for birthday shoes. 

Time with family is good. Always good. I am fully ready to ring in being 27. If you haven't already, check out my new 28 Things Before 28 List. You can also find the link button on the side of this blog.