emilymabrycreative
- Dec 27, 2022
- 16 min read

December Blog Post - 19 Months of Sweet Judson!

Our precious Judson is 19 months old today, and this sure has been a special past month getting to celebrate and experience the magic of Christmas through his eyes – oh what JOY!!

My “word” for the year of 2022 was “joy,” so it is so fitting that I was able to round out this last month of the year getting to soak in the joy of the most wonderful time of year with our little Christmas angel baby boy and also finishing up my Master’s Degree - woohoo!!

Being Judson’s mommy is truly a dream come true, and it has been the adventure of a lifetime getting to raise the sweetest baby boy with the husband of my dreams, sweet Wes! Out of all the gifts under the tree this Christmas season, I cherish my sweet boys as the very best gifts of all!

Thanking God for the gift of His Son, Jesus, and the abundant life He came down to earth to give us… and now that I get to live each and every day with my little family.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life!!

My word for the new year ahead is “savor,” and I pray that I will continue to savor and soak in these precious moments and memories with our sweet little Judson!

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” // Psalm 118:24

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” // Psalm 16:11

There is something so very special about this 18-month age…

and boy, what a Christmas to remember!!

Judson is the most joyful, giggly, cuddly, sweet, and FUN little guy and we are soaking in this stage of such love and innocence!!

He loves to play silly games like “peekaboo,” “hide and seek” with his toys, practice all of his animal sounds (his favorite thing right now), and just plain simple… loves LIFE!

He is loving getting to play with his new Christmas gifts and spend lots of special time with extended family and cousins over the holidays.

His little “Rudolph” stuffed animal has been by his side 24/7 this month… and it is the cutest thing! He loves to cuddle with mommy after nursing and I am soaking in these precious moments.

Most of all, Judson loves to reach his hands out to “Mama” & “Dada” when it is time to pray before meals and bedtime… and y’all, it melts my heart.

It is so beautiful how much he is already absorbing and learning at this age, and I pray that He will grow up to love and adore Jesus with his whole heart!

Thank you , Jesus, for this precious gift in our baby boy and the light of love he is to us each and every day!

This past month has held the most memories and Christmas-time traditions –

from Judson’s 18-month-old checkup,

to lots of sweet post-nursing session snuggles by the Christmas tree,

Christmas baking with “Nana,”

mailing out Christmas Cards,

delivering lots of holiday goodies around the neighborhood,

packing and shipping out lots of EMC Christmas “merry mail” orders -

during EMC "busy season!!"

cozy gift wrapping nights by the tree,

the annual “Dickens of a Christmas” Event and Tree Lighting in our little downtown Sparkle City,

taking Judson to meet Santa Claus,

both mama & baby got haircuts while on a visit back home to Charlotte,

hanging out with lots of our sweet BSFBC College & Young Adult Ministry students,

going to the Spartanburg Christmas parade,

officially finishing up my Master’s in Professional Counseling Degree from Liberty University (ALL glory to God!!),

celebrating the next day with a special day trip up to the Omni Grove Park Inn to see the Christmas decor,

Christmas dinners and gift fun with family and friends,

Christmas crafting,

a trip to see the Hollywild Safari Christmas Lights (Judson LOVED the lights and getting to pet and feed all of the animals),

visiting a dear friend from my counseling internship at the hospital with Christmas goodies,

staying warm and cozy inside with all of the freezing cold weather that came in right before Christmas,

some Christmas Eve baking and special memories,

the candlelight Christmas Eve Service at our church,

seeing what Santa brought on Christmas morning,

spending Christmas afternoon and the past couple days since with my family up in Charlotte,

and so much more!!

…Now onto a little more detail on this past month and some sweet memories we have been soaking in and that I want to bottle up and remember forever!!

Got to start off the month of December with our baby boy having his big 18-month-old checkup and boy oh boy,

we are so beyond grateful and thanking Jesus for our sweet, strong, growing, and healthy baby boy!! #18montholdcheckup #gratefulheart

We love you and are so proud of you, our Judson bear, more than you will ever know!!

And after a perfect report at the doctor’s office, sweet boy was worn out and snuggled by the Christmas tree with mama for naptime! #christmassnuggles #thesearethemoments

Nothing says Christmas magic like a sleepy babe nestled into your arms by the Christmas tree!!

Click here to watch a sweet little moment of Judson cuddling with mama by the Christmas tree!

Oh what FUN getting to spend December 1st doing some Christmas baking with “Nana” -

one of our very favorite traditions!!

Judson had so much fun

(and loved dancing to his favorite “jingle bells” jam while we baked hehe)

getting to help make lots of yummy holiday goodies - homemade Chex mix, peppermint bark,

and my mom’s mom’s famous passed down Christmas cookie recipe (with red & green candy cherries)!!

Can’t think of sweeter or special way to start off the Christmas season merry & bright!! #bakingwithnana #christmastraditions

PS. “Dada” sure was happy getting to come home from work to the house smelling so yummy from all of our holiday baking!!

#tistheseason #christmasbaking

The first weekend of December was full of all things Christmas cheer -

Christmas season baking,

walking around the neighborhood and delivering lots of goodies,

mailing out Christmas cards,

and spending sweet time with our little Santa’s helper!!

I sure do love Christmastime with my boys!! #homefortheholidays #christmastimeishere

The most wonderful time of the year,

spreading lots of cheer!!

Click here to watch a fun little video reel of this fun Christmas-y weekend!

And click here to see the CUTEST little dancing video of Judson by the Christmas tree we went up to the mountains to cut down this year!

It just doesn’t get sweeter or cozier than this - home for the holidays and gift wrapping fun with #myboys !!

Thankful for twinkly lights outside, lots of presents for loved ones wrapped up with bows under the tree,

and a sweet blue-eyed baby boy - our greatest gift of all - who is in awe of it all!!

There’s no place like home for the holidays and I’m so grateful for this cozy time of year with my sweet boys!!

Our little bear had so much fun getting to watch the tree lighting at the annual Dickens of a Christmas Event in our little downtown Sparkle City! We sure do love this Christmas tradition in our little town!!

And the very next night, we took Judson to go see the beautiful lights at The Christmas House in Inman - and he was in awe of it all!

So thankful for Christmastime and all the memories with my boys - cozy rainy days at the house,

packing and shipping out lots of EMC orders (busy season!!) with my little love,

and all the Christmas jammies & cuddles!!

There is nothing like experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a precious child!

Judson got to meet Santa Claus and even got to tell him “ho ho ho!”

He sure has been a good baby boy this year!!

We spent a sweet December weekend visiting back home in Charlotte -

both mama & baby got haircuts

(it’s become a thing haha),

lots of post-nursing session snuggles by the tree,

and truly spent time just soaking in and savoring this wonderful season with my boys!!

I love our simple and sweet little life and know that Jesus has blessed me beyond measure in the gift that my boys are!!

We were definitely in the Christmas spirit after taking Judson to the Spartanburg Christmas Parade!! Our little Christmas cutie had a ball getting to dance along with the music and stare at all of the pretty lights!!

We sure do love our little downtown sparkle city -

especially during the most wonderful time of the year!! #spartanburgchristmasparade #babysfirstparade

And just like that… I am officially completely finished with my Master’s in Professional Counseling Degree from Liberty University - To God be ALL the glory - forever and ever, amen!!

“And may the Lamb receive His reward in me, And may the Lamb receive all the glory…” // - powerful lyrics from the song “Lamb” by Elevation Worship - that I always worshipped to on the way to and from my internship site over the past 7 months - as I have had the joy of counseling and walking alongside so many of God’s precious children (of all ages - young and old) in their unique life stories!

“…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory...” // Ephesians 3:17-21

Between all of the grad school assignments and many many internship hours (600+ !!) on top of being a mama, pastor’s wife, nursing my baby boy, and running EMC from home… this sure has been one busy and full season!! It has taught me a whole new dependence on the Lord and what we can do in HIS strength alone!! I am so grateful for this season that has stretched and grown me in all new ways, and to have finally finished this degree to be used for God’s glory as I follow His leading for my life!!

I was blessed with the most incredible supervisor at the most wonderful internship site!! And none of this would have been possible without my mom/best friend, Judson’s “Nana,” who watched Judson two days a week while I was finishing all of my internship hours! What a sweet blessing!

And my sweet boys and Wes who always showered me with flowers, coffee, and all the love and lunch dates along the way!!

It truly takes a village… and I am so thankful for ALL of my best friends and dear family who have championed me as I have finished this degree!! Thank you, Lord! {1 Thessalonians 5:11}