On My Mind, At The End of the Year

Happy Monday, friends! I'm co-hosting my first link-up! With the lovely ladies over at A Mama Collective for this week's installment of Currently.

Eating: (First, because it's most important.) Tons of Trader Joe's ricotta cheese. Like, tons. I've even got Emmett hooked now. We've been smearing it in obnoxious amounts on any bread-like surface we can get our hands on. The other day we discovered TJ's Everything Crackers and now we can't get enough. Emmett dips and double-dips and triple-dips and on and on until his cracker is a gross soggy mess, which is really fun, let me tell you. I sent a photo of us eating those crackers to my ricotta-loving friend Corinna the other day and she promptly replied, "Oh good! Another surface for ricotta!" We are kindred spirits.

Watching: Justified . All the drama ever, tons of good-looking bearded men with Southern accents, and incredibly proper speech despite all the y'alls and drawls. It's great.

Thinking about: The new year, and all of the possibility it brings. 2013 was good, but hard. I struggled so much with working full time and missing my baby. We experienced loss and pain and saw our friends going through really tough times too. It was a tough year, but it brought us closer together and taught me to rely on my family and to really dig in and just love everyone around me. I learned so much about myself, and I have grown. I hope this next year will bring us peace, joy, and most of all, growth. I hope to grow our little family, but I know that God is trying to teach me patience and trust these days so I am working on letting go of my plans. I hope to grow in love for my family, and to pour out love to everyone I meet. I hope to grow community by doing good for our friends and neighbors, by reaching out and getting out of my comfort zone. I hope to grow in selflessness and to work hard at being better for my family.

Enjoying: Our life lately. Things are good. We are in love and happy and at peace. Emmett is talking up a storm all day long and we can't get enough of his little voice and his little mind expanding. He picks up new words every day- sometimes things that I had no idea he even noticed- like "mamel" for the camel in our nativity scene. He's a smart little thing and so, so sweet. He's started snuggling with me more lately and giving me hugs. Ray always smiles and says "Emmett, you're breaking your mama's heart with that hug." He always checks to see if I'm crying because usually I am. I just love that little boy so much it hurts my heart sometimes. God is providing for us in new ways, and I'm just really enjoying our life and can't wait to see what the new year brings.

Looking forward to: Well, all of the things I've mentioned above, but also girls' night tonight with sweet friends (like this one, and this one!) I've been making a point to spend more time with my girlfriends lately, and it's really been such a treat. I get so much out of our conversations and time spent together, and y'all know I love some good gossip! The women in my life inspire me in so many beautiful ways, so I've been pushing myself out of my comfort zone (and my early bedtimes!) to see them and visit with them and hopefully bless them in some small way in the process.