Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Friends! 

The past week has been a smorgasbord of Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease, packing, travelling, unpacking, and now a sinus infection for yours truly. But New Years was in there somewhere and it brought about it's usual fun and reflection. We spent New Years Eve in Downtown Detroit with little man, celebrating Noon Years Eve at the Detroit Historical Museum, followed by lunch at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Back home we ordered in Pizza, made firework popcorn, and called it a night. No one made it past 10 pm! 

I love the chance to stop and reflect on the past year and make plans for the new year. Last year I had only one goal and that was to improve my photography. I think I did a pretty good job, and heaven knows I worked toward that goal daily. It will definitely continue to be a big goal of mine in 2017.

 This past year didn't hold any big changes for our little family. No new jobs, houses, schools, etc. But we grew and we flourished where we were planted. We loved each other and we loved others. We made it through our first hurricane, had a wild rumpus when Jacob turned two, and playdated our way through the year. We spring breaked in Orlando, watched my brother get married in Bloomington, and ended the summer in Sanibel. We spent precious time with friends and grandparents near and far, spent one weekend potty training, and two weekends at Disney! It was a good year! 

This year I'm determined to simplify. It's my word for the year. We had hoped to move to a bigger space this year, but it wasn't possible and we're going to make the best of it. Our house has been overflowing with stuff for quite a while mostly because none of us are good at getting rid of anything. Until now. We've already started purging our way through our kitchen and the rest of the house is next. No space is safe! I feel like I've finally figured out what my "style" (I use that term loosely) is, so I'll be working on getting rid of the things that just aren't "us" and slowly replacing them with things that are. 

We're going to focus on our health and our happiness.  Cooking more meals at home with fresh ingredients and less processed foods and restaurants. More time outside playing, walking, exploring, and less time inside in front of screens. We want to take more day trips, explore parts of the state we've never seen, and make memories with our little family. We're adding soccer to our weekly lineup and I'm excited to spend more time growing my blog. 

We don't anticipate 2017 holding any major changes for our family, but you just never know what God has up his sleeve! We're excited for all that this year has to hold for us, and so thankful that you've decided to join us for the ride! XO