First, friends, thank you for all of your kind words and stories about Jack. We are doing better than we were last week, and they mean more than you know. Not to jump immediately to another difficult part of my life (ha), but as many of you know, my transition to college was rough, to say the least. Because of this, I will always have a soft spot for college freshmen, especially in that vulnerable first semester. It’s been awhile since I’ve known someone starting college, but when one of our sweet babysitters and family friends headed off to school in August, I knew I wanted to do something for her! Having not been a student for awhile, I put a query out on Instagram for ideas, and y’all delivered! Yesterday, I sent off a huge box to Barbara (we got a little carried away in Target!), and I wanted to share what we included as well as the rest of your suggestions… Here’s some of what we included: — A white pumpkin (my Mom always used to send me seasonal decor for my dorm room!) — Healthyish snacks like Annie’s mac and cheese, Justin’s nut butter snack packs, almonds, a P3 protein box, granola bars, and a honeycrisp apple (I wrapped it in bubble wrap!!) — Encouragement postcards for sending to friends or pinning to a bulletin board — Sweet treats like a “perfect size” cake mix, gum, mini Belgian waffles, and gummy bears — Hot chocolate mix and chamomile tea bags — A sheet mask, a great Essie nail polish, and lip balm — A pretty notebook and a Write the Word volume (I chose renewal, since college is a new beginning!) — Fuzzy socks for padding around the dorm hallways :) — An issue of a favorite

Have I mentioned yet that we loved our time in the hospital after June was born? :) I was lucky to give birth in a beautiful, comfy, state-of-the-art facility, which played a role, but the biggest factor by far was our nurses. We didn’t spend much time on the delivery side, but everyone who took care of us on the post-partum floor was so kind, skilled, and encouraging. They made our stay a joy and our recovery swift. John and I said to each other over and over throughout our stay (and in the weeks after!), “Nurses are the best!!” Seriously, they are my new favorite people. We wanted to do a little something to thank them, so last week June and I took a care package to the hospital. We assembled some of our favorite sweet and savory snacks from Whole Foods (including fresh berries, which I added after this photo!). I wanted some way to corral everything, but buying a basket seemed silly. Instead, I cut the top off a Whole Foods grocery bag and painted bright stripes with paint I had on hand. Happy and recyclable :) I wanted to bake them something, but John thought they might be weirded out by unpackaged goodies from someone they didn’t know. Hmph. I think he’s the weird one, but went with pre-packaged snacks anyway :) The most important part, though, was the note. I hope it encouraged these wonderful ladies, as their job is not easy, but makes such a huge difference to families at a vulnerable time. One tip: if you’d like to remember the names of your nurses, make sure you write them down while at the hospital! I never would have remembered them all three months later!! Any other ideas for sweet thank yous for nurses

Hello, friends! Something different for you today. We worship online with Church of the Resurrection every Sunday in addition to attending our local church. Both pastors are fantastic, but I particularly felt moved by Adam Hamilton’s message this past Sunday. It was about very specific ways we can prepare for the season of Advent, and I would highly encourage you to listen to it when you have a spare half hour! Click here to do so. Well, John and I felt even more moved to shine a light outwards this season after listening, and we’ve been discussing lots of ways we might do that ever since. I wanted to share one approach with you. I’ve been brainstorming and collecting ideas over the past few weeks for it (like from this awesome Pinterest star!), and now that I have my favorites, I’m excited to unleash them on my community! :) I wanted to share them with you here, in the hopes that you, too, might be moved to shine your light outward this season. To treat others as better than yourself. To love others as HE does. To focus outward on the joy of giving and the things we are able to do for others, rather than inward on ourselves. We ARE blessed to be a blessing, and if we are open to the possibilities all around us for blessing others, I think we will find that we are blessed beyond measure. There is great JOY in giving!! SO here they are! My favorite 25 ideas for showing love and kindness to the people around me this Christmas. There seem to be a lot of resources floating around for those with kids (I think Courtney’s are particularly great!), but since it’s just John and I, and I don’t think a lot