We started out New Year's Eve by celebrating Jenna's 5th birthday! I cannot believe she is already 5-year-old! Time is really flying! She had a Troll birthday party and Payton Joy had an absolute blast! Rylee Love took a while to warm up, but after spending most of the party coloring in the Troll coloring books that Jenna gave out as party favors, she finally joined in to play with the other kids towards the end of the party.
After the party, we headed where we have spent every New Year's Eve since 2012: Liz and Brandon's. The kids had a blast playing with all the new toys from Christmas and pigging out on pizza and Brandon cooked us Chicken and Dumplin's! Yum!
When we left, Rylee Love stayed behind for a slumber party with Kaden. Both kids have been begging for a sleepover for a while now, so they were both ecstatic! Bless Aunt Liz and Uncle Brandon's hearts because these 2 excited kiddos stayed up until 11 playing and laughing.
This morning at church, Payton was so thrilled to see Rylee walk in. You would have thought she'd been gone for a month instead of 1 night. It was sweet. Then after church we headed to Jackson to use some gift cards we had from Christmas and just spend the day together as a family. It was great!
We had a pretty good 2016, even though it definitely had its ups and downs. We got to spend time with those we love, watch our beautiful girls grow, spend some time with our toes in the sand and the sun on our skin, and witness a miracle transformation in my brother's life. Even in the difficult moments-the unexpected move, my rims getting damaged, Ryan's unpredictable work shifts, and watching my strained relationship with my parents turn into a nonexistent relationship-I could feel that everything that was happening was happening in accordance to God's perfect plan. Even though the move was not in our plan, the lower rent at our new house is allowing us to save up so we can hopefully buy a home of our own one day. Ryan will be returning to work for American Greetings next week, so he will have a much more stable work-life. We may not be able to get much time together during the week with his "new" job, but being less stressed will allow us to enjoy our time together so much more. Hid recent over-time heavy work schedule and his upcoming shift change has also encouraged me to be a much more mindful parent. When it's just me and the girls at home, I am forced to pay more attention and be even more present in their lives. They are growing up so quickly and I am thankful for the extra push to enjoy every moment. That leads me to my resolutions for 2017. This year I have 3.
1. I want to spend less time on social media and more time in my Bible.
2. I want to be more present in the lives of everyone I love and fight the urge to stay off by myself.
3. I want to drink more water and less diet coke. (Diet Coke has been my best friend in 2016 and it's time for me to cut back. I know I can't/won't commit to quitting right now, but maybe if I cut back now I can quit it in 2018, who knows?
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