2016 in review

I remember sitting here at my computer on New Year’s Eve 2015 writing about our exciting year of changes. While I expected 2016 to be filled with new adventures, I had no idea just how many surprises were in store.

This past year started with our family of four living in a tiny apartment waiting for our new house to be completed. We completed a full remodel of that house, sold it and moved to our forever house on 6.5 acres in the Texas Hill Country. In between all of that moving, Gabriella began homeschool kindergarten, Brian got a big promotion at work, we helped host a River’s Lemonade Stand for Team River, I got a new car, the kids and I spent a week in Orlando visiting family, we took our annual summer trip to Horseshoe Bay, my niece Kaylin Paige was born (the fifth cousin in the family), Gabriella took swim and piano lessons, Preston turned 2 and started to talk up a storm, I got to join the cast of Listen To Your Mother, we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, and oh yeah, we had a baby!

Thank goodness for pictures or I wouldn’t remember all that has happened this year. Take a look at our 2016 slideshow:

We end this year excited for what is to come in 2017, but ready for a little less craziness. My hope is that we can settle in to our new life and have a few hundred completely ordinary, boring days next year where we play outside, cook together, listen for birds, tend our garden and enjoy the simple things in life.

This isn’t our year of having more, it isn’t our year of having less, it’s our year to just be. To be happy. To be content. To be present. To be connected. To just be. Ahhhh, isn’t that the life? Come on 2017, we’re ready for you.