beauty and her beasts.

My smashingly incredible husband did it again, y'all. Mama B's Christmas gift this year was two tickets to the two o'clock production of Beauty and the Beast at the Peace Center! TJ was finally feeling better, and it was a beautiful December day to walk down Main Street towards our destination. I contemplated wearing my entire outfit, dress and all, but decided to present myself as I thought Belle would as a pregnant girl in 2014. I got stares + second looks from most everyone we passed because what I was wearing on my head clearly looks like a wig, but I didn't mind at all. Nope, this twenty-five year old will always be a little girl at heart, and I'm perfectly okay with that.

One little girl, in particular, made a comment that I'll never forget. As we were returning to our seats during intermission after having a potty break + getting some water, I made eye contact with this cute girl whose eyes were as bright as the sun. When I smiled at her, she immediately gasped, grabbed the lady sitting beside her on the bench, and not-so-quietly whispered, "Mom! It's BELLE! It's really her!" Best compliment ever? Well, YES! And, yes, I'm still giddy about it.

When we got home after the show, we used my two beloved Beauty and the Beast ornaments as props to commemorate our date. I wore yellow to the show + afterwards in honor of Belle, of course, and Teesh wore bright blue in honor of the Beast. As you can tell, we are quite dedicated to these roles we play.

We ended our time behind the camera playing a game of peek-a-boo with our little beast. His arrival gets closer every day, and it's hard to believe that we'll be holding him in our arms in roughly three weeks. Baby B is loved by so many already, and I am so excited for the day when all of our hopes + dreams + anticipations are made real, and he is here with us.

Today, on this last day of twenty-fourteen as we share scenes of our last Christmas as a family of two, my heart is so full. This year has been one filled with blessing + favor + steadfast love from our Lord Jesus even in the most disheartening of circumstances. Every year gets better, and it makes me so excited to be able to boldly proclaim that the best is yet to come!