Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Our Year In Review

What a year 2013 has been! It's amazing to think that this year is coming to a close already. It sure did fly by! For the four of us residing together in this beloved space of ours it truly was a stellar year. Sure, we had our bumps long the way, but on the whole 2013 was very good to us.

2013 saw us continue to become even more connected to each other than we already were. I love that with each day, each month and each passing year we become even more of the tight knit family I always knew we'd be. We spent the entire year spreading as much love and kindness and goodness into the world as possible ('cause truly the world surely could use much more of those three things). It also saw us connect (and re-connect) more deeply with our friends and family (thanks in part to the world of Facebook). 

In 2013 we watched as Grace lost her first tooth, started reading, became a Brownie and learned to ride a bike sans training wheels. In 2013 we watched as Emma rode her first roller coaster, took care of her baby dolls, began to write her letters and finished her first year as a Daisy. We watched with pride as both girls participated in their first homeschool project fair, danced in their first dance recital and participated in their first Pinewood Derby! 2013 saw Dave and I celebrate our eleventh wedding anniversary with a delightfully quiet day at home with our sweet girls. We have more than recovered from the hurt and sadness that occurred back in 2010 and are fully back to being the amazing pair we love being. 

2013 didn't see us acquire a flock of chickens as we had originally planned, and I didn't master knitting, but I sure did make progress in my learning. We did take our first big family trip this past year (and this coming August will bring an even bigger trip- Disney World)! This was also the year that girls went to Fenway Park for the first time! And how fabulous that the Red Sox won the World Series this year too!  

This year also saw us say good-bye to some friendships and relationships.  We mourned the loss of a family member (see ya on the flipside, Aunt Betty!) and also welcomed other people into our lives (Kathleen I'm totally lookin' at you and your fabulous family!). And just in case you didn't get enough of a year in review in this post we hope that you enjoy the slideshow year in review (and reverse) that the girls and I created this morning. Be sure to turn your speakers on, sit back and enjoy! 

So, tonight as we eat our traditional New Year's Eve dinner of Chinese food we'll fill out our time capsule sheets and share our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. We'll also choose our watchword for the year (last year's was kindness). 

Enjoy the final few hours of 2013, dear ones! We'll see you next year! xoxo

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Our Hopes For The New Year

Last night we ate Chinese food, had snow cream for dessert, watched "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown", took what seems to have become our annual New Year's Eve picture, and shared our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year.  Sharing our hopes for the upcoming year rather than making resolutions that never get kept is much more us.  And it's really amazing to look back and see how many of the hopes that we set forth last year came true (just about all of them did)!  We also filled out these super cool time capsule sheets (which we'll be doing each year from now on).  It is a simply lovely way to spend the last day of the year and has truly become one of my most favorite days.  

Papa:
"My hope for this coming year is the same as always: to make sure that you and the girls are happy." "And I'd like to learn to make a barrel."

Mama:
In 2013 I hope to:
-master knitting. 
-become better about folding the wash. 
-finally reach my Weight Watchers goal. 
-that we continue to live, love, learn and grow together.

Grace:
"I hope for chickens!"
"I hope to learn to ice skate and ski." 
"I can't wait to become a Brownie Scout!"

Emma:
"I like to read."
"I want to do horse back riding." 
"I love to color."
"I like to hug and carry Albert." (our dog)

This year our watchword is kindness.  We all agreed that our world could use more kindness and we thought that we could help by sending more of it (than we already do) out into the world.  

Happy New Year, friends!  May your year be filled with much love, peace, joy, happiness and kindness.