Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Man…Christmas gets more exciting every year since I had Waylin. ❤

I wasn’t exactly sure how a COVID Christmas season was going to look. Politicians, health departments, and Facebook critics all pleaded with people to cancel Thanksgiving with their families. It was portrayed as a “badge of the highest honor” if you canceled in the name of staying safe. I don’t know what to think about the narrative that is being pushed from all corners of the world, but I know that I did not want to cancel my Thanksgiving.

It was sad driving through my grandpa’s neighborhood to bring him a COVID-friendly plate of food while he stayed at home alone. Normally when I drive through his neighborhood on Thanksgiving (or any other holiday), it is packed full of cars. So much so, the road almost turns into one lane only. This year, it was so vacant and bare. You could tell families were not having the gatherings they used to. Even the big house across the street wasn’t full of cars and they ALWAYS celebrate with lots of family.

So far, I haven’t seen as many agencies pushing for the cancellation of Christmas. I have a feeling they wouldn’t dare suggest canceling Christmas given how sacred (and holy to some) it is. I have a feeling that COVID cases will go up after Christmas, which makes me nervous for our state’s livelihood. The Governor is oppressively forcing small businesses to close their doors,, implementing restrictions that are not feasible for businesses to survive, and all over scare mongering to Illinois citizens. More cases = more power for our Governor, it seems.

Okay, I definitely didn’t sit down to write a manifesto on Illinois corruption and COVID today. 😄

I got on here to post about the photoshoot I did for my daughter and husband!

I have been practicing with my camera and have learned that my favorite part of playing “momtog” 📷 is building an idea. One of the blessings and curses of having ADHD is…I have A LOT of ideas. And I want to give attention to them all! 😏

I found an adorable 90’s-esque velvet and tulle Christmas dress for Waylin that I KNEW was going to be used for a photoshoot. I would actually say, this is one of my top ten dresses I have obsessed over that she owns. It gives me all the childhood and 90s teen middle school dance movie vibes. Those two textures together…mmm yes! 😍

I noticed that my in-laws had a really neat tree not too far out from their house and it truly is the perfect Christmas tree! I knew I wanted to do a set of Waylin decorating THAT tree. It turns out, that is my SIL’s son’s tree they planted when he was born 16+ years ago! Isn’t that neat? Anyways, I actually don’t have a ton of ornaments. I didn’t get a keepsake box from over the years like Ben has. He’s very…protective of his ornaments. 😂 Being sentimental is a quality trait of mine that isn’t as strong as his. He really enjoys the tangible things that remind him of his childhood, and I’m much more into record keeping of memories/details and how it felt.

Knowing that, there’s no way in HELLLLL he would let me use his ornaments for the photoshoot. So, when everyone went to bed, I grabbed a mask and went for a COVID-style stroll through Walmart to look at all their Christmas things. It was honestly a really good time. I felt happiness in being alone amongst all the sparkly Christmas decorations and lights. I don’t get a lot of alone time…”me time”. It’s usually spent doing chores in the late night hours instead of doing something for myself.

Walmart didn’t have exactly what I wanted, but I bought some matte blue ornaments to use that I thought would look nice. MIL came to the rescue with a bunch of cute ornaments that really made the tree look amazing! We combined them together and I think it turned out great!

Look how beautiful that sun just drenches the background and the sky! Golden hour is such a short time frame to hit and I am so happy with how it turned out.

I have been exploring my faith since 2020 started. I don’t know quite exactly how I feel about a lot of things, but I do know that I am so blessed. I have that beautiful, little girl staring back at me. I have her. I have a husband that loves us. Those are the things I definitely believe in. How I got blessed with those things is still a mystery, but lord am I grateful! ❤