Wow! This year has been an awesome one, to say the least. We have encountered the Lord's blessings in so many ways this year, and it's so fun to reminisce on what has happened this year. Let's take it from the top.
In January, we moved our big girl to her big girl bed. She did so well and although we've had many "out of bed"experiences, overall she has done great, and it had to happen at some point. I can't believe it's already been a year!
It also snowed in January and Hannah got to have some fun, although I had her so bundled up that she couldn't really walk - ha!
At the end of January my precious friend, Ashley, had her sweet baby girl, Lauren Elizabeth. I remember that day like it was yesterday and I can't believe she will be celebrating her first birthday soon.
In February, Wesley turned 29 and enjoyed his birthday on the slopes in Colorado.
He's enjoyed his last year in his 20's and we're looking forward to celebrating a big birthday for him in February.
In March, I celebrated my 28th birthday. We kept it low key and just went to dinner. Why does Wes get to leave the state on his birthday, and I just get a dinner? Oh, maybe it's because I was 26 weeks pregnant and was realllllly enjoying food at that time!
In April we finished up preparations for our little one that was on the way and celebrated our last Easter together as a family of 3.
We were extremely blessed to meet Pastor Emmy with Parental Care Ministries for the first time. What an amazing man he is.
April was also spent having baby showers hosted by sweet friends and family to welcome baby Ethan.
And May...oh what a blessing this month was. My baby girl turned 2!!!!!!
I can't believe we are now closer to Miss Hannah's 3rd birthday than we are to her 2nd. Hannah has grown so big, so fast this year. She's talking up a storm and loves life.....most of the time. She's just an angel.
And my little angel Ethan was born on Mary 19!
Words can't describe the love I have for this little boy. A bond between a mother and son is something special and I feel so blessed to be able to experience this. The only word that comes to mind when describing Ethan is JOY. He's just pure sugar sweet.
After our unspeakable joy in May, we experienced an emotional roller coaster in June when our sweet, fragile boy was admitted to the hospital when he was just 19 days old.
This was a huge defining moment in my life and I'll never, ever forget how the Lord carried me through this situation. What a testimony of God's faithfulness. I'm thankful to have learned so much through this experience.
On a brighter note, Wesley enjoyed a father's day as a daddy of two!
In July we went to Galveston with my family for some much needed vacation time. Hannah had an absolute ball. She still talks about our beach trip. Good thing next year's trip is already booked!
We got some really exciting news from James and Jennifer in July, too. We found out that we were going to be an Aunt and Uncle (again)...for the first time on Wes' side. We've since found out that this little one is going to be a boy named Andrew. 6 short weeks until we meet him! We can't wait.
Another exciting moment was when Wesley's grandparents came to meet Ethan. I know their great grand children bring them so much joy, and I thin PaPaw is especially glad to have a Tyler great-grand son.
In August we celebrated our 7 year anniversary! The time has flown by and oh my, how anniversaries have changed. We used to have a weekend getaway and enjoy the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Now we settle for hearing water splash outside the bathtub, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
We also went to Oklahoma with Wesley's family in August. It was such a great time!
Hannah hit 2 milestones in August. One was that she became potty trained, and the other is that she started school. She goes to Mother's Day Out once a week now and she absolutely loves it.
We spent September trying to recover from a very busy summer. We made time for the local fair, though and Hannah had a great time. She loves her cousins and they made her feel like such a big girl letting her ride rides with them.
We also had Ethan's dedication at church in September. I'm so grateful our church has such a sweet time for families to publicly commit to raising their children to know the Lord.
Oh, and we also failed miserably at taking Hannah's pacifier away in September...but we won't stay on that subject long...
Moving on...
In October we just lived life. And there is never a dull moment with a 2 year old in the house.
Ethan had his first Halloween and doesn't he seem thrilled...?
In November Hannah turned 2 1/2, going on 12 1/2. She's got some sass to her, that's for sure.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with both of our families and the biggest thing I was thankful for, other than of course my family, friends, etc...was the health of my sweet baby boy. This little fella makes my life complete, and I can't imagine life without him. Even though his sickness in June was minor compared to what some families go through, it was, again, life changing.
December was crazy, as it always is. Parties, shopping, cooking, etc. But we tried to enjoy the season and really loved teaching Hannah about the true meaning of Christmas. We can see a seed being planted in her heart and that my friends, is worth every single crazy day we have together.
Thank you, Jesus for Your sweet blessings this year. No matter what this year holds for us, let us rest in You and Your goodness.
I hope your year was as blessed as ours.
