2011 in review

Now that we are halfway through the first month of 2012 I decided it would be a good time to review what we did in 2011.

2011 was an amazing year for obvious reasons. We gave birth to our first child Eli, and our lives were forever changed. For the better. It has been such a wonderful year filled with the normal day to day "mundane" tasks, all the way to the excitement of adding Eli to our family and working through the ups and downs that come with that big change. It has been an exciting year.

But lets start at the beginning of 2011:

• 2011 started off with a bang.....literally. While eight months pregnant I got into a scary wreck on the highway. Praise God everything was fine with me and Baby Tree.

• In preparation for Baby Tree we had four very amazing showers given in our honor. We were so thankful for all the hard work that was put into the showers as well as everybody who attended and gifted baby Eli.

• And then in March we received the sweetest gift of all. Oh how everyday I am thankful for this gift.
The next three months are sort of a blur. I was in what I gently refer to as Postpartum Hell. It as a lovely place. But I also spent those 3 months watching the sweetest baby grow before my eyes. I am so thankful for 12 weeks of maternity leave. I cherished every second of those 12 weeks.

• I started to feel more like myself around June....just in time to go back to work. I was sad to leave my former full time job that I had for four years, but I was extremely thrilled and thankful to be able to move into a part-time position. Time with my baby is so important!

• In July we took our very first "family vacation" to Branson, MO. We had such a good time and Eli was so good on the road.

• Luke started a new job as a middle school teacher. This was something that completely came out of left field but everything lined up perfectly and it just seemed like God was leading us in that direction. We still firmly believe this is what Luke is supposed to be doing right now.
(Visiting dad at school)

• Luke and I both turned 27
• We also celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.

• We watched Eli grow leaps and bounds
• We survived one of the coldest winters with record snowfall and one of the hottest summers with record heat.

• My Scentsy team more than doubled this year and I moved up two levels in the company. I am so thankful for my "job" with Scentsy and what it adds to my life. I hope to continue to grow with this company.

What an amazing year it has been! We are so thankful for all of God's provisions this year and want to continue to move forward growing in our relationships with Him. I am excited about the "mundane" day to day tasks that the next year holds. Our lives are no where near perfect but they are filled with perfect moments. I am so thankful.