Christmas has come and gone…New Years has come and gone…it’s officially 2017! Boy was I stoked to say peace out to 2016. It was the best of times, and the worst of times. I am not a “new year, new me” resolutions type person but certainly enjoy the concept of closing a chapter and beginning a new one and that’s how I always view a new year as it begins.



I've been particularly looking forward to 2017. 7 is my fav number. Did you know that in spiritual numerology that 6 is the number of man, and 7 is the number of the divine? I heard a sermon about how 6 is what we achieve on our own efforts, and 7 is what we achieve through supernatural strength/God's help - in reference to the story of the wall of Jericho. So whether that all means anything or not, 7 has always been my favourite number and I would love to believe for all of us that 2017 will be a great year where wonderful things happen. Of course, this is the year I become a mom and get to meet my daughter! I am so so excited about that. Oh ya - in case you aren't on my social media, we are having a little girl! I can’t even really have a bad day because I just go back to thinking about my baby and then am instantly cheered up. It has really started to sink in that in less than 5 months, our family addition will be here. I added some girly stuff to the registry, found my dream crib online last night, have been researching how to sew because I am going to attempt to spend these cold winter months working out some sewing patterns…and today I finally hit the “Place order” button to purchase our cloth diaper supplies. As I write this, Scott is upstairs scraping the ceiling of the nursery down and patching holes in the walls before we install crown moulding, new lighting, and paint. I keep hearing whispers of shower plans in the coming months…It’s an exciting time! It means so much to me to have people excited with us...it still surprises me when so many people like my posts! It is truly humbling to see how many people care and support this long journey. 


The holidays were super fun as we got to tell everyone the gender. We found out on the 21st ourselves, and then I called my parents because my mom didn’t want to wait to find out in any meaningful way in person as she wanted time to shop for Christmas - lol! A highlight of that phone call was when my dad said “the most we can hope for is she is just like you”. (Awww.) We facetimed my aunts and cousins Christmas Eve to tell them all. For that we just covered an empty Christmas tree in dresses and turned the screen to show them. It was pretty funny. Christmas Day my mom came down with three large gift bags of gifts for baby! I was like "omg mom are you serious?!" In a matter of two days she had gone shopping and wrapped it all. One of the bags though was extra special, as it contained a Madeline and Paddington Bear along with their respective books, which we learned my dad had bought and brought back from Florida. So that was really touching! You can see the two guys in our gender reveal announcement photo below. On Boxing Day, we told all of Scott’s family, this time with gifts for all the girls that they had to open at the same time. Each box had a baby girl’s outfit in it that was pink to hopefully make the surprise obvious. Everyone was overjoyed! Our baby girl also got some neat homemade gifts from family that day. Our Facebook announcement came the 30th, with an idea that Scott had. I personally was really torn about the gender reveal. I know it comes off kind of snobby but I just find so many ideas overdone, not personally creative, and cliche. I think as a photographer I see those kind of ideas overdone more than other people - so I was just over the balloons, cake or smoke bombs and therefore wasn’t even sure we would announce the gender at all, or at least we would just do something really simple like “hey everyone! it’s a girl!” lol. I think this “it’s all been done” mentality also comes from TTC for 4 years. I would see a new fresh idea and be like “ooo I am so doing that!” and then a year would pass and every pregnancy announcement would be that idea, we never got the change to do it, and it would grow old. Then the cycle would repeat, and repeat again, and eventually I was just out of ideas and probably just angry at the whole thing and how we kept missing out. So when Scott announced “I know how I want to announce it!” I was excited to hear his idea, as I know he doesn’t patrol Pinterest or even pay attention to FB and so it was more likely his idea would be unique. I told him the idea was perfect - and so we shared it online and it was very widely loved and everyone was “tickled pink” har har har. There is something special about a daddy and his girl and I love how this announcement celebrates and anticipates that bond. Scott will be such a great dad to this little lady!


I have finally started indulging in baby shopping! I had picked up stuff at random before we knew the gender, which was funny because I mostly bought girl stuff. Now that we know it's a girl, we did a little spree with the boxing week sales and I also bought 31 pieces of clothing for $15 at the local thrift store, which was a total steal as they are all really nice pieces and for the most part in like-new condition, ranging in size from newborn to one year old! So it finally begins - shopping, crafting, decorating...getting ready for our little girl's arrival.

This year I also have big goals with my Young Living business as we grow our team and continue to provide amazing natural health solutions to families. There are different ranks in the company and therefore different pay levels, like in any business or hired position. My goal is to turn what has been a hobby income (was getting about $250 a month) into a sustainable home income by the end of the year. I want to hit the rank of Silver in 2017 which is a very comfortable income to replace what I was doing after slowing my photography business down. This love for essential oils and the decision to turn it into a business was totally unplanned but has been such a life-giving and exciting journey, and having the opportunity to stay at home as a mom and contribute to the family finances is rare so I am blessed and thankful. Hearing the testimonies that people share makes all the work side of things so worth it - I love feeling like what I do is truly making a difference - it honestly doesn’t even feel like work. Scott also supports this decision 100% and is really excited about it too which is important to me, as his support with my photography business has always made all the difference. This month I am officially launching our essential oils website which will be loaded with tons of resources and goodies. Please do consider joining us and our team this year if you’ve been considering essential oils. We would love for you to support this venture and would love to help and connect with you! We also have an awesome special on this month if you start the New Year with the purchase of your Premium Starter Kit - receive a bonus 15ml Stress Away blend oil for free. A blend I personally think EVERY person needs! It works wonders and is one of my favourites! This month I am also hosting a Young Living 101 event at my home for anyone interested in learning more about the business and to have their questions answered. I have a Platinum member and good friend coming out to share her experience, and help us all understand the best way to run a successful business! Here is the 2015 income disclosure statement for Young Living if you are curious what kind of incomes are possible with commitment and longevity: https://static.youngliving.com/en-US/IMAGES/incomedisclosurestatement_image_us.jpg (income is USD). If you would like to learn more, shoot me an email: samantha.macandrew@gmail.com and I’d be happy to extend an invitation.


Well that is the update! Can’t wait to post nursery before and after’s - and am stoked for our new essential oils website launch where we can hopefully inspire others to chuck the toxins and start breathing clean and living fresh! Cheers to a new year! 2017 is gonna rock :)