2015 Recap (Part 2)

High:

Micah forever became a Hague! A good friend who has a law degree but normally stays home with her two sweet baby girls offered to finalize our adoption of Micah, and we gladly took her up on it. It made an already fun day even more fun having a familiar face there, especially since Jeremy couldn't be there in person. The paper trail to get his new birth certificate has been an adventure. We're still waiting on that months later, but we are ecstatic that Micah is officially ours forever.

 

High: 

Daddy came home! A sweet friend took pictures and helped us welcome Jeremy home. I'm so grateful! Everyone was super excited to have him home, and it really was one of the easier of the transitions that we've had with this sort of thing. I mentioned in the first part of the recap how we've learned some things along the way, and one of those things is that the transition of him coming home is made easier when we've left space for him while he's gone. This works both ways, as Jeremy is inundated with five more people than he's used to having around all of a sudden. It's not all roses, as you can imagine. Transitions are always hard, but we settled into our normal routine again fairly quickly.

High:

This one started as a low because Jeremy missed our 10th anniversary in August but ended with a high because we coordinated and planned and plotted, and with the help of both of our families, we took a 10 day second honeymoon to Venice, Croatia, Turkey, and Greece on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It was the most relaxation that I've had since maybe our first honeymoon. Although I used #secondhoneymoonsarebetterthanfirsts the whole time because truly, getting to spend time with just Jeremy in this stage of life is super fun. We're at this sweet spot in marriage and life. Yes, the kids are chaotic. And yes, our life holds all kinds of uncertainty most of the time. And yes, we still have our fair share of disagreements from time to time. But we are also at the point of marriage where we know each other well. We have faced obstacles and disagreements and generally have a better understanding of how to come at those now. We have a better understanding of what it takes to do this whole marriage and parenting thing; putting God first, putting the other person first as well, and managing our expectations. We fail at this time and time again, especially when there are four other little people thrown into the mix along with crazy work schedules and just life. So this second honeymoon was needed, appreciated to the utmost, and hopefully was used wisely. We talked through a few hard topics and discussed how we felt loved by the other and what we could do to love each other more as we go into the next ten years. And we laughed, a ton. 

Our view of the canal from our hotel in Venice. 

 Sailing away from Venice on the cruise ship.

Walking where Paul walked in Ancient Ephesus (a surreal moment for sure).

Our cruise ship anchored in the sea off of the Greek Island of Santorini.

Gorgeous, breathtaking views from the village of Oia on Santorini.
(With a donkey thrown in for good measure. Because when they say you shouldn't try walking down the stairs because the donkeys are aggressive, you should listen.)

There was so much beauty, but it was the beauty in honor of God in cathedrals and churches in every area that we visited that caught me off guard and had me in awe. That, along with the wonderful people we met in each place that we went, was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

High:

We celebrated Joshua's 5th birthday this year with a fun ride on the trolley in downtown Little Rock and lunch at a restaurant in town called All Aboard where trains round the ceiling and deliver your order. We've never done either one of these popular Little Rock attractions, and it was a huge hit. Can you tell from Joshua's face?

     

High:

We love fall in Arkansas! It's one of our favorite times of the year to be outside enjoying the beauty that God has created. I normally make the kid's Halloween costumes, but with our trip and general busyness this fall, store bought came to the rescue. We had a band of superheroes join us this Halloween and were invited over to a friends for their annual Halloween bash. All of the kids were adorable in their costumes, riding around our friend's neighborhood on a hayride.

Low:

Micah had a liver biopsy because his liver enzymes have been elevated since birth. He was a champ through the whole thing, making friends with all the doctors and nurses like he does with his sweet smile and charming personality. All of his blood tests and ultrasounds have shown a perfectly normal liver, but we should find out the results soon.

High:

Christmas in Pennsylvania and New Years with family in Gatlinburg. Overall this year, a reoccurring theme has been family. We have had so much support from them this year and have had so many wonderful opportunities to spend time with them. I hope we don't ever take this for granted. We are grateful for the visits and ability to visit family, for their willingness to step in and help take care of kids for health related issues and just for us to get away. We are currently in Pennsylvania visiting with Jeremy's parents and his sister who is also here visiting, and we'll be headed to Gatlinburg with my side of the family for New Years. There may not be snow on the ground outside, but there is fun inside with the train around the Christmas tree to entertain everyone, a fire in the fireplace to sit around, and someone to always play a game of hide and seek or go on a scavenger hunt with. We also made our annual trip to the mall to visit Santa. 

 Kirsten did not want anything to do with jolly old St. Nick. 

Can't wait to see what 2016 holds! Probably some more highs and some more lows, but hopefully more blog posts!