When I started this blog, I chose to name it "living in his faithfulness" because when I look at my past, present and future I can see God's fingerprints all over my life. I know that he is faithful and even at times when I'm wondering why I cant sense his presence, I can look back and remind myself that he was always there guiding me and showing me piece by piece what his master plan is for my life. I can see how he has been faithful to us time and time again whether that meant providing for needs, answering prayers, making dreams come true, giving us unexplainable peace during the tougher times, and even joy beyond measure.
With my 5 year blogiversary I thought it would be fitting and fun to recap some of the highlights (and even a few low lights) from my life (our lives) over the past 5 years.
We saw some dreams come true!
-I went from being a part time front desk team leader at The Eye Center to a full time stay at home mom! This was truly a long time dream of mine that we thought couldn't happen financially and God made it happen.
Family Life:
-I got pregnant 3 more times since starting this blog. Sadly, I lost one baby, but with complete joy we also welcomed Ethan James (now 3) and Emsley Jeannette (now 1) to the family!
-Life is 10x more crazy and busy now than when we had just our little Elliana Faith! It's also much more full and sweet.
It's so fun to see how much Ellie has grown and changed in the last 5 years, and how she slipped into the big sister role with ease. I can't believe our Ellie will be starting Kindergarten this fall!
Here's a collage of Ellie over the years. Each picture was taken during the summer of that year;
-This past spring I made some DIY decorations for my MIL and FIL's retirement party. I had so much fun making the paper banners for this occasion that I've made a few more and *might* try selling them for special occasions. We'll see. In the meantime, I've really enjoyed working on them!
I look forward to what the future holds for our little family. I love this crazy adventure we're on, and knowing God is with us through it all.
Here's a collage of Ellie over the years. Each picture was taken during the summer of that year;
-I could show how each child has changed over the years, but that would that make this post very long, and I just wanted to show Ellie since she was the only child around when this blog started. :)
-The last 5 years have been full of sleepless nights, diaper changes, nursing, bottle feeding, baby food, pacifiers, sippy cups, crawling and toddling babes, potty training, etc. You get the idea.
-I very much look forward to the next 5 years. We will no longer be growing our family (in numbers) but raising our school aged children. I look forward to learning who they are as little people and not just knowing them as babies and toddlers. It's going to be a great adventure!
-In our extended family, since starting this blog, we also gained 1 sister-in-law (Amanda, married to Caleb's brother Nate), 1 brother-in-law (Brian, married to my sister Alli) my nephew Josiah (born May 2010), my niece Ashlynn (born Dec. 2010), and my niece Kailey (born July 2013).
Travels:
-Over the past 5 years, we have been to the Caribbean on a 5 year Anniversary Cruise, Kansas City, Tulsa, Nashville, San Diego, San Francisco, Austin, Vegas and small short trips to Denver, Colorado Springs and Breckenridge! Whew, we sure do get to do a lot. I'm SO thankful! Here's just a few favorite photos from a few of those trips:
2010 Caribbean Cruise
Just me and Caleb
Jan 2012 Nashville
Just me and Caleb again
June 2012 San Diego
Extended Howard Family (Caleb's family)
March 2014 Vegas
Sanchez Ladies (me, my sisters, BIL Brian, and my mom)
New Interests and Hobbies:
-Over the past 5 years I have gained a few new interests/hobbies. I have become much more interested in health and exercise, and where I once loathed any kind of cardiovascular activity, I now really enjoy going to the gym to run, use the elliptical, or do my weekly Zumba class. :)
-Around this time 2 years ago I began baking, decorating and selling iced sugar cookies and cupcakes for special occasions. Even though I would say this was pretty successful, it required a lot of time. Once baby #3 arrived, AKA Emsley, I put this on hold and haven't returned to this little hobby/business yet.
The Heartbreaks:
-Of course, the past 5 years haven't been all joy and no sorrow. The biggest and most unexpected heartbreak over the past 5 years was the loss of my beloved Grandma Nancy. I still miss her so to this day. Just today Ellie brought her up and said she was sad because she misses her. I look forward to the day when I see her again in heaven.
-Another heartbreak, although brief, was the scary news and journey of my dad's cancer. Thankfully this was a short-lived journey and he is now cancer free! Praise God!!
-One heartache that is very near to my heart, is the painful journey of infertility. I have loved ones that are still on this journey, and we don't know where their story ends. I have spent many hours in prayer for these loved ones, I still believe that God has a plan for them. Even though I don't know the specifics of his plans for them, I believe he will show himself faithful. My heart hurts when I see them hurt.
Other:
-One other major change over the last five years worth noting, was leaving the church both Caleb and I grew up in and finding a new one. This was not an easy process, but I am happy to say we have found a new church home that I can see our family staying at for many years to come. I look forward to the friendships that will grow from Mill City.
-Just this past spring Caleb and I both got smart phones! I also joined Instagram and am loving it!
Of course it's impossible to cover every important detail of our lives over the past 5 years, but I think I covered most of the highlights. I can honestly look back and say God was with us, faithfully carrying us through every joy and sorrow.
I look forward to what the future holds for our little family. I love this crazy adventure we're on, and knowing God is with us through it all.
2 comments:
I loved this post! It's so hard to believe that you only had baby Ellie when you started this blog. You guys have had so many changes in 5 years!
I love this post! I can't believe all the changes and adventures you two have had in these five years. Such a fun post!
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