My Year in Review 2013

This is my first year in review with pictures. I don't think I can stick to just one picture a month but I will try. I think this is a really good way for me to look back thru the year and remind myself of all the good, bad, fun, stressful, and really how good God has been to us. If you remember last year at this time, I wrote a blog about a word I was going to focus on- GRACE. You can read that blog here. And truly it was. I'm continuing to learn how much Grace is woven into my life and I'm sure I will never have a complete understanding of it, that is just how awesome it is. And even as I'm constantly reminded of it, this is a new year and a new focus.

 January

Our whole family was involved in a friend's wedding. Bryan was one of the people who gave the charge at the wedding, I was the Matron of Honor, Daniel was the ring bearer, and Aaron was the junior groom. The boys did so well, and it was a fun day. Tho the boys didn't last the entire day, it was a really fun day and nice that we were all involved. 

February 

This month brought a couple of birthdays. We celebrated Daniel turning 5 and with that a lot of different emotions as I know we were entering a new phase of life! Then we also welcomed a new nephew, Landon Kurty. The boys do so good with babies and they enjoy visiting them when Mommy gives them a chance. 

March

Not a whole lot happened in this month. I still had the boys in swimming and tho they loved doing it, I could tell they were not progressing and were getting frustrated. I believe this was the last month for them as I knew summer was coming and I wanted them to just start experiencing swimming as something fun to do. This month I also started running outside consistently, determined to get healthy and enjoy this activity. 

April

This month brought me to Minneapolis to be a part of my sister and brother-in-law's commissioning service to be missionaries in Spain. It was a WONDERFUL time and I have memories that will last a lifetime! It was the last time my family (the original six) was together. We also celebrated Easter, one of my favorite holidays.

May

May not only brought Mother's Day but it was also the month we took a trip to Pittsburgh to be with my mother-in-law while she went in for surgery for breast cancer. We praise God that all the tests and follow up appointments were good reports and she is now in remission!!! We spent the day at the Science Museum and it was a great day to be together and keep our minds occupied.

 

June

These pictures really describe our summer. We did a lot of swimming, getting together with people, going for ice cream, having some picnics, lots of parks, and really enjoying the warmer weather. We really just enjoyed being home and keeping our days lazy but busy when we wanted. Enjoying the last summer before school changed our lives, in a good way. 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

July

We continued on with our summer but we added a 5k race on the 4th of July and a Curve baseball game. Those were some fun days! 

 August

This was the month that we put the boys into soccer. I am a fan of the game, grew up playing street soccer in Ecuador, its a game I love and understand. Bryan was the boys coach, which I found to be one of the dearest things to watch. He enjoyed the teaching/coaching opportunity. The boys did very well in it, and really liked having that to look forward to.  Also at the very beginning of this month, Bryan took a trip to Washington state to help his brother and sister-in-law move out there to take a job as youth pastor. He was gone for about 10 days and enjoyed a lot of sight-seeing. I also joined a MOPS group at our church.

September 

This was one of the biggest months for us. Daniel started Kindergarten!!! It was a big day, a long day for me, but he LOVED it and continues to love school and learning. He is doing very well, and we have settled into a nice routine. It has definitely made our schedule much more busy and very different from what I'm used to. Then to add to the different and busy schedule, I started babysitting a wonderful little baby boy, Braxton! He is a delight to have in our home during the day.

October 

This month was marked by a visit to Appalachian Bible College in WV. We had been wanting to take a visit there while a couple of our good friends were going there. It was a great time! The boys loved staying in a hotel for the night and we really enjoyed catching up with friends and seeing their life there. Memories not to be forgotten.

November 

Of course this is the month that we celebrated Thanksgiving, and we had a special one as my mother was able to spend it with us. She was here in the states because we welcomed another nephew into this world, Peyton Gardner! So she was out in Colorado, helping my sister, but flew here at the end of her trip. It was SO nice to have her here during this, I was really missing my family, so it was good timing! But before that, this month had a couple of OCC events. One of them being an All-Nighter with the teens at Grace (our church). I was very excited to meet some new faces but not looking forward to being up all night. Those that know me, know I don't do well with no sleep. But it turned out to be a pretty fun night! It was a great opportunity and we survived :-) We also packed some more boxes at the MOPS meeting that month.

December 

Not a whole lot to tell about this month, only that we do a couple different traditions throughout this month and having Danny in school, added a school program. He and his class did so well!! He looked so grown up to me on stage, I had to fight back tears. I was very exited about this Christmas as we were going to celebrate it much how I remember Christmas growing up. It was just us 4 in the morning hours and we got to take our time, enjoying the moments. Later family came over and we were also able to Skype with family far away, but it was low key, a very homey Christmas. 

Looking to next year, there is a concept I'm going to focus on. Not just one word, but something I know is a struggle for me and something I need to grow in. I will be studying the book of Ephesians at the beginning of the year which is appropriate for my focus. I will be focusing on the concept of IN CHRIST. My identity is in Christ. As this new year unfolds, and whatever it may bring, I want my focus to be that when I find myself in Christ, nothing else matters.