Showing posts with label year in review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label year in review. Show all posts

Good Bye 2014

Friday, January 9, 2015

As I look back on all the photos I took during 2014, I can't help but be grateful.  Grateful for the amazing memories we made as a family.  It was a busy, fun-filled year, and it was so good to us.  I know most people highlight just a few things from their year, but I just can't do that.  This post is very photo heavy, as I chose to share photos that reflected some of the bigger celebrations each moth.

January
We took a trip to the other coast of Florida to camp and celebrate Caleb's 9th birthday.  It was great to camp on the water, explore the old fort, and relax.
February
Caleb and I attended the finals of the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian.  He got to meet a lot of the players, get autographs, and take photos.  On the drive home, he declared it the best day ever.
March
Michele and Lydia came down from Connecticut to help Madeline celebrate her 6th birthday at Splitsville in Downtown Disney.  We had a great time bowling and putt putt golfing.
Caleb played in tennis tournaments almost every weekend, but he sure enjoyed playing at the courts down the street from Deb and Andy.
We also went camping with several friends over "Spring Break".  We ALWAYS have a grand time with them, great fellowship and fun with dirt, too.
April
We managed to dye eggs before Easter and also have a little egg hunt at the house.
May
This was a very busy month for us.  Caleb had his first opportunity to be a ball kid at a local pro tennis tournament.  It won't be his last!
We took a boat out on the river to celebrate my birthday and Mother's Day.
We also celebrated my birthday with my sister and had fun trying to reinact an old high school photo.
Bammy also came down from Connecticut to celebrate her birthday at the end of the month.
June
I had my first roll of 35mm film developed that I shot using my SLR.  Loved it!
Madeline had her Spring recital and did amazing.  This girl of ours loves the stage.
We also managed to go camping at a new campground, one with a rodeo.  It was such a great time.  We're actually planning on returning real soon.
I also shot my second roll of film.
July
Michele and Lydia came down from Connecticut for the 4th of July/early Madeline's Family Day celebration.  The kids had a blast in the water area of the hotel.
My sister threw a joint super hero birthday party for Leah and Josh.  I had so much fun shooting this one!
August
We still had more camping in us, back at our local spot on the beach and still with glorious sunsets.
September
Havi finally got her balance bike, and she couldn't have been happier.
Caleb played in the State Doubles Championships for 10s and had a great time.
October
We flew up to Connecticut to help Lydia celebrate her 8th birthday.  We love Connecticut in the fall!
We didn't wait until the last minute to get pumpkins. Yay!
We took another boat out on Patrick's birthday. He said I couldn't be the only one getting a ride on the river for their birthday. So he fixed that. lol
Halloween saw a new costume, a repeat costume, and no costume.
November
The little peanut turned 3 and celebrated by hanging out at the tennis courts.

I had to throw in this out take from our Christmas card photo session at the end of the month, as I really didn't photograph anything else.
December
I think December is busy for everyone, and we are no exception.  Madeline had her winter recital and made a beautiful snowflake.
 We managed to celebrate Christmas with Mickey and his friends, in addition to doing so at home.
 We also had the opportunity to visit family in South Florida, ride a few rides and get some faces painted.
As I looked back at the photos I chose to share and those I chose not to, I realized that the ones I'm leaving out are the ones that reflect our every day.  Before bringing Havi home from China and Caleb's tennis training taking off, I did a much better job of not only capturing our every day moments but also sharing them on the blog.  It's been hard for me to find the time to post as much as I used to. And so often, those ordinary, everyday moments get edged out when something big happens that I want to share.  So in 2015, I hope to do a better job of getting those simple, everyday moments back up here on the blog.  And you just might see me try to slip in a few shots from recent months because I just can't help myself. lol

Well, we have a very big weekend planned.  Bammy is arriving today, and on Saturday we will be heading to the tennis tournament in the party bus.  We're really looking forward to celebrating Caleb's birthday in a fun and unique way. Can't wait to share all about it!

2013 Year in review

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Here it is! Finally!  And if you know me, you know I couldn't keep this post brief, which is why it has taken so long to put together.  After looking back at each month of 2013, I realized just how jam packed our year really was.  And what a good year it was!

January
I committed to get in front of the camera more last year, and I'm happy to say I did that.
 We celebrated Caleb's 8th birthday at Disney World.
We saw Havi's face for the first time and accepted her referral!
February
 Baseball season started, and the dumplings got to meet Doug Flutie.
 Madeline loved going to her dance class.
Lydia came down from Connecticut to celebrate Madeline's birthday with her.
March
We took the birthday girl out for a little celebration.
We had a low-key but fun Easter celebration.
 April
We spent many afternoons at the park.
 We had so much fun at a very special wedding. The cousins had a blast together.
 We received updated photos of our precious peanut, Havi.
 We sold our first home.
May
Disney was a great place to celebrate my birthday with my favorite peeps.
 The dumplings went fishing and enjoyed sunsets on the river.
June
Madeline had her dance recital.
Then we traveled the globe to meet our precious Havi.  
We spent some time in Beijing, Taiyuan, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
July
We took Havi to our favorite park and enjoyed finally being back home with her.  Caleb also started playing tennis.
 Madeline lost her first tooth!
August
We went camping with our friends and determined it was something we could get used to.
 We had fun celebrating Leah and Josh's birthdays.
  Much anticipated tennis tournaments began.
September
Tennis tournaments meant more cousin time.
 Our trailer was delivered.
October
So we began our camping adventures.  It's fun to camp at the beach.
 We walked with Team Gina.
 Caleb won his first tennis tournament.
 Gramma Ali and Grandpa Bob came for a visit.
 We had a little Fall fun with pumpkins and trick-or-treating.
November
We celebrated 6 years since meeting Caleb by taking him camping and going to the Magic Kingdom.
 Then we had a blast at our county fair.
 Caleb continued to play in tennis tournaments and do well.
 We celebrated Havi's 2nd birthday.
 December
We actually celebrated it twice when Lydia, Michele, and John came to visit after Thanksgiving.
 We had so much fun camping with friends.
 Havi's first Christmas was sheer joy.
 The year wouldn't have been complete without a south Florida Winter Carnival.

Wow!  What a year it was for us- full of love, fun, adventure, and togetherness.
We can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us.

About This Blog

This blog is the place where shared our lives while waiting to bring our daughters Madeline and Havi home from China. (Our son Caleb was already home before this blog began.) It is now the place where we continue to share our life experiences, both big and little, as we try to glorify God and raise our 3 dumplings from China.

Feel free to join us as we journey through life, while I try to capture our days...

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