Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023

Happy January!

I realise we're heading towards the end of the month but its been a bit of a crazy one and it's taken me this long to gather my thoughts.

What a year 2022 was, quite clearly shown by my lack of blog post mid year onwards! Let's take a look at what we got up to...

The beginning of the year I planned sewing projects and started making. Mostly makes including corduroy for my pals' birthdays, but also a few tops for me!

We then went away in February half term with family for a short weekend break. It was lovely to get away and have some space away from normality.

Easter came and was filled with all things crafty and spring themed. I'm already excited to start filling our home with flowers and Easter trees.

I also enjoyed running a 10K with Run Gatwick, raising money for Love Your Neighbour which was really hard but felt like a great achievement at the end of it!

We enjoyed Jubilee celebrations with pals which involved gingham dresses, scones and sunshine.

We celebrated some of our best pals wedding day which was just SO beautiful. The ceremony was filled with so many happy tears, and the rest of the day involved drinking fresh cordials, volleyball and dancing - it was perfect.

During the summer holidays we then found out we were pregnant! This was such exciting news and our world turned upside down. We had a couple of adventures with friends including Focus (our church festival trip), sunflower hunting and beach trips. However, I soon started to feel very poorly. I was stuck in bed when I was early days pregnant, struggling with nausea and sickness. Not morning sickness but all day sickness! Things improved a little when I headed back to work as I was more distracted but those were the hardest months I've ever had to live through and it felt like there was no end.

We then had our 12 week scan where our world turn upside down yet again when we found out there wasn't just one baby but two! We loved sharing this news with our friends and family and we were overwhelmed with the love we received.

Autumn came and I started to feel a little better, trying to ignore the sickness and enjoy autumn as much as I could. James and I went on a little autumn holiday and loved just having time away together. We went on our annual pumpkin picking trip with pals and laughed lots!

Christmas then quickly came round the corner and we started to get festive and enjoy the cosy Christmas days. We especially loved our little trip to Essebourne Manor where we had a very posh tasting menu then enjoyed a trip to Winchester to stroll around the market. We had lovely christmas with family and then spent time over the holiday starting to think about all things baby.

And that brings us to January. Looking back over the year we've had some challenging moments particularly with our plans to move home. I know we'll look back and things will all work in the end. This time has definitely taught us to be patient and to trust in God to whom none of this is surprise. We love where we currently are and can't wait to bring our babes back here and introduce them to our special home.

2023

I'd normally spend some time putting together some goals and plans for the year - I think that's going to be a little harder to do as we step into 2023 with all the impending changes... We couldn't be more excited about our growing family of four (with Sheppy of course) but we're under no illusion that this isn't going to be an easy ride! Trying to soak up the days and evenings as just us two. There are a couple of things I'd like to note down as we look ahead to the year, without any pressure or strings attached!

• Read the bible. Pray. Know that God is working and loving despite the things we mess up on.

• Enjoy soaking up a baby bubble without feeling pressure to get outside and to normal life. I'm hoping we can spend time in a little bubble of us without feeling guilty with being in our bedroom or spending days in pyjamas. Getting downstairs will be an achievement in my eyes!

• Keep holding onto me and James. Yes we might be turning into Mummy and Daddy (terrifying) but we're also still us two. I want to try and make sure we get time to each do the things we love and spend time together remembering we're still us and not just parents.

• Keep appreciating and recording the little moments. Things are going to change so quickly so it's going to be important to hold onto s all moments in the everyday.

• We'd really like to have moved house by the end of the year. It's going to be cosy living here as a family of four but whatever happens we'll make things work! Learning to surrender things to God that aren't in my control.

Are you a goal setting person or just someone who takes each day as it comes?

We can't wait to see where this year takes us!

Thankyou for reading,

Emily xx