WHAT THIS SEASON MEANS TO ME

Feels like Christmas week comes and goes so quick. We wait all year for this magical month full of festivities where traditions are made, baking cookies are a must, big families gather together, the food makes our hearts & belly full and before we know it.. it is GONE! It is certainly my favorite holiday and the one I hate to put away when it involves taking down the tree and all the bright & shiny decor that comes along with it. This year we did not start our Christmas decorations until a week after Thanksgiving (I know I was so behind) so with much reason I feel I haven't fully enjoyed it all. I just don't want it to end!

December always brings exciting new things and also another year for my baby girl Elyse, who recently turned 4 this month. Seeing her grow these past years have been a blessing and true gift to me. I look at her and think, "where did my tiny baby go?", and I am now more mindful of what Christmas means to me. It couldn't be more true as to why we celebrate this holiday. Jesus is the reason for this season. His love, hope, and faith on us all. I truly believe in the power of Christmas. The ability to open our hearts and love one another, bring hope to the ones who need it the most, and finding our way to renew our faith during this joyful season. 

Elyse Nicole -1yr old

 I have learned over the years and since becoming a mother that Christmas is not about the material things, the gifts, nor who has more. No it is none of those! But the innocent faces we see on Christmas morning like this. The genuine happiness they receive is pure magic... and no its not just about the gifts, its about his presence and how we are given this opportunity to make it special for the people that we love. Makes me think of how my parents felt each year on Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas we all gathered to pray and sing lullabies and Christmas songs to baby Jesus as we hold and kissed him around the Christmas tree. These are the memories I carry from my childhood and what I wish to pass on to my kids in the future. The traditions my childhood holds onto is celebrating Jesus Christ before our evening family dinner and before we exchanged and opened gifts.

This year I was extra thankful for my family's health. We went through a bad week of all of us getting the stomach virus, one by one and then once I thought they were getting better I ended sick myself and it hit me realizing how I wasn't done wrapping gifts, or shopping for last minute items, hadn't even picked out a gift for my husband yet, and it made me sad to know I was not going to be able to enjoy my mom's delicious food on Christmas Eve. Sometimes the holidays can be stressful and get the best of us. Bad times make us appreciate the little things that are actually the bigger things. My only wish last week was to have healthy babies to celebrate with. I was so happy I was able to enjoy them as we all felt 100% better that Saturday morning. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, surrounded by family and loved ones and find the simplicity of what this holiday is all about! 

How do you and your family celebrate this season?

An open letter on our Anniversary

On Thanksgiving day we celebrated 6 perfectly-imperfect years of marriage. Six years ago we became husband and wife at only 20 and 22 years young. Although we didn't have a traditional wedding at all but a simple trip to the courthouse- that's okay. My wedding day isn’t plagued with any sense of regret. Sure, it would have been nice to have had a beautiful wedding, with my dream dress surrounded by all my family and friends. And it would have been wonderful to have a room in our house full of beautiful pictures of us on our wedding day to look back on. But one day does NOT define our marriage. It will be the years to come...and in the future I would love to have that religious ceremony as we plan to renew our vows with God as our witness with the company of our kids. I will tell you this- what has defined this marriage has been the laughters and tears, the good days and the bad. 

"Marriage is a commitment to care for one another in mutually-fulfilling ways. It is not an act but rather a life-long relationship that’s always evolving."

So to my husband I want to tell you-

I know that I don't always show it and I certainly don't always say it enough as I should (I'm working on that)- but I am thankful for you. For the man you have become, for the man you are, and most importantly the father you are to our children.

Here we are 10 years, three kids, and a few wrinkles and grey hairs later- still standing strong. It's amazing to love someone and be loved by someone for ten whole freakin years. I know that loving me is not always easy and I make it hard sometimes. I am not that young carefree 20 year girl you once fell in love with... together we have grown and you accept me for who I am.

For instance on mornings I am too tired and you wake up and get our son ready for school without making a noise so I get to sleep in an hour or two more, or on the days I have to work and you make sure you get all three kids showered and ready so I can drop them off ready and already fed, or days that you are off and make sure I wake up to a ready breakfast by the time I walk to the kitchen. Or when you decide to go grocery shopping after work and surprise me with a trés leches cake when you get home (you know the way to my heart so well). Even the small things you do make me smile; like a phone call on your break or setting up a date night for just us two without me knowing (because you know any time away from the kids is always needed) or when its late at night and you're arriving home from work and I am a hot mess with tangled hair in a bun and baby spit on my shirt yet you still reach over and squeeze me and kiss me. Everything you do never goes unnoticed. I mean it when I say I would be lost without you.

Thank you for everything.

So I share openly when I say- with all honesty that marriage is hard work. Is easy more so often to quickly give up. I have felt like this at times, our first year of marriage was hard. You tend to focus on your work, your child, and trying to figure out the "new you" in motherhood and as a wife and quickly without knowing you forget what you guys once were before marriage.. before kids. Back to when life was all carefree, when money didn't matter;

when we could go out at midnight to drive downtown and get Starbucks simply because we wanted to, or times when we planned random date nights to Olive Garden followed by hours at the movie theater because we had no responsibilities or children to attend too. Quickly all that had become forgotten. I admit our first year we had a lot of fights, many disagreements, becoming adults got the best of us. If there's anything I am grateful for now are those arguments.I believe If there's no fighting in a marriage how are you you going to grow with one another. It's not always about being right but about building a mutual agreement and resolving the problem together. It's all about sacrifices.

"Marriage is about becoming a team. You are going to spend the rest of your life learning about each other, and every now and then things blow up. But the beauty of marriage is that if you picked the right person and you both love each other, you'll always figure out a way to get through it."

I am sure there's been a lot of things I've done wrong in our marriage but I am also confident enough to know I have always tried my best to make things right and to always try- no matter what. But despite those mistakes I am proud of where we are, what we have accomplished together so young and what we will continue to bring in the future together.

You are my strength, my equal, and my biggest supporter. Happy Anniversary Gustavo, I am so blessed and couldn't be more proud to be your wife.

"I love you today and always.I'll choose you over and over again. Without a pause, without a heartbeat, I'll keep choosing you,"

A special thanks to D Trinh Photography for this session. David did a beautiful job. 

Thank you for capturing us once again.