I can't believe it's already the end of the year!! I know everyone says that, but it's true...I think we all find that time seems to slip away more quickly with every year that we call this Earth home.
So we've all been talking around our house the last few days about our favorite moments of this year. We have enjoyed laughing and reminiscing about the many, many moments that we have smiled, laughed, loved, and felt incredible joy. Many of the moments are great reminders of how loving, how faithful, how present God is in our lives. So without further ado, here are our family's Top Ten Favorites of 2011 (in no particular order, since they are all equally special to us!)...
1. Our family's first trip to Disney World--We took our first trip to Disney World to celebrate Jack's 4th birthday and Owen's 2nd birthday. We stayed for a few days, then Nana and Poppy and Aunt Anne and Uncle Jamie all joined us for a few more days. The entire week was, well, magical. There's no other word for it--it was so unbelievably magical and will always be such a special memory for our family.
2. We are officially diaper free! This year Owen potty-trained (very unexpectedly!) in about a day (Thanks to my sis-in-law Nicole (i.e., mom-of-four-boys and official-potty-training-expert). We (and our budget) could not be happier about this! Good boy, Owen!
**How did I not take even one picture to remember this huge moment?? Is it too late to take a picture of Owen holding up his big boy undies now?? 6 months late...**
3. Matt received a rather unexpected job promotion of taking over the in-patient rehab department of the hospital. This is yet another way God has abundantly provided for us, and we are so grateful. I'm so proud of you, Matt!
4. First day of school! This is always a much-talked-about event and a very special one this year, since it was Owen's first day of school ever and Jack's first day of his last year of preschool.
5. Our very lovable, cuddly, adorable nephew Tripp was born in April of this year. He is such a happy, sweet boy and a complete blessing to our family. AND he is the first of all my parents' grandkids to have RED hair! He is just precious!
AND...
Our beatiful, happy, little niece Emma was born in October of this year. She is the most well-behaved, content, sweet little girl, and I personally can. not. wait. to play dolls and have tea parties with her (with two sons and four nephews, we are up to our eyeballs in light sabers and Nerf guns!) Did I mention I cannot wait to have a tea party?
6. Bafokeng. Our sweet little boy from Lesotho that was born the same day as Jack. We just began to sponsor him through World Vision this year after our last child graduated from the program. So we let Jack pick a new boy, and he picked Bafokeng. A boy exactly his age on the other side of the world. So much in common. And yet worlds apart. We love him and we pray for him daily. (Terrible picture quality...but really sweet boy).
7. The beach trip has become something of a tradition with our family. Every year or two, we pack up and head to Charleston with Matt's family and enjoy a week together. It's always a fun time, and we love being with family for a whole week!
8. Our small group at church grew so large that we had to birth a new group early this year! Matt and I also officially became leaders, taking a GIANT step in faith that God would provide much-needed direction. The result has been an unbelievably amazing group of people whom we now count as our dearest friends. Jack and Owen adore their small group friends, and we all look forward to meeting each week. It's an amazing experience to have such an incredible group of people to do life with. We love y'all!
9. Summer Break--There's nothing like summer break when you're a kid--hot days filled with swimming, park playdates, trips to Dollywood, and picnics. We love summertime around here and many of our most favorite memories are made in this season.
10. We got new cars! At the end of April, we had some really rough storms with lots of hail, and our house and cars were very damaged. Both of our cars were totaled. Although the storms were devastating (much more so for many others), we were able to work with the insurance company to purchase two cars. We were blessed to be able to make this work financially because we definitely were not in a place to buy two cars before the storms.
And that's it, folks. Our 2011 highlights. If we could choose a theme for 2011 it would simply be that God is our Faithful Provider. From job promotions to new friends to new cars and to sweet new babies to hold and love, God has so richly blessed us. We are humbled and undeserving and so completely grateful that He would choose to love us so completely and show His favor in our lives.
Happy New Year to you all! May this year be filled with joy and blessings and many, many happy moments!
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