We rang in 2016 celebrating in Orlando, FL this year! A great way to end a fun surprise Christmas family vacation!
Trying to squeeze everyone in the picture!
"Chinking" our glasses and everyone thinks it's hilarious to give bunny ears!
Serious pose (apparently!) of the boys! This was Owen's first time having sparkling juice and he LOVED it!
I really love to reminisce a bit and look back over the whole year, seeing a bigger piece of our life's puzzle each New Year. See where we're at as a family, each kid individually and our relationships together, what's important to us, how we've grown, what we've accomplished, etc. It's a reminder we're on a journey and growing. Our lives are paths that can be winding - they should and do change - we need to keep growing!
At church we've been talking about ensuring our navigation is set on course, if even a few degrees off, we'll miss the mark planned for us. We can realign Who is our compass, adjust our priorities, remove distractions but need to be able to hear His voice to guide. That's been really powerful for me. To strive to live intentionally, not just get by, survive, reflect, but be present and focused so my actions, words, and attitude are intentional and in line with God's perspective. I've been fortunate to have supportive friends (and husband!) to help lend His perspective when I get caught up in the short sightedness of situations - work in progress! :)
Looking at 2015 as a puzzle piece, or season, it truly has been one of discovery. I'm so thankful for that! We've embraced our family, intentionally invested in our faith and building a foundation for our kids, had many meaningful conversations, tried new techniques and therapies in development, parenting and discipline. We're finding our routine and navigating through new experiences, supporting each other and loving each other.
We also took 2 awesome family road trip vacations to Massachusetts and Florida that we're sure to remember! We survived and had a lot of fun! Nich and I celebrated 10 forever years of marriage! Landon had major surgery (double hip reconstruction) with a long recovery. Hailey, Brooke and I got involved in American Heritage Girls. Brennan and Brooke finished their first year of general Ed with flying colors and started in the same Kindergarten class! Brennan's learning Braille and Brooke and Hailey are excited to read with him. Hailey joined Kinex program at school to support fellow students with disabilities. Brennan and Brooke worked through challenges on the bus. Owen started talking and is continuing to learn and grow!
So as has become our tradition, the kid's came up with their New Year's Resolutions:
- Hailey: to make a Hershey Kiss (We planned our next vacation to Hershey, PA and Virginia!)
- Brennan: to make marshmallows
- Brooke: to show others love
each day
I love seeing a glimpse into what's important for them, or just what's on their mind :) We'll see how we do this upcoming year! Here's to 2015 and looking forward to what's in store in 2016!
