Top 18 of 2018

Happy last day of 2018!  We've been thoroughly enjoying this last week of the year with David home from work, lots of time playing and sitting together, and lots of time for reflecting and goal setting.  We went through Jennie Allen's Dream Guide together over the last week and have been looking ahead to what we hope next year holds.  Yesterday was our final Sunday Family Devotional of 2018 and for our activity I had just put "Family 2018 reflection."  I had no idea what that would be, but figured I'd cross that bridge when we got there.  It ended up being looking through lots of photos of the year through a video slideshow I threw together (since Coop loves looking at pictures we knew this would be a big hit, and it was!) and making a top 18 list of 2018.  Our top 18 memories and/or things we're thankful for from this past year.  It really was a good year for us so this list wasn't hard for us.  I thought it'd be fun to make my own list-- using some of the ones we discussed as a family with a few of my own personal things mixed in.  So here's my top 18 of 2018.

1. New Church, ABF, and Small Group

This is number one hands down.  Any time this year we've thought about or talked about what we're thankful for or our high of the year this is it.  We had spent a few years talking and praying through possible changes in church home and/or community and we just weren't ever sure what that looked like.  God has answered our prayers in ways we never even thought to imagine or ask for in the community we've found this year.  No group is perfect and I know this one will have it's share of messiness, but it truly has been a confirmation that we made the right move.

2. Taos

Our first family vacation was one for the books!  We had such a good time in Taos together and I'm glad we got away for this week.  It was a perfect blend of active and restful (as restful as it can be with a 1 year old).  We will treasure the memories for a long time.

3. Orange Beach

While we had been planning a Taos vacation for most of 2018, our beach vacation kind of fell into our laps.  My mom wanted to go to the beach and invited us to join her.  Getting to experience the ocean with Cooper for the first time and spending a long weekend with some family we don't see as often was such a great way to end summer.

4. Friendships

When we talked about this as a family, David mentioned being thankful for our friends Lucas and Yali and the fact that we still get together with them fairly regularly.  I am also so thankful for growth in other friendships this year.  Aside from our new friends at The Heights, it's been fun strengthening some of my old friendships.  I love getting together with Erin-- when we met 14 years ago I don't think we could have imagined where either of us would be now, but I love that we can get together and catch up amidst the chaos of toddlers.  And even though she's a little bit further along with three times as many kids as me (ha!) I love that we've gotten to experience motherhood together.  And I'm thankful for Nicki and our long-distance sharing life together.  Through Marco Polo we are able to catch up frequently and share the craziness of parenting Cooper and CJK :)  I've got some great friends that made this year a good one.

5. Desire and study of God's word

When I looked back at my goals for 2018, I was elated to see that I'd actually worked on both of them, which is not always the case.  The first was this: grow in my desire for God's word.  I didn't know what that would look like, but I knew going into 2018 that my study was severely lacking and that my heart just wasn't in it.  So I made a commitment to start each day and each study with the prayer "God teach me to delight in You.  Grow my desire for Your Word."  And He was faithful to answer this prayer over time.  I'm thankful for all the studies I've done this year and the ways they've sunk in.

6. Losing Weight

My other 2018 goal was listed as: Get Healthy. Lose Weight. Exercise.  Which is so trite, but I just honestly didn't even know what to say other than I needed to do something different.  So I started eating differently last January, took lots of walks with Cooper through the year, and have managed to be pretty consistent.  I still have a ways to go toward my goals, but I have lost weight this year and I really feel better than I have in a long time.

7. Cooper's 1st birthday

This was such a fun and special time, from his 1 year old pictures to his Easter birthday to his birthday party.  Love this little one year old of mine.

8. Meeting more neighbors

This has something that's been on our planning sheets for years and we just haven't done it.  We go through stages where we feel a little more passionate about it and then it kind of falls by the wayside.  But this year we actually met more of our neighbors.  First off, one of our neighbors started a preschool night at our local Elementary school-- it's once a month at the school and gives us a chance to go and meet other families with young kids.  We also made cinnamon rolls to take to a few neighbors for Christmas, a couple we had already met, but it gave us a chance to meet a few more and start some relationships with them-- and it ended up not being nearly as scary as we'd made it out to be!

9. A stable job for David

David changed jobs a lot in the first few years we were together, but he will hit his 3 year anniversary at Aptitude this year!  We are so thankful for his job and the benefits they provide.  And he's really enjoying the work and the people he works with, so I'm grateful for that.

10. A new pool pump

David put this on the list and I wouldn't have even thought of it, but honestly it's such a huge thing.  Our pool pump broke in October and it was a bummer having to pay for a new one.  But it's made such a difference in how clean our pool is.  Within 24 hours of getting the pump going and adding chemicals our pool was blue-- usually this process has taken us months to get going.  And it's stayed blue since then.  We were beginning to think we just couldn't figure out how to care for a pool and after all of my research last year I could not figure out what we were doing wrong.  Turns out it was our pump!  I'm excited for next summer when we actually use it, hopefully without having to do as much work as in the past!  And I'm thankful for the provision of being able to afford a new one when we needed it!

11. Watching Cooper learn and sing

It is fascinating to watch all of the new connections he makes every day.  But my favorite has been the songs he's learned.  He will randomly burst out into song lately-- his favorites being baby shark, happy birthday, and a bible verse song (Nothing impossible! is the part he says over and over) he learned at CBS.  

12. ESL

I've loved getting to teach ESL again this Fall.  And I love that Cooper gets to go to the children's program.  He loves his friends there and I enjoy getting time to prepare for something a little different and have met some fun women through my class.

13. Visiting family in Oklahoma

We've gotten to take a couple of trips to Oklahoma this year to see some of David's family and we always really enjoy that time.  It's fun seeing Cooper with his second cousins and great uncles and aunt.  And we love getting to spend time at David's Nanny's (Cooper's Grandnanny) house.

14. Time with Cooper's grandparents and cousins

In addition to getting to visit extended family, we've also had lots of good time with our immediate families this year.  And Cooper loves everything about his grandparents and his cousins.  He talks about Nanny, Pappaw, Grandma, Chase, and Piper all day long.  We're so thankful our families are both close enough for regular get togethers!

15. Baylor OU Football Game

It was fun getting to take Cooper to the game this year.  Even though he didn't last long in our seats, it was a neat experience getting to visit OU's campus and see him enjoy a football game in person

16. Lots of good books and podcasts.

I feel like I've learned a lot this year through podcasts and books.  I always have several books going at one time and I read some good ones this year.  A few of my favorite non-fiction ones included: None Like Him by Jen Wilkin, White Awake by Daniel Hill, and Reclaiming Hope by Michael Wear.  Some of my favorite fiction this year: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson, and Beartown by Fredrik Backman

17. Better control of spending

Spending is always a hard one for me.  Every time we have budget talks it's hard for both us-- David feels the pressure because he is the one making the money so if we don't "have enough" it makes him feel like he needs to do more; I feel the pressure because I do most of our shopping, so for instance if we're spending too much on eating out (which we almost always are), it's on me to have a better plan for grocery shopping and cooking and that feels overwhelming at times.  But I feel like we found a pretty good balance this year.  I started using an app called The Daily Budget App and it has been awesome for me.  You put in your income and then all of the recurring expenses and then it gives you how much you have left per day.  Then you track your spending and it adjusts your budget each day.  This has been so much better for me than looking at lots of monthly budget categories that feel overwhelming.  When I go grocery shopping I know-- this is how much of our budget we have currently, so I have a better idea of if we have enough to stock up on things or just get the minimum and wait til later for more.  And on the weekends we know how much we have for eating out and playing, etc.  It has made it easier for me to manage and I feel like I've done a better job this year cutting out some unnecessary spending-- but there's always room for improvement!

18.  Breakfast Tacos

We couldn't leave this one out.  It really is amazing to me how we've continued this Saturday morning tradition almost every weekend since Cooper was born.  When we get in the car in the morning Cooper immediately starts saying "eat tacos."  We've enjoyed trying some new places and planning our Saturday morning outings around a good taco place, lots of times followed by a park or place to play.  It is the simplest of memories this year, but was so fun!

Alright, that ended up being longer than it should have fun!  But it was fun to look back at what a great year 2018 was and all the big and little moments that made it special.