From Meghan:
This year, instead of choosing the top ten, I chose my favorite post from each month. So in chronological order:
Poor Handsless Natalie (1/7/15) - I love this post because Hannah doesn't do this anymore, which is the whole point of the blog. She does frequently ask to go to the store or tell me to put things on the list, but only reasonable things now. So it makes me a little sad because she's not a baby anymore, but it's such a cute memory and I don't think I would remember it without help.
Helping with Hooty (2/3/15) - This is a good memory for me because, though it is time-consuming and sometimes frustrating, I really do like cooking with my kids. And Joshua has grown a lot this year in that area. He has gotten to the point where I can add his onions and garlic directly to a pot without re-cutting them. Also, though we are generally happy with our new preschool, it's not Christian so I do miss some of these sweet things they did with the kids.
Three Little Leprechauns (3/17/15) - I like this because one thing I really like to do is make small holidays fun and this is a good example of a fun St. Patrick's Day we had.
Last Day in Paradise (4/30/15) - This specific post isn't that special, just the entire trip. Jason and I had so much fun as a couple being able to get away. We love Hawaii and it was really awesome that Jason earned us a trip there. And after this trip, everything changed. His sales rep Jim had a stroke and will not be able to do a job with travel for a long time and maybe ever, so he isn't in that role anymore. Actuate is gone so there will probably never be an Actuate-only trip like that again. And if there were, we wouldn't be invited because Jason doesn't work there anymore. So it was an awesome trip, but also the end of many things.
My Tough Triker Girl (5/18/15) - This post is so Clara. Clara is so determined and she just achieves things at a level that a lot of other kids wouldn't because of that. This has been a big year for her and she has learned to do a lot of things. She doesn't give up. So this is a good snapshot of her just riding her bike (which is one of her favorite things to do. Her calves are amazing in the summer) for a really long way because I told her if she wanted to take her bike, she had to ride it the whole way.
Birmingham or Somewhere in that General Vicinity or At Least in the State of Alabama or Bust (6/2/15) - I like this post because of what it represents. People act like it is firstly crazy to take kids on long road trips generally, which I definitely disagree with. But also that women can't drive by themselves or that it is too hard for a mom to go somewhere with just her kids. I prefer to drive with Jason, but it felt really good to do it by myself and I'm really glad I went. And the kids were actually really great, as they almost always are on a road trip. So it was a good trip and also felt good to do it on my own.
Date Day at the Farmer's Market (7/25/15) - This was a really fun date day for Joshua and me. It wasn't that special in terms of the activities, but he's a kid who loves veggies and playing outside so it was a great thing to do with him and it was just really fun.
Dad and Kids Night at the Pool (8/17/15) - So it may seem weird to choose a post where I wasn't even there, but it's more because of what it represents. Last summer we spent a ton of time at Deanna Rose, but this summer I felt comfortable taking the kids to the pool by myself so we spent all our time at the pool. It was so nice being able to go frequently and we had a lot of fun over the entire season.
Halie's Bad Bye (9/3/15) - Of all the things that happened this year, the biggest for me was deciding to quit my job and stay at home full-time. I have no regrets about this decision and am happier than I have been in quite some time. However, Halie leaving definitely was the really sad part of that decision. We try to get together at least monthly and the kids still love her, but it's not the same of course. She was such an important part of our family for the past two years, so it was definitely hard for that to come to an end.
A Toy Story Halloween (10/31/15) - I love Halloween and this year was especially good. My only disappointment was we couldn't go to Enchanted Forest as we have in years past because Jason was on a work trip. But we had such a fun time, the kids are at an age where they are excited and love Halloween, and I love dressing up so was happy with our family theme. I am not sure how long the kids will be fine with letting me choose a group theme, so it's possible this is the last year for that. We'll see. I also made Hannah's costume completely from scratch, which is the first time I have done that and I taught myself to use my serger in the process, so it was a good project that I was happy with the results.
Slumber Party (11/27/15) - This is my favorite new tradition of this year. The kids get to sleep in Joshua's room together on holidays and they are so excited. Since this post, the girls got sleeping bags for Christmas which they are super excited to use on slumber party days and also any day. Clara has yet to make it through a sleepover, but they seem to enjoy it anyway and I hope that when they are older they will look back on these as really fun.
Learning to Serve God by Serving Others (12/24/15) - We do a lot of fun things during Advent and I am happy with most of what we do. However, this is the second year we have delivered food and presents for City Union Mission and it is really one of my favorite things. It's not maybe the most acutely needed service opportunity, but my kids are really young so there isn't a lot we can do as a family. This is something we can do and is a tangible way for them to serve. My biggest goal for my kids is not just that they have a strong faith, but they live an active and sacrificial faith and I hope this is only the first of many service opportunities we do as a family, but it's really core to my parental mission.
This year in some ways wasn't a huge year. But in other ways, Jason quit his job of 12 years and I don't have a job for the first time in a long time, so it was kind of big. I love being able to look back on it all and also am excited to see what 2016 holds.
From Jason:
Meghan and I actually intentionally do these completely separately, and only after they are completed do we get to see what posts the other person chose, which is always fun. Usually there are a couple overlaps, and this year is no exception. But she always gets hers done first, and she'll tell me how many she did. I had planned on doing a Top 10, but when she told me she had done one for each month, I figured I would match her in amount (if not in concept), So here are my Top 12 favorite posts, in chronological order:
Poor Handsless Natalie (1/7/15) -
All of our kids have their moments where they crack us up, but I’d say Hannah does so the most. Sometimes she’s trying to be silly, but mostly it’s just her being her. The conversation in this post makes me laugh every time I read it, as it’s just so Hannah. She’s demanding and bossy in a way, but it’s an adorable way. But I also like that she noticed a problem and came up with what she thought was a reasonable solution.
Keystone Construction Workers (1/23/15) -
There are a lot of rewarding things about having kids, but an underrated one is the sheer entertainment they provide. I really think we have to get more entertainment than most parents because our kids are so young and so close to together. They are always interacting with each other in hilarious ways, and the situation that was covered by this post is a prime example of that.
Sunsets and Sushi (4/29/15) -
I really could have chosen any one of the Maui posts, as it’s really about the entire trip, and all the posts are packed with great pictures. But I thought this one best represented the best part of the trip to me, because it really highlights the beauty of Hawaii and the pure relaxation we had while in paradise on an amazing vacation.
Father’s Day: Kids, a Bike Ride, and Great Food (6/21/15) -
Father’s Day is really great every year at this point. I have three little kids whom I love and who love me back unabashedly. At some point they will be teenagers who might be hesitant to show their emotions or they will just want to go play with their holograms or whatever we have at that point, but for now they all excitedly adore me, and I adore them back, and it’s wonderful.
Gymnastics, Waffle House, Shopping, and Sonic (6/27/15) -
I really love my date days with the kids. Sometimes things are so busy and chaotic and home that it’s hard to really connect one-on-one with each child, and the date days ensures that we have time to do that. Hannah is so easy and so fun to take anywhere because she’s so accommodating, and on this date day we had a great time going to all of our different destinations, even though there was no particular major activity.
Inside Out, PetSmart, and McDonald’s (8/22/15) -
This was a really fun date day with Clara. I was excited to take her to her first theater movie and was really pleased that she enjoyed it. We just did so many fun things on this date day, and I feel like we ended up with a lot of great and very cute pictures.
The Golden Years (10/5/15) - This post is really significant for me because it captures so many years of memories and positive experiences and packs them all into a single post. And with that comes the emotions tied to it all, of all the happy and fun times I had with great friends and colleagues (and even with Meghan, thanks to Club) to the sadness that was the end of the Actuate era, and the end of my time with the company, even after the acquisition. It’s a lengthy post, but I wanted to try to capture as much as I could to help me remember those things and those people when I look back on this post in future years. I can’t think of another post I’ve done since we’ve started this blog that was filled with so many memories and emotions all in a single post.
Champions! (11/1/15) -
As I mentioned in the post, it’s a sports fan’s dream for your team to win the title, and that happened in amazing fashion for me with the Royals this year. The whole run through the playoffs was thrilling and filled me days with anticipation and happiness, and to have them finish what they started last year was an unbelievable feeling. I hope they do it again next year (and if not, I sure hope it’s the Cubs), but it could be years or decades or never again, so I cherished everything about it.
Tossing Around the Purple Pigskin (11/15/15) -
I certainly love doing activities with all of my kids, but there’s something extra special about doing sports with them, and especially with Joshua. I love sports, of course, and sharing that with them, and especially as part of the Father/Son dynamic, means a lot to me. And when Joshua is specifically requesting to do it with me, it totally warms my heart.
A Hunger Games Date Night (11/20/15) -
Meghan and I intentionally waited five years into our marriage before we even considered starting a family, because we really wanted to build our relationship with each other and have time to do things that you can’t so easily do with kids (like travel spontaneously, go on exotic vacations etc.). We did that, and I think it was one of the best decisions we ever made. We enjoy each other so much, and those five years (it turned into more than that due to our initial troubles getting pregnant) were so fun and I think so great for our marriage and relationship. Now that we have kids, we absolutely love our family time. But we also still love having time with just the two of us. Unfortunately, I think a lot of couples seem to lose their ability or desire to have a great time with just each other once they have kids. But that’s not us, and we really cherish the times we get to be together by ourselves and to go on date nights. We are so thankful to have Mom and Ron close to us and for them to be willing to watch the kids overnight once a month to give us time to go on dates. This post exemplifies that, as you can see how happy we are to be on a date night together.
Christmas Pug (12/9/15) -
This post is one of my favorites, but it’s also one of the saddest, in a way. For so many years our family consisted of me, Meghan, Terrance, and Natalie (and later Alex). For awhile we wondered what it would be like to have kids, and it was almost hard to imagine how we could love them more than we loved the dogs (not surprisingly, once we had kids, it turned out there was a whole other level of love that we didn’t know existed). We lost Terrence last year due to cancer, and Natalie is pretty old. She rarely shows much energy, except at mealtimes, but she’s still a super sweet dog who loves us, and we love her. It’s a little sad seeing her by herself without Terrence, but getting a puppy now would not be good for her (she would be crotchety with it, I think). We know we probably only have a couple years left with her (it could be more, but it also could be less), so we’re really trying to enjoy our time with her. I love seeing our sweet little nugget Natalie sleeping under the tree in these pictures.
Learning to Serve God by Serving Others (12/24/15) -
It’s critical to me and to Meghan that faith in God is central to what our family does and to who we are. We actively work to instill that in our children as well as to help them grow up to be strong in their faith. And specifically within that, we want to emphasize action and service and compassion. We want to show God’s love to others and be witnesses for him. We plan to be active in that way with our family, such that we are going out and serving. So although the kids are very young now, we are already starting that with activities like the one we did in this post.
