So… as a disclaimer, this post has been WRITTEN since before the new year… BUT, being the busy little bee that I am, I completely forgot about it and had a few little revisions to make, so I am just now posting it!

I can’t believe that 2016 has already come and gone!  In some ways it has gone so fast, and in others, it has been slow.  We had a year packed with milestones, fun and laughter, travel, and time spent with family and friends.  It only seems right to look back on what this year held for us as we begin the new year!

If you’ve been keeping up with our monthly updates on Jedidiah, then you probably already know about our year, but here is a recap.

Our year began with new additions!  Both Trent’s sister Katey and my sister Christie had baby girls in January.  We are thrilled to have babies so close in age!  Katey, of course, lives in San Antonio, so we were able to meet her daughter Audra right away.  We had to wait a little bit longer before we got to meet Miss Evelyn.

In February, after living in China for two years, we kept with tradition and ushered in the Chinese new year with some photos and festivities.  We attended the Asian Festival in San Antonio with some friends who have a baby a little bit older than Jedidiah and then we hosted a Chinese New Year’s party at our house.  It was a lot of fun ushering in the year of the monkey with our little monkey!

March was a busy month!  We opened up our home for a visit from my siblings and their significant others early in the month.  They all flew down from Minnesota and stayed with us for 5 days.  We finally got to meet our new niece, Evie and we had a wonderful time with my brother and sisters and the whole family!

In April, Jedidiah started taking swimming lessons and he absolutely LOVED them!!!  He’s such a water baby.  In May, he was dedicated at our church- on Mother’s Day.  What a special memory to cherish!

In June we helped daddy pack up his classroom as he wrapped up his year being a teacher for a self-contained unit at Windcrest Elementary.  Shortly thereafter, he got hired on to teach at IDEA Judson, IDEA’s newest campus, in the fall.  We were very thankful for the switch!  Even though the year began very tough at IDEA, Trent is now happy in his roles as a special education teacher and RTI coordinator.  IDEA is one of the fastest growing and most successful schools in Texas!

July held our annual summer visit to Minnesota to see my family.  This was our first visit since Jedidiah was just one month old.  It was fun for his grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousin and great grandparents to see him!  We flew up at the end of the month and stayed through the first week of August, which is our family’s annual weekly time share at Breezy Point Resort.  Jedidiah loved the sand and the lake and even took his first steps while we were there!  We were also able to attend our niece’s baptism and a benefit for my dear friend Terri, who passed away from Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor 5 years ago.

We went on lots of fun outings as a family- to parks, to the zoo, to The Witte museum, the Riverwalk, a Spurs game, the rodeo, SciFest, the South Maize Festival, Six Flags, we celebrated Fiesta (A San Antonio holiday), went to a few weddings and to MANY birthday parties!

We traveled to Austin several times, as well as to Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth area, Corpus Christi, and Minnesota!  We had the chance to meet up with many friends all over the country and all over the world!!!

In November we celebrated Jedidiah’s FIRST birthday!  It’s been so much fun to watch our son learn and grow this year!  He brings us so much joy!!!  Our home has been full of laughter, smiles and the pitter-patter of small feet! We have been so blessed by him this past year!

Trent, Jedidiah and I are still very active at Revolution Church, which has been our church home for 4 and a half years now.  Trent and I have been greeting there since Jedidiah was a baby, we also serve as prayer partners and small group leaders.  Angie helps with Rev Admin and also helped lead Financial Peace University this fall.

Angie began the year as a stay-at-home mom, but started adding tasks as the year went on.  She gave private Spanish lessons during the spring semester and then started her role as a health and fitness coach with Beachbody in June.  She loves her new role and it has become more than just a job for her, it has really become her platform for ministry.  It allows her to pour into others, encouraging and empowering them and is so relationship- based that it has allowed her to reconnect with lots of old friends!

She also helped her good friend Abby run a science camp this summer.  She, Trent and Jedi walked for team “I heart Hallie” in the annual Walk for MS, she ran the Warrior Dash with her good friend Katie and her brother Derek while they were home this summer, and she ran the Chosen half-marathon in November, on her original due date for Jedidiah.

She and Jedidiah started attending a play group with two other moms that they met in their birthing class.  It’s been fun to see them (post-pregnancy) and watch our kids grow up together!

The year ended with another visit to Minnesota, this time with Jedidiah being 6 months older and now very mobile!  He enjoyed playing with his cousin, Evie, and we really treasured the time we had to spend with family and friends that we don’t get to see very often.

Jedidiah had his first REAL experience with snow, and quite frankly, he didn’t know what to make of it.  I think he much prefers the green grass that we have in Texas to this cold, wet, white stuff!

He was also able to spend some quality time with his great-grandparents!

We wish you all the best in 2017!  Blessings!