Dusting off the ol' Blog

6 months. That's how much time has passed since I last blogged. That's way too long and one of my New Years resolutions is to update our lives on here more often.

I could blame it on our busyness, but truth be told it's a combination of that, the fact that I'm tired all the time, and the fact that I've let Instagram substitute for updates on our lives. Instagram is okay, but even though a picture is worth a thousand words, I forget that words are often times better.

In the last 6 months much has happened. I figured since it's the new year I should start it off right. I want to kind of recap our crazy, busy, wonderful fall and thank God for all he did to finish out our 2014. I'm also looking forward to 2015 and what God has in store for us. 

Since I last blogged, so much has happened. I'll begin with the kiddos, youngest to oldest.

Our Emsley began walking just before her 14 month. We were all so excited for her! She took her first steps at the Howard family cabin.

We also dedicated Em to the Lord at our church on Sunday October 12th. It was a special day and we celebrated with family afterwards. We all love having Emsley around. She is turning out to be quite a ham and has us laughing on a daily basis.

Ethan began preschool 2 half days a week and is loving it! He was very shy and hesitant at first, but preschool is accomplishing all that we hoped it would in him. We knew he was doing okay academically, since he loves to learn and is obsessed with letters and numbers. We just thought he needed a nudge socially and in learning to be a bit more independent. We've seen him grow up a lot this fall. He has several friends at preschool and although he still melts down when he's tired, he's a lot more mature and social! Praise God!

Elliana started kindergarten and is loving that as well. We've never worried about her since she is so social and loves to learn as well. She is also flourishing! The biggest change I've seen in her is the way she has taken on her role as a big sister. She amazes me with the way she loves and cares for both Ethan and Emsley. Another big milestone for her is that just before her 6th birthday she lost her first tooth! She was so proud of herself.

At the end of October, I got to check a visit to New York off the bucket list! As a Christmas gift from Caleb's parents, the four of us stayed with Caleb's Aunt and Uncle for 5 days and the trip was everything I dreamed it would be! We saw everything from The Statue Of Liberty, One World Trade Center, 9-11 memorial, The Met, Rockefeller Center, Top of The Rock, Empire State Building, Central Park, Broadway, Times Square, etc.

The biggest highlights for me were ice skating in front of Rockefeller Center, seeing the fall colors, seeing Wicked on Broadway and going to the top of the Empire State Building at midnight with Caleb. It was a wonderful trip and one that I'll never forget.

In October we also visited California but not for a happy reason. Caleb's paternal grandmother, Jeannette Howard passed away and we went to celebrate her life at her lovely funeral. It was sad to be there for that reason, but also so good to see the rest of that side of the family.

In early November Caleb's volleyball team won State again this year and they completed another season undefeated! Their record is now 58-0!! There are no words to describe that moment, or how proud I am of him and his incredible team. They are so special, and not just athletically.

At the beginning of the fall Caleb and I finally joined a small group at our new church Mill City and we are enjoying getting to know more couples and families there. One of my goals for this year is to get on the worship team at church.

We ended 2014 with a whirlwind December. We celebrated Ellie's 6th birthday, my 33rd (gulp) birthday,

bought Ellie a betta fish as her first pet for Christmas (she named the fish Sophie),

and then took off to an indoor water park in South Dakota for a few days. It was a wonderful trip as well!

Whew! 2014 was so busy and so, so good to us. It's true what people say about the years going faster and faster. Here is my new favorite photo of my 3 littles on Christmas Eve.

We have much to look forward to in 2015 and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us. It's hard to believe that Caleb and I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage already! We've planned a trip to Santa Barbara in March to celebrate! Stay tuned, I promise to not go 6 months again. ;)

I hope your 2015 is off to a great start!