2016 State of the Union

Once again, we look back at the year to see how God has worked in this union that we call our family. As we reminisce on 2016, we discover that our blessings are more than we can count.  God is faithful, every moment of every day!!!  We will try to highlight a few of the blessings and trials as we recap our year.

Blessings:

1. Bailey graced us with her presence January 2016. She was 5 days late, weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 21 inches long. We are in love! Bailey has been an easy baby and excellent sleeper from the beginning. We praise God for her every single day 
2. I was able to nurse Bailey for 13 beautiful months! Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to nurse Roman. I do not regret this, nor do wish I had been able to nurse Roman. He thrived on bottles and formula feedings, and I truly believe this was what God wanted for us.
3. We were thankful to travel throughout Texas on small road trips in 2016: 

• In March 2016 was Bailey's first road trip to the Dallas area to celebrate the first birthdays of cousins Emma & Ezra. It also happened to be the first time for her to sleep through the night...score! 

• May 2016 was our last time to visit Uncle Dan & Aunt Claire before they moved! We took Bailey & Roman to the San Antonio Zoo for the first time. Great memories!

• Our annual Port Aransas trip was August 2016. It was great to have Jonathan's Grandma, Mom, and all of his siblings (and their families) there for this special family vacation. Jonathan's Uncle Rob even made a surprise appearance, all the way from New York!

• October 2016 marked another trip to the Dallas area to celebrate cousin William's birthday at the Fort Worth Zoo (and we got to visit Magnolia Market in Waco for the first time on our way to Dallas).

• December 2016 was our last trip to the Dallas area for the year. We enjoyed seeing the Roberts' new home and celebrating NYE at the Gaylord Texan. The ICE exhibit at the Gaylord was outstanding! It (literally) took your breath away at 9 degrees Fahrenheit! 

Trials that God so Faithfully brought us through:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

~James 1:2-4~

1. Replacing an entire fence that was only 2 years old! UGH. The handyman who put in the fence originally did not do it correctly. Hiring the wrong person in the beginning turned out to be an expensive mistake! We are thankful to our new handyman, Dari Shelton of Shelton Home Services. His rebuilt fence was strong enough to withstand even a strong windstorm in the beginning of 2017.
2. Nursing! Yes, it was a blessing, but also a huge adjustment and learning curve. I had no idea! I felt like a new mom again. Bailey had issues nursing in the beginning, and she also decided to go on a "nursing strike" for an entire week when she was only a couple of weeks old. But God got us through this difficult first month, and it was a blessing in the end!
3. Sleepless nights and adjusting to having a newborn in the house again. Thankful for my sweet husband, Jonathan! He took the night shift until Bailey slept through the night. That meant we didn't see each other as often in the beginning, but we made it through!  Praise God!

We know that blessings are not a guarantee in this life. We also know that trials are inevitable. But when we compare our current sufferings to the immeasurable worth of being in the presence of God for eternity, these afflictions are light and momentary (See Romans 8:18 and II Corinthians 4:17).