2010 Memories...

I was looking through my calendar from last year and thought it would be fun to document some of our great memories over the past year!

I can not even remember what we did last New Year's Eve...but I'm pretty sure it didn't involve staying up past midnight!!

January - This month involved a bit of a sad memory because last January we lost Jeff's Opa. We were blessed to be able to spend lots of time with him last Christmas and he passed away shortly after. We will always remember him!! The girls talk about him often and even pray for him sometimes:)

February - I registered Megan for kindergarten and couldn't believe we had a child starting school. We also celebrated Marty's 1st birthday and Dad V.'s 60th birthday. We had a big birthday party for Marty with lots of friends and family!

March - Jeff and I went away for a night for the first time since we've had kids! We went out for a nice dinner and then went to a hotel...we were so excited to sleep in. Jeff also did his first 10km run in the campus to campus race. He came in 3rd place!! I was so proud of him. Kirsten and Malcolm came for a visit and we love hanging out with them and always look forward to seeing them again!

April - Megan had her first ballet dance recital. It was so cute watching all the little girls on stage!! We also celebrated Gabby's third birthday with a BBQ and lots of friends and family!!

May - We took our first big trip as a family of 5!! We drove down to Portland to visit Eric and Traci. We had a blast with them and enjoyed seeing their new house. The kids did surprisingly well on the long drive. Oh...and the shopping was great too:)

June - I started playing soccer with a new team, but unfortunately I pulled my quad muscle in the second game and was pretty much out for the rest of the season:( We also enjoyed lots of summer BBQ's and dinners with friends!

July - We went on our annual camping trip with our friends to Osoyoos Lake! It was SO hot. We enjoyed skiing behind the boat, eating s'mores, swimming in the lake and yummy dinners surrounded by great friends. Can't wait to do it again this summer:)

August - Ahhh...probably my favorite memory of this past year...our trip to Las Vegas!! We had such a great time with our dear friends and Jeff and I still talk about all the fun things we did there. It was so relaxing to go on a trip without the kids, although we missed them. I knew they were safe and happy with the grandparents looking after them:) We also celebrated my birthday in Vegas, which was a big highlight for me too.

September - Our official 10 year anniversary!! We didn't do anything exciting on our actual anniversary because we had already celebrated in Vegas. Curt and Annie came for a visit and we always have a great time with them. I'm pretty sure we had a wild game of charades with them! Megan started school and had a bit of a hard time adjusting to it at first, but she has a great teacher and has made lots of new friends! Loren also came for a visit and we always love seeing him:)

October - We had a big celebration as it was our church's 50th anniversary! Lots of old friends and family came out for it. We had Megan's first parent/teacher interview and of course, she did great and her teacher said she was a delightful child! We are so proud of her. The girls started swimming lessons and Gabby was a little hesitant at first, but was more brave every week. They can't wait to back for more lessons now.

November - We celebrated Jeff's birthday and my mom's 60th birthday! We had a big surprise birthday party for my mom and we were excited that my brother came out for it too. I am very thankful that my mom lives so close and we get to spend lots of time with her!

December - This month we had lots of busyness! We celebrated Jeff's mom's birthday by going out for dinner and then having dessert back at our place. I'm also very thankful for my mother-in-law who lives close and blesses us in so many ways! We had Megan's first school Christmas concert and it was absolutely adorable. And our very dear friends welcomed their baby daughter into the world. I am so in love with her! I actually feel like she is a little bit my daughter too:)

And now we start a New Year...2011!! I am so thankful for all the blessings God has given to us and look forward to all HE has in store for 2011. May God bless you richly in the coming year!

Our pastor spoke on this passage yesterday in church and I think it is a great reminder...

The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" (NASB) Lamentations 3:22-24