Cheers to summer!:)  I know I know it’s not officially June 21st or anything, but let’s be honest we’re in the South — so our AC’s been running for about a month already and the iced coffees have been keeping me cool (physically and mentally;) for weeks.

 

I came across an old letter from my mom recently and at the end she wrote, “I’ve been loving Huntington Letters!”  Ahhh I really do miss writing on here — I do!  I just need to organize my life better;)  Or maybe my priorities so that I can get back at the whole blog writing.

 

I know I am always saying ‘it’s been awhile’ when I come on here, but it really has.  Last August was almost a year ago?!  It doesn’t seem possible.  It really is true what they always say, the older you get the faster time goes.  And now that I am officially in my mid – thirties (in my mind I’m still somewhere around 27), the months just cruise by.

 

I didn’t want another Ireland trip to go by without posting some photos.  It had been just over three years since our 2019 trip and two years since we had seen Niall’s family here.

 

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Ok.  Who’s reading?  Are you confused because it’s not June?!?  Nope, it’s Tuesday, December 20th and I am most definitely NOT drinking an iced coffee right now — it’s currently less than 50 degrees out which is COLD for us wimps here in South Georgia!

 

 

I logged on this morning and realized I have several ‘saved drafts’ of unfinished posts.  :/  Oops.  You’d think that the week before Christmas would not be the best time to catch up on other life things.  Surely I have a lot of tasks to cross off, errands to run, gifts to prepare?!  Yes, yes I do.  But I have chosen to write a little here instead:)

 

I’m enjoying this ‘cozy weather’ we’re having — looks like Christmas Eve and Day are going to be freezing if the weather forecast holds up!  Méabh had a big school project due today and has her last day of school tomorrow before getting two weeks off.  Eamon is homeschooling so … he’s been off since Thanksgiving 😀  I joke I joke — sort of;)

 

The art side of Huntington Letters has been having a fun season too:)  I’ve done a couple of Christmas markets and really enjoyed chatting with customers, seeing what sells, oh and having a morning to myself while sipping coffee is always nice too;)  Méabh came with me to one this past weekend and was my ‘helper’ … aka my cheerleader, and I love her for that.

 

 

 

I miss my family around this time of year.  But I am really thankful, too.  Thankful for a cozy house, sweet friends who will be coming over for Christmas dinner, our church, the health of my children; and best of all, knowing that no matter where I am, the truth of Christmas and the hope that we have in this dark world lives in us.

 

There’s definitely more that I could say, but if I don’t hit ‘publish’, this post will become another draft that gets lost in cyber space so I will pause for now and aim to check in more in 2023:)

 

Merry Christmas friends!

xo

 

 

 

While home in CA, a dear friend of my mom’s asked me, “Have I missed a blog post?!?”  It made me realize, I reeeallly need to log on to good old Huntington Letters:)

 

It’s been THREE months today since the birth of Ronan.  He has been a really ‘easy’ baby — is there such a thing?!;)  It’s still a lot of tired mornings and feeling like I’m constantly behind in every area of life; but I know it’s worth it, and I’m grateful that the long road to this boy means that I’ve tried to soak in these past few months as much as I possibly can.  Every extra pile of laundry, every interruption, every meal I eat cold, every diaper explosion — I’m here for it:)

 

Rewinding a little … I was scheduled for an induction at about 38 1/2 weeks, for a couple of different reasons I won’t get into right now!  I had never been induced before so the concept was a little strange to me but in some ways, especially since we have no family nearby, it made everything work out more smoothly.  I was able to organize childcare ahead of time for Méabh and Eamon — I’m SO thankful for sweet friends here who loved on my kids while I was in the hospital for a couple of days.  Here’s some pics we snapped before dropping them off for their sleepover — “good bye, just going to leave you here while I have a kid, no big deal!”;)

 

 

 

After being induced at around 5 am, the contractions started coming, but they were really irregular and not very strong.  After a few hours, my OB asked if I’d like her to break my waters.  Uhm… sure?!  WOW … that did it.  From that point on, active labor came on fast and was very difficult — just over a couple of hours later, our BOY (I was convinced I was having a girl) was here.  I can’t describe the feeling of finally holding him.  It was a long awaited moment I will remember forever.

 

 

Thankfully Ronan was healthy and strong and fed well — he passed all the tests and after one night in the hospital, we were able to go home!

 

 

Though those first few weeks are usually a blur, I felt like I was fully present — probably largely in thanks to Niall getting two weeks paternity leave + my parents arriving when Ronan was one week old.  Having extra hands meant Méabh and Eamon weren’t just looking to me for entertainment — so THANK YOU Niall, mom and dad!!  We even got to go on a date in the River District downtown.  It was pretty dreamy:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We booked tickets to California soon after Ronan was born — basically, once we knew for sure that we could handle a trip like that so early;)  But thankfully because he is a pretty chill dude, we decided to go for it.  Time spent with my family + the growing brood of cousins is always so special.  The kids were in heaven!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s always an adjustment arriving back to Georgia after being in the paradise of Santa Barbara;)  But we’re doing just fine and soaking up these ‘normal’ summer days.  The pace of life is different with a baby.  It’s been over four years since I’ve been in this phase and though some feel that ‘starting all over again’ is an inconvenience, for me it just feels like a second chance, a huge privilege I wasn’t sure I’d get to experience again, something I don’t want to ever ever take for granted.  There’s lots more I could say and more photos I could post about about our three months with three, but I’ll end with a photo that I think sums it up pretty well:)

 

Much love to all of you, my family and friends. xo