I had been going back and forth on if I would send out Christmas cards this year. However, the thought of going through all of the work to get everyone’s addresses (because of course I’m not organized enough to actually save them each year), find a decent family picture and then put together all of the cards—well, it seemed a little daunting. So, unfortunately, there will be no pretty card to hang up on your fridge this year, but hopefully this will do.

Let’s the start with the newest member of our little family, sweet baby Gabe. He is three weeks old, is beginning to thicken up a bit, and has been sleeping longer stretches at night (which makes this mama so happy). He is deeply loved by all his siblings and Nathan and I love staring at him excessively. Some of his favorite things are eating for very long amounts of time, and well I think that’s about it right now. We love him very much and can’t wait to watch him grow up!

Reya turned two in November and is adjusting to her role as big sister well. She is spunky and sweet and is becoming quite the dancer. She loves to show you how she can wiggle and jump (for a kid that didn’t walk until 19.5 months, we are thrilled). She loves playing with her big siblings, seeing her friends (she likes to greet each kid by name at church), and eating salad and kimchi (we feed her other foods too, don’t worry). She is also quite the knock-knock joke master and loves that she gets to share a room with her big siblings (and loves to keep them awake by yelling said knock-knock jokes at 5:00 in the morning). Her favorite things are Bluey, the Goodnight Moon book, putting Gabriel’s pacifier in his mouth, and playing with baby dolls.

Naomi turned four in July and she is loving going to preschool. She is really beginning to become interested in learning, and continues to love playing with her friends. She tried soccer this year, but after continually subbing herself out to sit on the sidelines and steal the coach’s Body Armour, we aren’t thinking we will sign her up next year. She does however love dance, and did great at her Christmas recital. She currently only likes to wear “comfy pants” (me too, Naomi, me too), and pretty dresses so she is quite the fashionista. Some of her favorites are Fancy Nancy, the colors pink and purple, wearing her hair in a high ponytail and painting her nails.

Hezekiah is five (he turns six in January and how the heck do we have a six year old?!). He loves kindergarten and is learning so much. He, unlike Naomi, did really seem to enjoy soccer this year. He scored a goal, and seemed to really get the concept. He is a faithful friend, protective and caring, and is so passionate about the things he loves. Currently he is in an all things pokemon phase. My day is spend being asked questions about what certain Pokemon evolve into, or which is my favorite water-type Pokemon and guys, I am lost. I know so little about Pokemon, but good thing I married man who knows way too much and I can deflect all of the questions back to him. Okay, back to Hezzy. He loves to run, spend time outside, play boardgames and learn about animals. He is our sweet sweet big boy, and it is so fun to watch him grow up!

Nathan and I both turned 31 this year and we are so grateful for this gift of life that God has given us, including almost seven years of marriage! Nathan works part time for our church doing quite a hodge podge of things. Some of Nathan’s favorite are the Arcane series on Netflix (he tried to get me to watch it and I lasted about 1.5 episodes, but he swears it’s really good), the Wheel of Time book series (I’ve never seen him read so much), going on hikes and playing the “tackle game” with our kids. He also has a newly found love for spicy foods—I’m talking about hot sauce on everything. He recently became an Elder at our church and I am so grateful for the way he leads our family, humbly serves and loves abundantly.

After my maternity leave I will go back to work as a nurse on the maternal-newborn floor taking care of the newest moms and babies (truly the best job, you can’t convince me otherwise). Considering I spent the majority of this year pregnant, some of my favorite things were napping, asking my husband to fill up my water bottle 14x a day, crying in my car when chick-fil-a got my order wrong, and consistently being out breath. On a more real note, this year I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through the Harry Potter series this fall, binge watching The Resident in the middle of the night while feeding Gabe, drinking iced coffee, drinking hot coffee and anything involving the sunshine.

This year, while we muddle our way through life with four kids five and under, there is truly so much to thank God for. I pray we would never lose sight of his grace, his mercy and the rich love He has given us. I hope we never forget this year of growing our family, which was full of belly laughs, lots of snuggles and a whole lot of chaos.