Friday, December 31, 2010

A look back...

As we all look ahead to 2011 with excitement and anticipation, I wanted to take just a minute to look back on the amazing year we were blessed with.  

January 2010 brought more snow and bitterly cold temperatures.  This snow stuck around until April!  The kids (especially Hudson) thoroughly enjoyed the chance to be outside in the white stuff.  Matt and I were thankful for the blessing of a snowblower.  Last winter served as a wonderful reminder to be thankful for the four seasons God has blessed us with.  We've never been SO excited to see green grass and flowers!


January also brought us lots of smiles and happy moments with all of our kids, and the chance to see the world explored again through the eyes Easton.  It's amazing to look back on the past year and see how much he's changed and grown!

February marked Matt's 35th birthday and Hudson's 5th birthday.  I am so thankful for the blessing of these two incredible guys!
March brought boys filled to the brim with imagination (we found them asleep one night on the floor -- they were "camping out") and....


 ...an amazing big sister who dotes on her baby brother and loves to play the piano.  (Can I just say how my heart soars whenever she plays?  I never have to coax her to practice.  It's the first thing she does in the morning even before getting dressed and eating breakfast.  And she will just sit down and play to relax.  Reminds me a bit of someone else I know....  It is such a blessing to have a piano and to be able to hear her play!)


April brought Easter egg hunts and the incredible gift of Jesus's resurrection, all to wipe away our sins.  The most amazing gift of all, and one we strive daily to share with our kids.  April also brought....
...7th birthdays for our special Samantha, who changed my life in ways I could never have imagined on that lovely April morning in 2003.  I am SO in awe of my first-born.  She is incredible!  April brought....
Easton's 1st birthday.  What a treasure this one is.  I cherish each and every moment with him, knowing he is my last "baby".  I have shed my fair share of tears this year over all of the "last 1sts".  But I also am filled with eternal gratitude for the gift of motherhood, that I get to explore the world all over again through his eyes.  I'll never grow tired of the awe and amazement with which this guy sees the world.  Finally, April brought....

...special time at the Topeka Tulip Festival with Great-Granpda and -Grandma Bennett and Aunt Shari.  The kids still talk about this lovely day!

May rolled in and brought....
soccer games...

...first haircuts...
...and preschool graduations.

June was jam-packed!
With June came the end of 1st grade (how can that even be?)...
...a "parents-only" trip to Cozumel, Mexico, filled with incredible scuba diving (which, by the way, is a blessing in and of itself -- underwater beauty is indescribable, and how anyone can scuba dive and not believe in God's meticulous creating and plan is still beyond me!), some rain, a zipline adventure, more rain, lots of time together...and that rain that ended up being Tropical Storm Alex.  But we had a fabulous time together, very well-deserved by hard-working husband!  June brought even more fun...
...as we rolled into July on our first "REAL" family vacation (without Easton, who stayed behind with Gramma and Poppa).  The kids were amazed by the Black Hills, and thrilled by the train in Hill City, in awe the someone would carve faces in a rock (Mt. Rushmore), and enamored with the bison and Sylvan Lake at Custer State Park.  Each week, one of them asks when we can go back!  They had a blast, and so did Matt & I!  I can't wait for Easton to join us!  July also brought...
...trips to the sprinkler park... 

...Hunter's 4th birthday!  When this little guy joined our family at the start of a heat wave in 2006, he brought indescribable joy and brought out the best in each one of us!  He continues to be a delight and so loving.  Such a blessing, my little surprise!  July also brought...
...bowling...
...bowling...
...our annual trip to Yankton for the Hoffman Family Camp-Out....

and a wonderful trip to the Ozarks with lots of family, including special time with Uncle Brian & Megan from California and the whole Gibbons clan.  

August rolled around, which meant...
 special time with our friends, the Bowens, in Grand Island...
... celebrating the end of summer with a trip to Mahoney's Aquatic Center...
...more bowling...

 
...the first day of Kingergarten and 2nd grade...
and the Cuming County Fair with Nana and Grandpa Steve (always a favorite!)

September brought mini-triathlons for Alyssa, Samantha and Grandma...
...the first day of 2nd-year preschool for Hunter...
...and more soccer for Samantha.

October meant...
...trips to the pumpkin patch...
...and Halloween with our good friends, the Wassenaars.

In November, we lost a first tooth, 
and counted our blessings for the year, which are abundant and endless.
In December, we celebrated Christmas with the Walters clan in our home, which is always such a blast and so much fun for us....
...welcomed new cousin, Dominic Christopher...
...baked Christmas cookies with our cousins and Gramma...

...sang in Christmas programs (as did Hunter, but my pictures didn't turn out very well...sad!)...
...and enjoyed more time with our cousins at Christmas, counting ourselves thankful for the most amazing gift God gave us -- the birth of His ONLY son, Jesus.  

We hope this year has been filled with as many blessings and laughter as ours has...from our family to yours, Happy New Year 2011!

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