As I hoped it would be, November was full of so much love — and, lucky me, December looks to be the same way. From a quick work trip to Sea Island that the J’s get to accompany me on to another epic road trip for a Connecticut Christmas (this time overnight – hold me) to a brunch reunion planned with all of our high school friends, I am grateful. But you know what the best kind of love is? A tiny baby who came to love all of us two thousand years ago, so that we could love others. I’m making sinking that into my heart the priority this month, even as I work on the goals below! P.S. I love using the PowerSheets to track my professional goals (and sometimes personal ones, too – I shared a little bit about my process last year). The 2017 workbook is truly awesome! Revisiting my goals for November: Vote! Make reservations for June’s baptism celebration Buy June’s baptism gift Choose our outfits for family photos (sneak peek above!) Finish our will Post my guide to the Triangle (more progress has been made! :)) Begin crafting for June’s birthday party! (Started a brainstorming doc, bought some supplies on Black Friday, and designed the invitations last night!) December goals: — Design and print our Christmas newsletter + send out our Christmas cards with love (and personal notes!) — Send invitations for J’s first birthday party (!) — Give away as much as we spend on Christmas gifts in our church’s Christmas Eve offering — Love on our trash and recycling guys, my post office peeps, and June’s teachers. (Homemade toffee will likely be in the mix.) — Finish our will (This is it, people. Really. It’s happening. It is.) — Go out to

I am 33 weeks pregnant, which means this will presumably be the last month I’m writing goals before our girl joins the family. Holy moly. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially coming off the busy busy month we just finished up. Feeling overwhelmed is a choice, though, and this month my biggest goal is to keep breaking the seemingly insurmountable to dos down into little steps, to keep taking those steps, and to otherwise enjoy the season of Christmas. This weekend definitely helped. I’d been hoarding planned purchases like a fevered squirrel and finally acted on them all in a torrent of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. To make so many purchases in such a short amount of time was a bit of a shock to the system for this infrequent spender, but they were all carefully considered and make me excited. And let this be a reminder to you: if you’re not using EBates for your online shopping, you’re missing out!! I bought a pair of boots I’ve been eyeing for a year for 20% off, then got an additional $10 back by shopping through EBates! We also were able to purchase several things for our girl, including a monitor, bedding, and a cover. But the reason it was a good weekend was not only because of the money saved, but because of the amazing weather, the hikes we took, the early evening spent decorating our porch for Christmas, the projects finished and started in the nursery — and, of course, our actual Thanksgiving dinner, which was spent with dear friends and their parents. I think December will look similar, which makes me very excited. Revisiting my goals for November: Take rings in to be cleaned Take knives in to be sharpened Frame and hang our NC BBQ print (explored

It does my heart good to see our home all dressed up for Christmas… I don’t think it’s ever looked finer, especially with that handsome deer back at his post. I am excited for this month, for all the beauty and goodness and hope and joy that December brings. I want to enjoy it fully, and finish it out by planning for a truly marvelous 2015. I’m so glad we’re in this together! I managed to check off all of my November goals except for organizing a neighborhood luminaria night, which I feel kind of bad about… I think the idea was intimidating to me, so I just kept putting off taking the steps to make it happen. But, friends, there’s always next year – and thankfully I have a few more to go before I’m 30!! Goals for December: — Set our budget for 2015 — Make homemade toffee — Purchase a new Bible that I really love and decide on a year-long reading plan with John — Send out our Christmas cards with a personal note on each — Think ahead and be intentional about planning a really wonderful Christmas at our home for (most of) my family — Dream and plan for what my goals will look like in the new year, considering my ongoing 60 Before 30 project — Give away as much as we spend on Christmas gifts in our church’s Christmas Eve offering (this year going to Imagine No Malaria) I would love to hear what you all have planned for this month!

So this deer. He and his brethren are handmade from logs and twigs in a nearby town, and every time we drove by the little herd with their knobbly legs and adorable upturned tails, I would think to myself, one day, one of you will be mine. And this weekend, one day arrived! Bucky was lovingly tucked into our car (supported by blankets and the jumper cable kit so as not to bend his antlers) and carefully driven home. He is already happily ensconced on our porch… with a wreath around his neck. He seems to be a hit with the neighborhood kids. Even aside from acquiring my long-hoped-for deer, November was really, really good. I checked off all of my goals (INCLUDING refinishing our dining room table!!), and feel rested and ready for December after an extra-long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. December goals: — Try my hand at making toffee — Love on our three loved ones who either just had a baby or will have one this month — Send out our Christmas cards with a personal note on each — Leave a homemade treat for our mail man — Spread love and light as we take two separate trips to celebrate Christmas with family — Figure out what form my long term goals will take in 2014 I would love to hear what you have planned for this month! P.S. I’m excited and a little nervous about the post going up tomorrow — promise to come back and take a peek