Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 2016 was quite a year for us. We both agreed that it was the most eventful year of our lives. At the beginning of the year, we were focused on having our baby in February and then having a low key year with our toddler and newborn (not that a low key year is even possible with a toddler and newborn). What we didn't know is that God had very different plans for our family. Moving cross county and taking a 6 day road trip with two little ones was no where even near our radar. But here we are, living in Pennsylvania. And even though it's not what we had in our intial plan for the year, it's been a great year full of adventure. I'm thankful for the year it has been and the opportunities that have been given to us. Here are my top 10 moments of 2016:

These are in no particular order, expect the first one. That one is my favorite :) 

1) Welcoming Luke into our family! Enough said.  

2) Watching Madeline warm up to Luke. She was a bit unsure of him at first, but now the first thing that she asks in the morning is "where's Luke?" 

3) Our evening in Memphis during our cross country trip. We ate delicious Memphis BBQ, walked around Beale Street, and then went to Graceland. We aren't even huge Elvis fans and it was pouring while we were at Graceland (like the place was completely flooded), but George and Madeline's smiles still stand out in my memory of that night. They were running through the rain and jumping in puddles as we explored Graceland. I was holding Luke and we tried to keep up. I guess you had to be there, but it was a great night. 

4) Going to the season premiere of Saturday Night Live in NYC. Besides the actual show, it was a super fun date night for George and I in our favorite city. Date nights are few and far between now that we don't live near family, so they're especially appreciated when we have one.

5) Touring the White House. 

6) Going to the Dave Ramsey show and meeting Dave Ramsey.

7) Weddings and Engagements: I love weddings and this year we attended a couple of weddings plus had some close family get engaged. Sarah and DJ got engaged in January and Hannah and Jeremiah got engaged in March. Madeline will be in Sarah and DJ's wedding in July and George, Madeline, and I will be in Hannah and Jeremiah's wedding in May. George was in Roy and Christa's beautiful wedding in September in Mesa and I attended Lindsay and Jeff's gorgeous fall wedding in October in Rochester. 

8) The anticipation of Luke's birth. The week leading up to Luke's birth, George and I spent so much time outside, walking around, trying to get labor going. I'm not even sure if it helped, but it was nice to spend so much time outside together. And February in AZ is gorgeous. 

9) Donut-ing. Our family loves donuts. Probably not something to be proud of. We love trying out a new donut shop and discussing our favorites. In 2016, we found a few new donut shops and re-visited some of our favorites. In AZ, our "go to" donut shop is Bosa. We also love walking to Bashas for their white frosted donut. We went back to George's all time favorite donut shop in NYC called Doughnut Plant. Here in PA, our new favorite donut shops is Suzy-Jo Donuts. My favorite donut of 2016 was the powdered apple cider donut (with a glass of fresh apple cider) from Kelly's in Rochester. In 2017, we hope to try Beiler's Donuts in Reading Terminal Market. The line is always so long so you know they must be good.  

10) Watching Madeline dance. I could watch her dance all day long. She's never taken a dance class (maybe in 2017), but the girl just loves to dance. Her moves are creative and sometimes crazy. 

Happy New Year, family and friends!