How do you boil down one year and pick just a few favorite happenings? This year ROCKED. It was difficult and made me bone weary at times, but man, can I look back and see how God strengthened and helped me through. The countless times my prayers were answered, and how amazingly He provided for our needs at just the right moment. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it and rereading the moments in my journals. But I am hopeful that those stories and memories will pull me through yet another year of unknowns. Praying that I remember and dwell on His promises and how He's worked in the past. It's a beautiful thing that I don't want to forget! The bills that were paid by refund checks that just happened to show up, the many generous folks He used to help us out with health bills, and watching God move us from 30% to nearly 45% in less then 6 months! WOW!
Looking forward to another year and anxiously awaiting what He will do!
For now... let's take a look back on our year. We usually have a full memory jar to read through, however, we weren't so great about filling it after about April. So we will review in both texts and photos. :)
2018... you were good to us and I will look back and remember how God used this year to strengthen my mind and help me to lean on Him alone.
{these are in no particular order...}
- April 27th : Avenger's Date Night
- Jan. 2nd : had new friends over (Miss Aubrey, Aria, Buddy), had hot cocoa and snacks
- Jan. 26th : bonfire and pizza with the Bridges' family
- Jan. 5th : pizza night with the Ives family
- March 29-April 2 : time with Papa & MeMaw. Egg hunts, South Mtn. hike, park time, Bob Evans dinner, finding a KillDeer bird, Tim's bday celebration, and Easter Sunday
- Feb. 10th : our night with the Bostwick's!
- Feb. 11th : Family MUD FIGHT!
- Jan. : loved watching and listening to M read to everyone at night time
- Jan. 13th : M broke his hand helping Dad with fence work... soft cast for 1 week, hard cast for 6 weeks.
- April 17th : Tim & I got life insurance... feeling very grown up! ha
- Jan. 3 : spent the AM baking and enjoyed a lazy day at home
- April 12th : Pregnancy Care Banquet - a fancy date night out with church friends
- Jan. 6 : saw Star Wars while Aubrey watched the kids ... then I spent the evening with Liz watching the Crown and eating amazing scones
- March 1-4th : wkend with my folks!!! Nascar Museum, dinner out, girls day shopping!, saw Black Panther with our movie buddy, hiked our woods and enjoyed our time with Poppy & Nanny
- Jan. 25th : morning with the DeGraafs! played Playdoh, ate popcorn and us mommas got to chat!
- April 24th : membership class at C@D
- Jan. 23 : Began Financial Peace Unv. and the kids loved their night at the office with Miss Carolyn
- March 9th : Wood Family over for pizza!
- April 16 : shot video with Josh Wood for missions
- Feb. 21 : Day @ Nature Center... found a peaceful little beach
- April 26 : picnic & Park with the Wood girls after book club
- March 22 : play date with the Wood girls at their place
- Jan. 29th : got ER bills and insurance approval the same day in the mail!! GOD IS GOOD! along with a refund that'll help pay utility bill
- April 2 : hair appt. with Kara :)
- Jan. 12-15 : Aunt CiCi & Zeke visited us! Nature center visit, pizza, girls night, cousin bath time and time spentchatting
- Jan. 21: Jetton Park! picnic, WARM weather, followed by dinner with the Bridges' family at their place
- March 24 : renewed tags at DMV ... AWFUL experience
- April 15 : video skype and met Mike in Stockton
- March 18 : Jaxon's Bday party @ the park
- Jan. 1st : pancake breakfast, family nerf war, and time together relaxing
- April 14 : Girl's party @ Chic-fil-a for Aubrey and Autumn
- March 25 : Rudolph Celebration at C@D!
- Feb. 20 : Milo's cast off!!! and completely healed
- April : started book club with some ladies, thursdays 9-11
- Jan. 4 : Chic-fil-a in the AM with mom friends and met Liz for some chit chat PM
- Dec. 30th : a silly conversation with N while I was giving her a bath...
N: "Mommy, you got Jesus all wet!"
M: what?
N: "Mom, you know, Jesus lives in me and you... and you just got him all wet. But it's okay, because he likes baths."
Well that's all of the written memories we had in our memory jar... however here are a few more snapshots of our favorite memories through the rest of the months ... in no particular order either!
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thankful for this little monitor that I wore the WHOLE month of Nov. -
they now know what I need help with and we are moving towards action steps. |
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| harvest festivals are our favorite! |
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another broken bone for the year ...
E broke the top of his foot while wrestling his brothers. |
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| more time with Nanny ... and nail painting |
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| best time stories with Daddy never get old and are a family favorite |
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M spent a lot of time this fall helping our neighbors in their yards
and saving his money to help purchase a goat for a family in need through Holt International.
So proud of that kid's big heart! |
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| He's been a good pup this year and has melted right in with the gang . |
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we spent our Thanksgiving with this wonderful family!!
It was a great meal and even better conversation.
So thankful for them! |
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| another visit from MeMaw!!! We were thrilled to host her |
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watching these two grow this year has been a joy ...
their relationship is strong and I love the bond they share. |
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video chats with our grand poppy are the very best!!!
Looking foward to more of them in 2019 |
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a perfect fall evening... the echos of kids laughing & playing tag long into the dark,
crickets chirping, neighbors chatting, and the glow of our front yard lights.
I sure do LOVE our tiny piece of home here in NC and the neighborhood God placed us in. |
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| a fun girls day out for a special friend's tea party! |
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| we were hit by 2 hurricanes within a month ... luckily we can dig a good trench |
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| prepped and ready for our fall gathering with the neighbors! |
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| time with papa, hiking the AT ! |
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| another fun bday celebration for a bestie! |
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| a favorite family pic from the year |
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the location of our women's retreat!!
so peaceful |
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| it was a perfect weekend filled with laughter, good food, scripture, bonfires and authenticity. |
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| neighbor kids and mud! can't beat it |
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| we've all grown to LOVE our tuesday game nights!!!! |
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| happy halloween! |
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our retreat not only was nestled in the beauty of mountains...
but was on a farm with cows and chickens! my heart was so full! |
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part of our hard working women's ministry team!!!
LOVE these ladies! this year has ROCKED with them by my side |
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| another Saturday ... another trail |
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i wanted to capture our every day ...
and there's something special that i LOVE about our family dinners |
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| another fundraising road trip to MI to speak at a church |
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| sibling love |
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| SO grateful for Living Hope and their partnership with us as we head to England! |
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moments I'll never forget...
watching Wizard of Oz with my kids AND my poppy |
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| this kid turned EIGHT this year!!! WHAT?!?! |
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my little T like me to lay and snuggle with him while daddy reads to them at night...
sometime i happen to doze off with the boys . |
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we were given a small cash gift from parents and were able to
visit our local farmer's market. We got delicious steaks, fresh veggies and fruits and some gorgeous flowers. |
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a perfect picture of summer...
complete with a special treat from our neighbors! |
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| we spent a TON of time at our picnic table ... picnic lunches were a must on cool summer afternoons |
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| a visit from Uncle Scott! always fun and exciting |
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| sweaty, sweet faces is what our summer looked like |
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| M learning a new skill! |
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| a visit with Nanny |
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| fireworks over Lake Norman and best friends |
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| ZOO trips! |
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| the beginning of something beautiful!!! |
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| one of the many family hikes we took this year |
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| school time outdoors... it's what we love best |
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| nature trails with friends |
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| pizza with co-workers who become good friends! |
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| one of our favorite evenings! |
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| school at our turquoise table is always better |
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| good looking Sunday! |
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| celebrating new friends! |
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| gull lake summer camp! |
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| cousin shot ... which is already out of date. haha |
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| fire station with Poppy - always a favorite thing to do on visits |
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| Popsicles with the Potts! |
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| bonfire with Poppy & Nanny ... a new summer fave |
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| generational fish fry conversations |
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always happy to be home and with my poppy!
time well spent! |
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| checking out Nanny's jewels |
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| good friends and beach time |
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| smores with my bestie... and a bit of a food fight with laugher!! |
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LOVE this girl!
This year has been such a good year of friendship. |
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| we had a nice little homeschool lesson at the Wilkinson homestead learning about Bees! |
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| these two have become inseparable |
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Memorial Day Weekend family camp out in our back yard!!
it's a tradition |
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| swimming with our friends, the Woods! best summer days! |
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We celebrated the Royal Wedding with flair and style!
And really got into the whole day... we had a royal breakfast and enjoyed watching reruns all day |
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| this year i've enjoyed watching our children worship. |
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| sweet and peaceful moments in our favorite new spot |
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| bucket list check.... picking fresh strawberries |
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spontaneous family road trip to Charleston, SC!
What a great day! |
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| we had a blast exploring downtown and walking the streets |
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| we also visited the Angel Oak Tree... it was amazing |
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and we ended the day watching the waves of the ocean ... bliss!
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To see our December highlights...
click here.
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