It's Been A BIG Year!

Historically kicking off a new year brings hope and goals for the year, 2017 started out a bit different for us.  We started off the year celebrating Aspen and Afton turning two (though they weren't huge fans of their outfits hence the lack of a cute photo). We also found ourselves in a new church. This church would be exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.

See our 2017 started out strained.  We were without a church home and it showed. We were struggling in our marriage and Satan was picking away at any weakness he could find. Thankfully, our God is bigger and we landed in a church that would help get us through some of the tough days ahead. I could feel God saying "It's Me and Her" and we're all going to make it through this.

February brought the toughest days we'd seen in a long time. Valentine's day in itself isn't anything special to me, but the date February 14th is. Way back when in 2003 it was the date of the first date Rob and I went on. Strangely enough, it is also the day that it felt like our world was crashing down in 2017. We shared the straw that almost broke the camel's back in When You Let Your Guard Down. From there we had a choice to make, it would either define us or we could choose to keep fighting for what was important to us, US. We made the choice of us. The choice that started fourteen years ago. Thankfully we found our church home, Net Community, that helped us recenter God and our marriage. It wasn't easy, but through that I learned to let go. I learned to let go of a lot, and I tried to let it shine through to my parenting as well. More messes, more fun, (the laughter is totally worth most of the messes).

Those choices changed the course for the year and what would have normally been the hope of a new year, came a quarter of the way through. March brought Maui's 9th birthday.  We remembered how to dance in the rain and find the joy that comes through the raindrops. 

Some of us got (or gave) ourselves new haircuts (good-bye sweet baby curls).

In May, Rob and I took a trip to Mexico. We spent our time reconnecting and remembering how good we really have it. We remembered how important all the small things in life are because they really are what makes our life so great.

We spent the rest of the summer making memories with our kids. Playing at the park, eating ice cream way more than we probably should have, and laughing.

We got to experience some of the best gifts throughout our summer with our family. Maui went away to church camp for the first time and had a blast making new friends, though it was hard for me to believe she was old enough to go.

August brought a new school year. Maui began 4th grade at Beckemeyer, it was a big change for her, but she's adjusted well and is enjoying her new school. Brylynn began Pre-k this fall. I can't believe my sweet little girl is big enough for school, but she absolutely loves it and looks forward to it every day!

Now my babies are asking when they can go to school too...not yet, mama isn't quite ready!

Fall was marked with soccer and football. We've really come to love the fall season as a family. November was a whirlwind. We celebrated Bry's 4th birthday!

Over the years, we've continuously looked for houses that were big enough for our ever growing family. Nothing ever seemed right. This year we were yet again reminded that God's timing is perfect when we bought our forever home and said good-bye to the home that had been our first together. We were moving on and our realtor deserves some sort of award for dealing with us for the last eight years (Brandi Lentz)! On November 1, 2017 we closed on our forever home and couldn't be happier!

I had the honor of being sworn in as the Vice President of the Illinois Association of Court Clerks in November.

We also got Kevin the cat. For a cat, he's a pretty alright guy and has weaseled his way into our hearts and home. Thankfully, he and Tanner get along pretty well!

December brought us to our favorite holiday family traditions , memories, and celebrations in our new home.

We welcomed a new member to our family, our niece, Emilynn Grace Lemons!

We had the twins' 3rd birthday party (a little early) and a New Year's Eve party the same day to extend our time with family and friends!

 

It's been a big year. It's had ups and downs. It's seen tears of sorrow, laughter, and joy. Mostly, it's seen the beauty of love and a great reminder: 

Here's to 2018!