A lot of advent.

We've done a lot of advent activities around here. I posted the first week here. The rest of the month's activities are in this post. Some I didn't take pictures. Some I only captured one picture. Some I captured about fifty. So, here you go...the mother load of advent post. 

We made a shepherd candy cane picture.

We wrote a letter to Santa.

We mailed that letter.

Whoops! My camera was on the wrong setting....sad day! This was the only shot of him putting it in the mailbox.

So, I switched the setting and had him stand in front of the mailbox instead.

Last year when we did this it was raining. This year...snow!

And we got a letter back! Whoever collects the letters from this mailbox writes letters back to the kids. It was an exciting day when he got a letter back from Santa!

We visited Santa.

Here's the video we took. He was a little timid and shy.

We made sugar cookie cut-outs.

This is the only picture I got of this whole process. I'm still not great at getting the frosting right, but they were yummy!

Cooper made snowflakes. Sarah and Bronson did this with Cooper while Andrew and I were out celebrating our anniversary.

We mailed cards to family.

Cooper put stickers on the back. He chose space theme and smiley faces. Now you know why there's an astronaut on your Christmas card. Sorry for the un-themed confusion.

We made a snowman.

We made lego Christmas pictures.

From left to right: Santa's house, Rudolph (minus a red nose), a wreath, a candy cane, a Christmas tree, and an ornament. He made the wreath and Santa's house on his own with no help.

We went to Christmas in the Park.

It was warm enough this day that all we needed were long sleeves and a sweater. 

There were a lot of people and the lines were really long. So, this is how we entertained ourselves.

Cooper said his favorite part of the night was riding this train.

We made rice crispy treat gingerbread men. I also saved these cut-out shapes for us to decorate for Santa.

We will be at church most of this afternoon. Andrew's already there. When he gets home, we will eat dinner and drive around to look at Christmas lights.

Seven things. Part 7.

Last day of my seven things series. It's been so fun to write them and smile at our journey.

7 Things I Look Forward with Andrew.

Being Debt-Free! 
Need I say more? I can't wait to kiss student loans and credit card debt goodbye.

Traveling.
So many places we want to go together. So many adventures we want to take.
Rio.
2016.
It's happening.

Cooper's Teen Years.
Ok, actually I'm completely terrified of those years. However, Andrew has a lot of knowledge and skills when it comes to those years. I'll be counting on him to help me through them.

Seeing where Andrew's creativity takes us. 
He's a dreamer, ya'll. We might be in Paris next year. Who knows! I do have confidence that his creativity will lead us to some great places.

Empty Nesting. 
I love Cooper, but man did we have fun before he was here! I know it will be so bittersweet, but I'm excited for the day it's just the two of us again.

Building a Home.
I think it would be awesome to literal build a home with him. But I'm talking more than a structure. I'm talking about what others feel when they enter the structure of our home. I'm talking about the roots we give Cooper. Can't wait to see what our home becomes.

Aging. 
I know it sounds crazy. But I'm happy to grow old with Andrew. I'm happy to be gray with him. (Let's be honest - I'm already there). I can't wait to look back on our life and smile.

To Andrew - 

These past seven years have been a wild ride, but I wouldn't want anyone else next to me.  

I'm so glad you chose me to do life with you. 

Thanks for choosing me every day since "I do." 

Here's to us! 

Here's to our future!

I love you. 

Seven things. Part 6.

Top seven memories with Andrew since marriage.

Our honeymoon.
Where else would we go but Disney? It was so nice to get away just the two of us. Wish we could do it more often.

Trip to NYC. 
Traveling with him is one of my favorite things. Experiencing this city with him was fun.

When I told him I was pregnant with Cooper. 
His head went back in disbelief. Followed by the sweetest kiss on the forehead.

The way he looked at me after I had Cooper. 
It was a different look. One of more love. Maybe some amazement thrown in there? Also, exhaustion. He had some tired eyes, too.

  
Our transition from Florida to Ohio. 
One of the hardest times, but memorable in many ways.

This was taken our last night together in our florida home.

Walks. 
We have the best talks during them. Now we get to take them with a cute sidekick.

Pillow talk. 
Such good conversations and a lot of laughter in those moments right before slumber. Not only does our cute sidekick take walks with us, he snuggles with us, too.






Andrew, I'm glad that I get to share and make memories with you. We've had some amazing ones these past 7 years. I love you.

Seven things. Part 5.

Seven ways a child changed our marriage.

We discovered what being tired is really like.

Before having Cooper, Andrew wasn't a napper. Now he's all about the naps. Children bring mental, physical, and spiritual exhaustion. And guess what? They are a daily exhaustion. Being tired has the obvious side effects on our marriage: grumpiness, bad moods, shorter fuses, and a lot more napping.




















Shopping takes at least twice as long.

Shopping together was something that Andrew and I enjoyed doing. Add a little boy distracting you creates a longer, less desirable trip. Not to mention you have less room for your goods.
< --- Case in point.
























Time together at home is interrupted.

I think this picture pretty much captures that point perfectly. It is so hard for Andrew and I to have good, meaningful time together when Cooper is awake. Just when you think you're conversation is rolling, something is spilled, a butt needs to be wiped, or, in our case, you get a TMNT sword to the face. When he goes to bed, sad to say, we sit like vegetables most nights, trying to recover from our day.

Nights/Days out are few and far between.

This was not necessarily the case when we were in Florida. We had family close by. Now that we are 1000 miles away, and now that we have a very limited budget, our nights out come once in a blue moon. If we aren't careful, we could got months between dates. Sad face.





















We are constantly teaching.

Our actions, good and bad, big and small, all set an example for Cooper. We have had to be careful how we say things, what we say, and be quite conscious of how we treat each other.

The list of things we teach Cooper is endless: what's this, what's that, how to do this, how to do that, why we do this, why we don't do that.

Even when we aren't literally sitting down with Cooper or taking time to explain things to Cooper, our actions and the way we go about our life teach Cooper. They are {hopefully} teaching him how to love.








Our purpose is bigger.

This picture was taken when we dedicated ourselves to raising Cooper in a godly home. The purpose of our marriage far extends each other now. The greatest gift you can give your children is a great marriage. That is something I go back to often. The purpose of mine and Andrew's marriage now extends to our dear Cooper. This bigger purpose pushes us to work harder. I pray the that I can be around to see the reward of our hard work: a grown up child who loves the Lord, seeks Him in all he does, and has healthy relationships with himself and others. Our marriage is one of the greatest influences for Cooper in those areas. Our purpose is big, and we are determined.

There is a lot more love.

Being a parent has shown us how our hearts can open wider to love more. Having a child has given us laughter, smiles, warmth, and love, love, love, more love.

Andrew, thank you for being a great dad to Cooper. Thank you for choosing us. I'm so glad you are the father of my child. I'm grateful for your support and hard work in parenting. Thanks for being a man Cooper can look up to. I love you.