Christmas–my favorite time of year! We drove through a fun light display, visited Santa, went to family and work parties, made a gingerbread house, attended school programs, wrapped gifts, and just had the best time!

Decorating the tree very carefully.

Hi, cute boy!

We even made a yule log!

Turns out Easton loves playing dreidel!

Amelie as one of the Crachit children during a holiday program.

Our little drummer boy. At least one child is looking at the camera and smiling, even if it’s not our child.

The cutest little lamb ever.

Calder’s part was officially titled, “Small Boy.”

A fun evening with Grandma and Grandpa Haymond! It was at this very moment that Easton pulled this nice button down shirt and said, “This looks like something a dead guy would wear!” 4 year-olds…

Liam with his new Buzz toy. Only one of his favorite characters ever.

Santa brought Calder batteries so that he could finally play with Bryce’s super cool remote control car that’s been sitting in our closet for years.

With her new art set.

A train table!

This chocolate has beef jerky in it. And Bryce loved it. Seriously.

Hugs for Tigger! Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Austin!

A tradition passed down through the Haymond family. Everyone gets a box of their favorite cereal.

Having a deep conversation with Santa.

All Liam knew was that he should smile for the camera. And that this guy gave him a big candy cane. Pretty great in his book!

The house. I let the kids handle all the decorating this year. Well, I wrote those letters, but other than that. The gingerbread is an Austin tradition that we love.

Ornament cupcakes for Christmas Day.

And last but not least, the game Pie Face from Aunt Bobbe and Uncle Walter. You spin to see how many times you have to turn the handle, click the handle, and wonder if the next click will send the whipped cream smack into your face. In other words, the kids are crazy about it.

What a great time of year!

2015 was officially the Year of the Doula for me. This work is so amazingly fulfilling! I currently work with a partner. We visit each client twice in their home for prenatal visits, attend the birth (taking 6 hour shifts), and then visit each client in their home for a postpartum visit. The families I have met through this work have had such an impact on me and being invited to share that sacred birthing space with them is such an honor. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be involved in a work that is exciting, fulfilling, challenging, and so filled with love. This year, I’ve also started mentoring Birthing from Within classes. I teach group classes at a local midwifery office and also teach private classes. I adore teaching and look forward to each class session with these expectant parents. It’s energizing and always interesting as each parent brings new questions and experiences to the class. Here’s my Doula Year in Review:

*Partnered up with Ashlie Hashimoto and did a total overhaul of my website (www.doularaven.com). Soon we’ll be rolling out a new brand name to better reflect our partnership, so stay tuned!

*Worked with 22 families to prepare for their births.

*Attended 20 births.

*Spent 127 hours supporting families in labor. (Taking 6 hour shifts has been a game changer! This means that I always know when I’ll be home and that our clients always have a well-rested doula by their side.)

*Certified with DONA.

*Trained with Birthing from Within to mentor classes. I’ve been working very hard on my home-study packet and will be attending an advanced mentor retreat in April. Lots and lots of reading, studying, and practicing.

*Started mentoring classes in September and am just wrapping up my third series.

*Attended an advanced training to learn how to support survivors of abuse as they birth. This week, I’ll begin another advanced training on how to support parents who have lost a child to miscarriage or stillbirth. These are hard, heavy topics, but they are critical to my work.

*Served as the Secretary for the Utah Doula Association and was voted in as the President-Elect for 2016. This means that I will be President come 2017. We host monthly mentoring meetings, a yearly academic conference, a yearly retreat, and support our members (about 150 right now). Our current big project is a brand new website that we’ll be rolling out next month.

*Goals for 2016: Attend 30-40 births, mentor 5 class series, and continue to improve the quality of my services.

This work is definitely never boring! It brings me so much joy and motivates me to continue learning and growing.

They both came out in the same night!

In March of this year, a new Girl Scout troop started up in our area and Amelie became an official Girl Scout! In Girl Scouts, you are grouped according to grade (not age), so she was a Brownie. She only had half a year as a Brownie because once you start 4th grade you become a Junior. It’s been a lot of fun! Working on badges and skills, going to troop meetings, and attending awesome camps–it’s been a great experience for Amelie.

This summer, she attended Horse Camp. She got to stay the night at Trefoil Ranch up in Provo Canyon and learn all about taking care of horses. She spent several hours riding, too, and told us that she loved it and can’t wait to do it again next year. In September, she stayed the night at Camp Cloud Rim in Park City. This camp was an arts and crafts camp, so totally up her ally. She sewed a little toy, made a piece of pottery, made paper crafts, and had so much fun. The locations of the Girl Scout properties are stunning! Really gorgeous. I’m so glad she gets to have these enriching experiences out in beautiful surroundings.

This past weekend, Amelie and Bryce got to spend the night together at the Natural History Museum! They packed up their sleeping bags and pj’s and headed out on their little adventure. The museum led science experiments and fun activities for the girls. Amelie came home with a pet worm, electronic contraptions, a gumdrop tower, a painted cast of dinosaur skin, and a baggie of little bones from some owl pellets that they dissected (not scrapbooking those!).

Best Daddy/Daughter Date ever!

She called this The Leaning Tower of Gumdrops.

Cute Girl Scout.

Lots of cool stuff at the museum!

Girl Scouts is such a fun and enriching program and we’re very glad to be a part of it!

Happy Birthday, dear Calder! 7 years old–amazing! This silly, bashful, intelligent, and very tall boy is so much fun. He loves LEGOs, has just discovered the world of Minecraft, can do cool tricks on his scooter, and is beyond excited for the new Star Wars movie to come out later this year.

Taking a good look at our little man. Someday, Calder can point to this picture and say, “See? That’s my dad using this weird thing called a camcorder. Weird, huh?”

This guy has been silly and affectionate from the start. I love when he comes up to me at unexpected moments, puts his arms around me, and says, “I love you.”

He loves being outside, exploring and playing and fishing. He’s so excited for the day when we start taking overnight camping trips and wants to be a runner just like Daddy.

You know how they say people have a heart of gold? Well, that’s Calder. Deep down, he just wants to love and be loved.

He’s so full of life and has a fantastic sense of humor. He can be a total goofball sometimes and keeps us all laughing.

He’s got big dreams. He wants to invent things, run a pizza shop, and be a firefighter.

I know that sometimes having younger brothers makes him feel like this. It can be hard!

But when I’m old and gray and he’s off conquering the world, it’s this sweet face that I’ll remember. What a sweetheart.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. You are a light in this world and I hope you always know how much you are loved.