Oh, January

... I am not sad to see you go.

Does anyone else feel like they've been living in a twilight zone since Christmas? The holidays end, the schedules begin again, the cold sets in, and sickness thrives. I think back on this month, and I'm like, "What just happened?"
I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of February tomorrow. A new month, a sweet holiday, activities already planned, things to look forward to... don't let me down February! :)

This post is very random... random thoughts, random pictures...

I've been re-organizing my boards on Pinterest. That is such a type-A thing to do. But I love it.

Mark is training for a marathon. We are super proud of him. 21 miles that morning. {Also, Jack has taken to not wearing clothes at home. Ever.}

This fella is so unbelievably cute and so incredibly busy. :)

We had an Easter egg hunt the other night. Just because. Well, actually, because we've all been sick and have been quarantined for 7 days. We were going crazy.

Jack loves John Wayne movies. His current favorite is Hondo. And he must be riding his horse when he watches it.

We celebrated my dad's birthday this month. He seriously is the best dad and Pop any of us could ever ask for.

Mini- pancakes. Serve them with a little bowl of syrup for dipping, and your kids will think you just gave them the greatest dinner in the world. True story.

I'm almost ready for Spring. I could use one more really good freeze, so we can have a snuggly, cozy day with movies and hot chocolate.

My littlest man loves books. He gets super excited when he sees them and has them read to him.

One afternoon, Mark and I started looking at Bella's newborn pictures. Mistake. Look how little she was!


Okay, well, this month wasn't so bad. But I'm still looking forward to February. :)

Once upon a time...

... before they started a family, it was just the two of them.

And time spent together was easy. Leisurely. Spontaneous. And then they had little human beings, and the life was sucked out of them time together was harder to come by.

Seeing as 99% of my posts are about kids/being a mom, I realized there's a subject just as important (if not more) as my kids. And that's my marriage. Because it was just the two of us before kids, and it will be just the two of us again after kids.

And if it's already hard to find time together now while the kids are still so young, what are we going to be dealing with when they're older? ... sports, activities, friends... driving them around wishing for a family dinner.

Just as raising kids takes work, being in a compatible, respectful, loving, and understanding marriage takes hard work. And that's ok. If it's too easy, or lifeless, dull, or complacent... maybe we're not working hard enough.

I've written about my mission as a mom... making time for my kids, prioritizing my day, worrying less about my to-do's. I feel such strong motivation to be the mom God wants me to be. But I also feel enormous desire to be the wife God wants me to be. To make enough room in my day for my husband. Because let me be honest. When he walks in the door at 8pm after working a 13 hour shift, the only thing I really want to do is walk into my room, close the door, lay on the bed, and just be still. I'm so tired by that point. And sometimes that is what I do. He's tired too. That's the thing about marriage and kids. You're always tired. Being aware though, that you have to work that much harder to grow your marriage, well... that's half the battle.

Be intentional. Small moments. Small conversations. Small gifts. Small acts. They all add up. They matter. They're important.

I feel like after kids, it's time to date again. Your husband that is. :)

I'm so thankful for examples we've had to observe and learn from... our parents, friends, family... when I see intentional actions to grow a marriage, I try and make mental notes. It hasn't always been easy to feel connected... we fail at times. We go to bed tired and grumpy. We put our kids first. We don't make time. We get too busy.

We are still learning (and will most likely always be learning) how to grow closer, communicate better, serve willingly, sacrifice more, forgive easily, respect deeper, and love stronger... in the midst of life swirling around us. But we must make the time. Because before there were babies, there was just us.

Erika Knox Photography

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:14