Hello 2019!

The week between Christmas and New Year will always be one of my favorite weeks of the year.  Some years we have been sick and some years we have been healthy.  Every year we have been together!  Zack takes a few days off between the two holidays so we can spend time together.  Sometimes we try to make big plans and then sometimes we change them to meet the needs of two cute little boys.  Zack and I have been spending these days together every year for the past 14 years.  Sometimes we have gone to the beach with family and sometimes we have made plans with friends.  Sometimes we have stayed put in our little town and enjoyed all it has to offer.  That is exactly what we did this year.  Here is how we spent our week together....

We went bowling!  Notice that daddy only beat mommy by one pin!

I went to the movies with mom, dad and Linds to see the new Mary Poppins movie.... we love seeing movies together especially when we saw the original together many years before.  This might become a new yearly tradition. ;)

 We took the boys to see a movie in the theaters!

 We went to the science center!

 We ate some ice cream (maybe more than once)!

We hooked up the Wii that has been collecting dust for the last five years.  The boys love the sports options and Mario Kart!

We had extra cuddles before bed!  Daddy bought a few new books at the science center that he loves to read with all his boys. :)

 I dressed the boys in matching outfits for church. :)

We also fit in a couple days full of bike rides and cuddles on the couch!

For New Year's Eve, we had the Whites and Williams family over for some yummy food and merriment!  The boys played together and then watched a movie while the adults and the little girls played Catch Phrase.  I only took pictures when the boys were still on the couch and, of course with the guy I've been spending New Year's Eve with since 2005!

As I look toward 2019, I am starting to reflect on what I can do differently this upcoming year.  I realize how truly blessed I am to have the family God has given me, friends that love and support me and a job I enjoy doing!  I have struggled these past couple years to really find contentment in the day to day.  I have great contentment in the big things in my life, but it seems like the days can wear me down.  They are filled with a lot of anxiety on my part and a lot of patience-trying moments.  It has been hard for me to navigate raising two energetic boys while also balancing the demands at work and in our home.  So this year I am going to work on myself.  As you will find any time you get on an airplane, the flight attendant always asks you to put on your oxygen mask before you help others.  This is something I am working toward this year.... I'm working toward making myself better so I can be the best version of myself for the boys that depend on me daily.  Please pray for me as I work through this.  This focus will cause me to say "no" sometimes to things and to say "yes" sometimes to things.  I hope that at the end of 2019 I can clearly see how this focus has positively impacted my whole family.  I am trusting God to lead me in the process.  He has always been with me through life's circumstances and will continue to go with me in 2019. 
Proverbs 16:9......."A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."