Christmas and New Years Eve 2015

This is basically going to be a recap of the Christmas season!

Christmas always seems so far away but as soon as December hits (Thanksgiving really) I feel like it goes by at light speed!  There are always so many activities, then we threw in a trip to St. Louis, a car accident, a 5K/half marathon, replaced a washer/dryer, my birthday and 3 Christmas celebrations over Christmas weekend. Whew! I'm happy 2016 is here and praying for a healthy and happy new year!

Right before Thanksgiving, our dryer broke, so we went a couple weeks without until our new set was delivered thanks to Matt who got us a deal at Whirlpool!

Bobby was lucky and wasn't hurt much other than a sore shoulder/neck/back after getting hit by a guy running a red light on his way to work earlier in the month. If he would have been hit just a few feet closer to his door, his injuries would have been much worse!  State Farm has been absolutely ridiculous to work with and I would recommend switching insurance companies if you have them!  Both of our cars are paid off and we decided that since I was going to stay at home until Austin is at least 2, we weren't going to get a van because neither of us wanted a car payment...and then this happened! Our friends from our old church who moved several years ago and now live in Ohio just happened to have a van for sale and although it is an older model than what we were looking for, it has all the bells and whistles and was basically a swap with us only having to pay a little bit out of pocket, which is good since we have already spend lots of money on Bobby's dad's funeral, a new washer/dryer, now the car, and still have a basement to finish.  We have been driving it around and it was great going up north for Christmas with having the girls separated!

From these pictures, you wouldn't have guessed that Bobby was hit first by the truck which was going around 40mph! It totaled our vehicle because of lots of structural damage!  Bobby has spent lots of time on the phone dealing with the people at State Farm who, like I said before, have been absolutely horrible to work with especially considering no part of this accident was Bobby's fault.

On Christmas Eve, we stuck with our tradition of going to Christmas Eve service at church. The girls did pretty well, but started to get restless during the sermon. Bobby and I weren't going to let them hold candles, but ended up letting them hold ours since Bobby was holding Austin and that's just how it worked out. Luckily no one was burned...I still remember burning my bangs as a kid and then smelling burnt hair forever!

We originally had planned going to the Vandivers for dinner after church, but poor Cadence was sick so we were on our own. It worked out well though and we invited over our other friends, the Cosby's, who had no plans and we ate dinner and just hung out for awhile until it was time for Santa to arrive!

The girls' lists were quite simple this year. Natalie wanted a Play-doh machine (although Santa didn't bring exactly what she wanted, she still enjoys it) and books she can learn to read. Aubrey kept asking for a purple star, however the closest thing Santa could find was a super power Barbie that has stars on her cape.  Austin was easy to please for his first Christmas!  The girls were tired and slept in Christmas morning! Both Bobby, Austin, and I were awake before the girls. Aubrey was the first to wake up and didn't even look at the tree until we told her to go see if Santa came!  We had fun opening gifts and then it was time to get our stuff around to head up to South Bend Christmas Day.

Santa's letter to the girls

Aubrey's letter to Santa

Natalie's letter to Santa

Christmas night we had celebrated with my family. We all got lots of fun gifts! I barely took any pictures this year...oops! In my stocking, Bobby got me a selfie stick, which was not something I never wanted because I think they are so silly, but might as well get my use out of it! HAHA

Dad found the pickle...well technically I did but I bought the gift even though Bobby found the pickle last year.

One of Natalie and Aubrey's favorites gifts was probably the box of envelopes and cardstock paper for them to make 'mail' from my parents since they are always stealing my parents' envelopes!

Saturday night was my dad's family Christmas and I don't think I took a single picture that night, but we had a good time and enjoyed everyone's company and yummy food!

Sunday was Bobby's family Christmas. The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins and we got to see The Mumaw's since they made the trip from Maryland.

Here are some other randoms from this month:

Aubrey reading to Austin at bedtime!

Bobby ran the half and I ran the 5K at dark with headlamps and it was FREEZING! I surprisingly placed 3rd in the 30-39 age group, but let's be real...there were maybe 5 woman in that age division and I ran/walked the race since I didn't train at all!

I got breakfast in bed for my birthday from my boys!

Trying out their turbie towels Santa left in their stockings!

Such a fun, nostalgic gift my parents gave Austin for Christmas!

For New Years, we headed over to the Vandivers for a low-key night. The kids were all so well-behaved! I was shocked! No one got overly hyper like they do sometimes. It was a great way to bring in the new year! All of the kids even stayed up SUPER late!

Our year really took a turn in September and went from a pretty great, easy year to still great, but with lots of curveballs thrown in from September through December. It all started with Austin being in the NICU, then Bobby's dad's death, followed by petty things like a broken dryer and a car accident. Through all those things we are learning life lessons and know that God is preparing us through all these things to be more patient, loving and kind, as well as grown our faith in him. As I reflect on everything from 2015, we are so truly blessed with what we have! I think we are all glad this year is over and although we've had lots of struggles, we have been beyond blessed with three healthy, happy kiddos and we can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for us!

Here is our TOP 15 of 2015:

1. Natalie turned 4 and Aubrey turned 3. We celebrated in Little Mermaid and Bubble style!
2. I experience my first mission trip to Nicaragua which was a blessing!
3. Austin was born and is healthy!
4. Aubrey was potty trained!  Woo hoo!
5. We celebrated 7 years of marriage!
6. Enjoyed lots of fun in our mini pool this summer in our backyard!
7. We enjoyed eating veggies from our very own garden that definitely thrived!
8. We made our annual trip to Holiday World with the girls and as always had a blast!
9. Although Bobby's dad's death was not a "top 15" worthy item it did let us reconnect with his family in St. Louis and we hope to make many more trips there to visit.
10. Bobby's car accident was not the most timely event, but it did allow us to get a minivan that we hope will be reliable and make traveling with the kids much easier and uneventful!
11. A new washer/dryer that Bobby will hopefully not have to fix throughout this upcoming year!
12. Enjoyed lots of time with family and friends!
13. The girls enjoyed their annual week long trip up to my parents house and of course Bobby and I enjoyed a week of quiet (but of course missed them too)!
14. Natalie and Aubrey both learned how to really ride their bikes which made trips around the neighborhood a lot more fun.
15. We decided that I would stay at home with Austin until he is at least 2, which will be a transition for all of us. I am really looking forward to spending more time with the kids, especially Natalie who will be in Kindergarten next year!

Bobby would like to add to the list that our yard is finally looking nice...haha! Priorities!

We would like to thank all of our family and friends for everything they do for us! We pray for each of your families to grow stronger in your faith, be healthy and blessed in this upcoming year!