looking back at 2016

Look how little they look at the beginning of 2016!

One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to go back through my pictures and see all of the fun things we did throughout the year. 2016 was a good one for our family. Our kids all grew up so much over the last year!

In January it snowed. A LOT. I'm talking a blizzard for the south! We got like 7 inches and the town pretty much shut down. It was beautiful & the kids loved it...but 4 days of being homebound was a bit more than we can handle. I look forward to the days where it doesn't take 45 minutes to get the kids ready for snow.

This girl was sick a majority of February but she knows how to rally. She is the toughest girl I know!

February was hard. We started a rough 6-7 weeks of constant sickness for sweet Cheney. She had lots of high fevers & lots of stomach viruses. She and I missed a bunch of school, spent lots of time with our favorite pediatrician, & even some (not so fun) times at the hospital. We also learned that my mom had lung cancer. February was full of scary & unknown things but it really taught me to lean on the Lord. He is good all the time. (and also? we got some answers about our girl AND my mom is now cancer free. YAY!) I also got a minivan in February and it was a GAME CHANGER. I never thought I would be excited about a minivan....but I am obsessed.

In March it finally warmed up; a time our family always appreciates because we love being outside! Baseball season started for Grayson & he had a fun time playing with several friends. We went to Georgia for spring break and spent the week at my old house hanging out with family. We also celebrated Easter with lots of egg hunts with friends!

We spent our weekends at the ball fields in April. Cheney was finally HEALTHY. Grayson got to have kindergarten sneak a peek at Lipscomb & we all got to ride the bus and take a tour of the school. He LOVED the bus and was officially ready to start in August!

May was a fun & busy month! We spent Mother's Day at the Sounds game with Grayson's baseball team! They got to go out on the field with the players and stand out on the field during the National Anthem. It was so fun! The little kids also finished out their preschool year with the preschool program (Cheney totally stole the show--little performer) & Grayson graduated from pre-k!

In June we spent a week in Hilton Head with my parents! We had so much fun that we booked our 2017 trip almost immediately after! Grayson really learned how to swim & really enjoyed the water. The kids also did a day camp at church called Playcation & it was awesome. They had a blast and it gave me 3 days of kid-free time. THAT IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!

In July we celebrated the 4th of July at our favorite little downtown Franklin festival & then went to see fireworks with friends. Sadly, it thundered right before it started so we had to wait a night for those. We also started celebrating our family birthdays! Ben turned 32 and Griffin turned 4! We did a combined birthday party for Cheney & Griffin and had a petting zoo in our backyard. Ben thought I had lost my mind but it was amazing! Now I would like a small farm.

August brought about a huge change for our family: Grayson started KINDERGARTEN. He wasn't really nervous & loved it from the start. He has done so well, is learning so much, and has already made lots of new friends. I love his teacher and his school! He is also obsessed with his bus driver, Ms. Andi:) Our Cheney girl turned TWO on August 6th & is turning into such a big girl! Grayson also starting playing baseball in the 7 year old league. I was apprehensive about bumping him up, but he did so great and improved so much. Their team was a great group of boys & I am hoping they will get to play together again this spring!

In September we let our kids in on a little secret we had been keeping from them. We were planning on spending a week in Disney World during the week of Grayson's birthday! As if that wasn't a fun enough surprise, Mimi and Pops showed up in our resort lobby--the kids were pumped! It was a magical week with our crew & we definitely have become that family that is Disney obsessed. Grayson turned 6 & is so grown up. He is sports obsessed & so athletic. The little kids started preschool & love their new classes. I became lead teacher in my preschool class & still love spending two days a week with a group of 3 year olds!

October was spent exploring all of the local pumpkin patches (it is our favorite thing to do) and going on hay rides. We spent Halloween with some neighbors at a block party & then went trick or treating. We also went to our first Trunk or Treat with some friends & had a blast!

November as a sports-free month which meant some relaxing weekends! We of course started decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving because that is how we roll. We spent Thanksgiving in Alabama & got our bellies full of yummy food! Hudson gave us a scare when his back started hurting again, but thankfully he was fine and it just meant he got to tag along on our road trip.

December was so much fun with all of our Christmas activities! The kids all had classroom parties, we went to Opryland to look at lights, we saw the Jellystone lights for the first time, watched way too many Christmas movies, & got lots of fun new toys.

I am so ready for 2017. God has opened new doors over the last couple of months & we are excited to see what He has in store for us. Happy New Year!