Looking Back at 2012.


Last year, Sean and I (along with Ryan and Bekah) wrote down our resolutions (hopes, dreams, etc.) for the year 2012. As we've done in the past, we waited and opened the jar holding these year-old slips of paper the following New Year’s Eve, anxious to discover what we'd hoped to accomplish, and to see if we were successful.

Among other things, Ryan hoped to graduate high school. Check.

Bekah wanted to Be Happy!...while also enjoying the first part of her Senior year in high school. Check. Check.

Sean wanted to further his career, be more patient with his children, and cherish every moment with his family. How sweet. Check. Check. Check.

I, apparently, wanted to lose 20 pounds, be more patient with my kids (common issue in this family), and “buy a van for Baby #3”... Hahaha! I actually have been more patient with my children, I think. I did get a bigger vehicle, though it is not a van and its purpose is not to make room for another baby. I did lose 15 pounds, so even though I may have gained some of that back, I’m checking that one off, too.

This is why I love this tradition. I didn't even realize it, but I have changed since ringing in 2012. It was so funny for me to read what I thought I wanted at the beginning of last year, knowing that I don’t quite feel the same today.

The past year has certainly been good to us. Here are a few highlights from each month:

January

Our annual Hilton Head trip provided many sweet memories for our family.



February

Sean turned 28 on the 18th.
It snowed! Ethan was not a fan.


March

A little somebody started pulling up...



April

We enjoyed Easter, Ethan's first.



May

My sweet Grace turned 4 years old! We celebrated at the beach with our birthday girl.



June

Ethan turned ONE and took his first steps!


Gracie performed in her very first dance recital! 


Our niece, Braelynn Raye, was born on the 15th of June AND Ryan graduated high school.

July

My little guy began to perfect his new walking skill. 
We spent lots of time outdoors and at the pool.



August

Ethan enjoyed his first boat ride with Memaw and Great-Granddaddy. 
We also enjoyed a visit to Busch Gardens this month.



September

We spent another weekend in Williamsburg, VA.
We fished, took another ride on the boat, and made a second trip to Busch Gardens. 
Gracie caught her first fish!


We also spent a beautiful week at Myrtle Beach. 


October

Sean and I had an amazing time on our Western Caribbean cruise!


Halloween was lots of fun. Gracie was Rapunzel and Ethan was a raccoon. :)


November

I turned 29 years old on the 11th! 
We spent Thanksgiving Day at my mom's house with my sister and her family.


December

Sean spent a week in India during the first week of December. 
He returned with many interesting stories and no desire to return.

We did our best to soak in all of the family gatherings and gift giving. 
I spent lots of time reflecting on how blessed we truly are.


2013 is going to be another exciting year! 

My sister will give birth to a baby girl in April, my brother-in 
-law and his wife are expecting their first child (a boy) in April, one of my closest friends in due in May, AND one of my step-sisters will welcome a new addition during the summer! I adore being an aunt to so many sweeties.

Comments

  1. Confessions From A Work-At-Home MomJanuary 10, 2013 at 10:30 AM

    "He returned with many interesting stories and no desire to return." <-- I LOL when I read this!

    I didn't realize so many babies were entering your world this year. December was the big "baby month" around here - I had TEN friends (many of them from back home) deliver December babies! PHEW!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lindsey SJanuary 11, 2013 at 4:33 PM

    I love all of your pictures! It looks like you had a wonderful year!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Decisions, Decisions...

...but I think I've made up my mind. I've been going back and forth, back and forth, practically since I started blogging 3 years ago: Public or Private blog? I've decided that since I share quite a bit about my family, and share lots of pictures of my children (some watermarked, most not), These Little Moments will now be a private blog. I've never felt comfortable with the fact that there are literally hundreds of photos of my daughter, our family members, and now my son posted on the Internet for anyone and everyone to see. For those of you who would like to continue keeping up with Gracie, Ethan, and our family, let me know! I will send you an invitation to the private blog. I'll still be following along with your blogs, just not publishing publicly on my own anymore. I'm going to go ahead and make the switch at the end of the week. And to those who I know are following along... Just expect an invitation! :)
Read more

The end is near.

My husband is confident. He's determined, speaks his mind, and lives for a challenge. If you tell him something cannot be done, be prepared to be proven wrong. I rarely see him get nervous, for any reason... almost. My 38-week appointment was this morning. As usual, Sean and Gracie were with me, which I love. I was anxious to get to this appointment because I started having uncomfortable cramping yesterday evening, which then lasted through the night and even into the morning. I've experienced a few other "preliminary signs" of labor which have led me to believe that we're coming up on the end here. After talking with the doctor, he offered to check my progress and strip my membranes. This is when I got a little tickled, even as I was sitting on an exam table naked from the waist down, with nothing but a paper sheet wrapped around me. As the doctor began to describe the "stripping of the membranes" process, I had my eyes on Sean. His expressions were...
Read more

Hilton Head.

Image
I was feeling heavy. Overwhelmed. Tired. The combination of sick children, sleep deprivation, and very little "me" time was starting to push me down a bit. I don't like feeling that way. I want to wake up with a smile on my face. I want to feel motivated and light . Our Hilton Head vacation arrived at the perfect time. Packing was a nightmare, but once our car hit the highway, I felt it... Freedom . It didn't matter that I was taking a sick child along, or that I was still going to be sleep deprived. Those things are easier to handle when you get a change in scenery, especially when that scenery becomes blue skies and an endless ocean. As we do each year in January, we joined Sean's dad and step-mom for a winter get-away. The weather was kind to us this year. Gracie loves the beach. She runs, and runs, and digs, and even plops down long enough to enjoy the change of scenery for herself. Ethan was unsure of the cool sand, but even he seemed to appreciate the fres...
Read more