Blessed and Bittersweet

I always know that the holiday season will go by fast and every year I am hopeful that this time somehow time will slow down and I won't find myself putting away decorations feeling like I just put them up!

A lot has happened in this last month. 

- Football season ended at the Semi-Final game in Jefferson County

- Wrapped up the 1st semester of school for the 2012-2013 year

-Shane is roughly 1/2 way through his Master's program

- Attended Garret and Amelia Granberg's Wedding

- Attended other Holiday soirees and banquets alike

- Finished Christmas Shopping and packed up for our Chicago roadtrip

- Were blessed with a wonderful baby shower thrown by my mom and sisters

- Enjoyed Christmas in Chicago with my family and spent the following week soaking up as much time as we could!

- And we ended the new year unpacking and getting our apartment ready for our little girl in a few months.

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I am feeling very big these days (I promise I will post a picture before this baby comes at some point!) and the constant indigestion and growth of my belly has got me pretty uncomfortable-I honestly wonder how I will get through 3 more months of this sometimes, and then I remember that millions of women have done it for thousands of years : )

Though I am exhausted perpetually, as I was struggling to breath and bustling around the apartment putting things away the other day I was struck at just how blessed we are. Blessed to be children of God, blessed to have each other, blessed to have families we love so dearly, blessed to have a healthy little girl on the way, and the list goes on and on. I am utterly exhausted right now from life, and simultaneously feeling very humbled and blessed. Life is so bittersweet-and this truth I fear will only be realized more deeply as Shane and I fall on our knees daily in our attempts to parent a new life, but thankfully, God is good-and through all of it, the good, the bad, and the ugly, the bitter, and the sweet, I  know that this is true.

Here are some pictures of our happenings in the past month or so-I've been pretty bad at keeping up with taking pictures-and am still waiting on some pictures from our Baby Shower that I will post once we figure out some technical difficulties : )

 Jefferson County Dragons-Semi Final Game

 Coach Woodward-Sad end but such a great season!!!

 Packing up for Chicago before we head to the city for the Granberg Wedding

 It was so great to celebrate with these two! I thought I would really be stressed being preggo and trotting out in the cold to a wedding just hours before we left for Chicago, but it was such a great night celebrating two people we love so much!

 Their first dance as Mr. & Mrs. Garret Granberg

Baby Woodward's first wedding : )

 It was great to see how many Wheaton Football players came out for this wedding from all over the country to support this couple-especially during the Holidays!


Shane just rolling into Chicago after driving 12 hours straight-no big deal : ) 

I could not wait to get to Chicago to see this little munchkin. I love that he takes after his Auntie Michele and has found the best seat in the house : ) Our little apple lover!!  

Our two favorite nephews. Miss them so much already!

This little apple eater cracks me up!!!

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 Here are a few random candid photos we snapped at the shower-hopefully there will be more to come. 

(Lorielle the official photographer) 

 Bonnie & Nani, with Danielle our gracious host, and little William

 Aunt Chanel and Aunt Lorielle

 Nick and Uncle John

 William and Grandma

 Me checking out the cute stuffed giraffe from Auntie Lo

Sweet Guiliana posing for Shane 

My mom and sisters slaved over making tons of these sugar cookies-and Chanel made the most delicious Gluten Free Versions you ever will try!! (Just ate the last one sent home with us!)

Christmas Morning Breakfast: Shane helping my mom with the pancakes (which were delicious-mom can you send me the name of the new mix?) 

 This is hilarious-but it is the ONLY picture I took on Christmas : ) (non including phone pictures)

Lorielle & Alex

Just the boys working out some strategy


Lorielle and I created a little gluten free tray of these for Christmas-they were an instant hit-Thank You Pinterest : )


Oh and I just found this on my phone..I'm sure this will also be an instant hit as well.

 Annual Girl's Craft Night : ) Ribbon Christmas Trees

 Always an Adventure

How is it that every year we either run out of materials or out of time? Praying we can turn over a new leaf in 2013-haha! 

(We ran out of ribbon (most of us) and even after going out to buy more the next day, I still ran out for the 2nd time-I'm slow). 

I'll try and post a picture of the finished product. . . if I ever finish them : ) 

Chanel gifted me with a Yonanas machine that had asked for! I really didn't think I would get it for Christmas but secretly really hoped for it!! It is simply a machine you feed frozen bananas and other fruit into to make a quick frozen yogurt like snack. 

 It is pure fruit and Shane and I are excited to continue to try out different combinations. He was so sweet to take orders and make everyone a treat while we worked on our crafts. 

 This is Byron and William putting together the boys' new workshop from Nani and Uncle David.

 Racquel and Nicole decided to take a different approach and instead of ribbon made felt rosettes and covered their cones/trees with those. 

In the end its not the craft that counts, but that we are all together : ) 

We ended our last night in Chicago with a fun game night-and cant wait for the next time we will all be together-so crazy that by then we will have our little girl and be a family of three!!!

 I got some great Kitchen gadgets from Chanel (Yonanas), Racquel (Ceramic egg carton), My mom (Potato Ricer), and an Apple Peeler from Shane's Mom. I can't wait to utilize it in the future to make life easier when I have an apple crisp craving! 

 I decided to experiment and throw some sliced apples into a crockpot before dinner with some sugar, cinnamon, butter, etc. to make some hot cinnamon apples for a carmel apple sundae. 

They probably could have cooked longer-but it tasted awesome! Add that to an amazing husband, good movies, and some sparkling fruit juice and you have one great New Years Eve : ) 

Here's to 2013-I can only imagine how the Lord will bless and stretch us!

-M.W. 

P.S. 

 For Christmas I got Racquel an Apron she had liked from Anthropologie-mainly because it also came with a matching apron for a little girl. I was so excited to get it for her and the little girl growing inside her belly and was so surprised on Christmas morning to open this little apron from Shane for our little girl too. I can't wait for both of our girls to grow up together and to do mommy daughter bake nights together : )