Year in Review

It's fun to look back and see how we've all grown and changed throughout the year.  And boy, was it a year for a lot of change with this family!

January

 

We started off the year with Eric having a talk with me about how serious he was about having weight loss surgery.  I was open to it, finally, and he whisked me off to an informational seminar early in January.  Little did I know how that first information meeting was going to change our lives!

We also had a 70th birthday party for my mom with lots of presents and friends.

A year has gone by and not much has changed in the case of Hudson's consumption of hot chocolate and whipped cream.

Evan played basketball and won an award at a tournament in Tulare.

I can still find the small dog and the small kid in front of the fire.

My partner teacher is still the best partner around!  And this year she has a new name because she got married!

February

We did a lot of this through January and February...watching Evan play basketball.

I drove my coworkers crazy by wearing mismatched socks under my boots.

I had a great 40th birthday, but I was so very sick.

It took several weeks to past this respiratory cold.  Ugh!

Hudson made his First Reconciliation.  It was a really special moment for our family!

Evan's soccer team went to the finals in State Cup and unfortunately lost.  (Don't worry...we would come back to take the title at the end of the year in December!)

Also this month, Eric and I went to several doctor appointments to move forward in his decision to have gastric surgery.  I was with him every step of the way and felt comfortable with the knowledge we gained.  At this point, the whole idea was still surreal, but it was looking like it was going to happen!

March

We started the month trying to get organized.  It always amazes me that we can find so much to toss on community pick up day.  I promise we don't live as hoarders.

Our Academic Decathlon team did better than ever before, and we took first place in Logic by a landslide!  That part was fun!

The kids participated in one whole track meet.

It really is fun to watch my boys perform athletically.

We joined the gym.

April

We celebrated Easter.

We had our accreditation visit at school.  My desk has NEVER been this clean!

Eric's surgery day.  This was taken after the surgery waiting to go home.  He has changed sooooooo much this year.  I'll never see him like this again...and I'm okay with that!  He has such a renewed outlook on life, great energy, increased confidence, and better health.

I can't seem to find a picture of Hudson's First Communion, but trust me, he was adorable!  It was a special and momentous occasion for our family. (I have a feeling those pictures are on the big camera.)

May

I read a book that quite frankly changed my life.  It helped me be okay with letting go of material possessions.  After putting many of this book's ideas into practice, it has been so freeing to let go of possessions and the guilt that can be attached to them.

One of the best things that happened in May was that Amanda got married!  She was stunning in her dress!

Eric, Hudson, and I participated in the Carry the Load Memorial Day walk.  We walked a half of a half marathon from the northern edge of Clovis to Downtown Clovis.  It was hard but so gratifying!

June

I made it through graduation and treated myself to a Diet Coke.

Last day of school.  Weirdos!

I made mango salsa for the first time, and I LOVE it!  I've made it several times this year.

We did a day trip to the beach with Evan's soccer team.  It was such a fun day!

July

I ran a six week summer school program.

We continued donating massive amounts of stuff to Goodwill and redesigned the uses of the rooms in our house.

I invested in new, expensive (for me) makeup, and my Junior High Team and I got busy developing our pilot iPad program.

Eric and I moved our bedroom to the living room for several weeks while we were doing a painted concrete look in our bedroom/sitting room.  It was weird being out here for weeks!

Cleaning the bedroom floor.

New painted floor!

The new couch in the retreat off of our bedroom.  This space is where we now spend most of our time.

August

Relaxing by the pool at the Westin in Mammoth.  Our nephew got married, so we had a mini vacation.  Driving through Yosemite was absolutely beautiful.

My friend, Aniesha, turned 40 and we spent a girls' weekend at a house in the middle of a vineyard in Paso Robles to celebrate.

Our air conditioning went out in August in the Central Valley.  That kind of sucked.

First day of school.

September

Hudson turned 8.

Basically, the month of September consisted of lots of work, lots of soccer, and lots of tired.

October

Evan turned 11 and requested a pet hamster of his own.  Introducing Edward.

We had a soccer game in the bay area, so we took a little side day trip to San Francisco to have sourdough bread at Boudin and hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardelli.

It is an 8th grade tradition to dress as a class theme for Halloween. This year we were Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.  Father Robert was Captain Hook and I was Wendy Darling.

November

Eric turned 47!  The boys and I drove to Hanford to have birthday lunch with Dad.  Oh how he loves his boys.  And oh how we love our guy!

We shopped with Grandma.  She had her knee replaced and was still recovering at this point.

A little elf named Buster came to live with us this year.  Hudson is amazed at how Buster moves around the house.

December

December was crazy, as always.  But it was fun.

By miracle of Christmas miracles, we didn't have soccer this day, and I was able to run the Jingle Bell Run down Christmas Tree Lane!

It was pretty far into December, but I finally got the decorations put up in the house.  Once it was all done, the house looked really pretty.

Evan's soccer team won FIRST place in State Cup in a pouring down monsoon.  The boys were so cold, but I think they would agree it was all worth it to hold that winner's cup trophy!

Hudson and Chloe in the Christmas Play with their instruments.  I love this little girl.  She is the spunkiest little thing!

This might just be my FAVORITE picture from the entire year taken on Christmas Eve.

It has been a great year with lots of happenings, life changes, and love.  Can't wait to see what is in store for 2016!