2013

True to form, time has slipped in and quietly replaced the old with the new; a new beginning.  New motivation and inspiration for many - a reason for thinking positively only.  I have my list of goals for this year which aren't much different from the goals I try to live by, but like everyone else, it feels like the slate has been wiped clean and I'm ecstatic for the possibilities that lie within 2013.

I'm slowly coloring my new house canvas, and continuing to get our stuff put into rightful new places.  Eisley has had horrible sleeping patterns since we moved, but has graced me with two nights of fairly solid sleep --in a row!  Holy renewal.

Out with the old, in with the new...

January: we celebrated our angel baby, got use out of our brand new wagon, celebrated Tim Tebow playing with the Broncos, and I baked a lot.  And blogged about baking a lot.

February: Celebrated my first Valentine's day with two miniature valentines - my 9th with Jimmy.  We went to an Avalanche Game and spent our first night away from Eisley (a nightmare for my mom).  I dove into conquering homemade Milky Way bars (bites) which would later be featured on the Southern Living blog.  I prepared for my mom to move closer to us which was an emotional roller coaster; I kept myself busy with fun things.  Mom, the girls, and I made our way towards Meredith's college town - stopping for food, a movie, shopping, and then having a slumber party.  Even more baking.  Lots and lots of baking.

March: Eisley Marie turned one, stopped vomiting on a daily basis, and began walking - all nearly simultaneously.  And somewhere in there, she lost some of her chub!  My mom got settled in and we spent a lot of time at her apartment; using cute kids as bandaids and seeing the positive light in a negative situation.  Meredith and I did a surprise day out for my mom's birthday - pedicures, shopping, haircuts, and dinner reservations.  One of my favorite days of the year.  Meredith, Mom, the girls and I went to Kansas City to celebrate Dezi's third birthday and Isabel's baptism.

After months of lying through my teeth, I pulled off our surprise trip to Chicago to celebrate Jimmy's birthday.  We had several days of absolute fun - and by fun, I mean pizza.  We both loved it!  We celebrated Easter, utilized lots of time with Ama - the girls making cookies, and Eisley perfecting her walking.

May: We began our house hunting adventures.  After a rather disappointing first day of houses, we fell in love with a neighborhood on the second day and I never stopped thinking about it.  We signed the papers to build at the end of May.  Park time was had, we decided that Ruby would need some assistance should she ever decide to go pro in makeup, and I got really busy with my etsy shop.

June: we traveled to a cousin's wedding - Ruby was as dirty as a pig by the time we left.  I trashed my wedding dress, we took our annual trip to the zoo, and celebrated Father's Day with a picnic.

July: Our house was started!  Jimmy and I spent a day at the design center (with a well-behaved little Eisley in tow) picking out everything we wanted for our new home.  We spent extra time in the bathtub after days of sunscreen, dirt, and sunshine, we traveled back and forth quite a bit, celebrated the 4th of July, and a 5th wedding anniversary.

August: we saw lots of fun progress on our house, my brother Eric proposed to the beautiful Megan (and moved to Alaska), we went on a camping expedition with Jeremy, Sarah, & Abigail, and I made a serious plunge outside of my comfort zone and pierced my rook in some sort of symbol for pain being temporary and making you more beautiful (alongside my mom and sister). 

September: I celebrated a birthday with mixed emotions, Mom, the girls, and I traveled to Kansas City and then on to Missouri for fun with cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa.  I treasure the times I get to see my favorite little people with some of my most favorite people in the entire world.  We traveled to Silver Dollar City on the way home, saw the Dixie Stampede.  Ruby rode her first roller coaster and loved it; we loved the facial expressions to go with it.

October: more house progress, our animal trip to the pumpkin patch, and my loves as characters from The Wizard of Oz for Halloween.  Lots and lots of packing and hat making happened in this month.

November: Ruby turned FOUR.  I had an emotional time with it - she got the bunny birthday she had been asking for for a solid year.  We traveled north (again) and saw our house nearly done.  The girls showed their Daddy how shopping training has paid off and walked like professionals through the mall.  Things got really chaotic as we approached our move date.

December: We left behind our old home and spent a tiring week moving and unpacking.  We celebrated Christmas in our very new home.  Ruby asked for a stegosaurus and talked about it every day - Santa somehow [barely] delivered and she was thrilled.  Eisley's hair made the teeniest piggies ever - she was...not as ecstatic as I was for some reason.  Somehow in the midst of all the chaos, this was the calmest month of the year, and definitely the most peaceful.  Christmas was magical, and I have no doubt we are where we are supposed to be.

Cheers to a new year!  Make this your year.