Here is what warms my heart from 2014...
- Anticipating and Welcoming Piper - My sister and her husband revealed on Christmas 2013 that they were expecting a baby in August. It was an wonderful first half of the year anticipating Piper's arrival and watching Bridget grow with pregnancy. All of the anticipation culminated on August 1 when Piper arrived! Holding her and seeing her little face that was a combination of Bridget and Ross was priceless. Since her arrival, we've enjoyed seeing Piper and Bridget frequently while on maternity leave, receiving Piper smiles when I drop Nora off at my parent's for the day, and watching Bridget, Ross, and Piper as they settle into being a family of three (which they have done seemingly effortlessly:)). My parents and Nora share a special bond with Piper seeing and caring for her daily while Bridget and Ross work. Piper was an incredible blessing from 2014.
- Far Away Friends - In January and February, we had the opportunity to visit friends that are dear to our hearts but far away in miles. January brought all of us to Scottsdale, AZ to see the Gutierrez family who we met in Rochester when Luke and their son, Jacob, were 18 months old. It was a wonderful trip enjoying each others' company for the adults and kids. February brought Brent and I to Baltimore to see Stroms and Ericksons, dear friends from college (and childhood for Brent and Luke Erickson, aka "Big Luke"). Time with these couples is so good for our souls.
- Job Change - August brought a change in job for Jen. Again, this change was felt relation-ally. Even though I was only in my previous role for 13 months, I had developed great relationships with a couple coworkers which made it difficult to leave. Thankfully, we've been intentional and still keep in touch and see each other when we can. With change comes risk: what will the new job hold, who will I be working with, etc. This change brought many blessings, including a wonderful group of ladies to work with daily who have taught we much in only four months in my new role.
- Building a Shed - I shared in previous posts about Brent and my journey building a shed together this summer/fall. Yes, we now have a long-awaited shed, but most of all I enjoyed the journey with Brent. It was fun to have a project to work on together and to see our personalities compliment each other throughout the process:)
- Family Trips - We were able to share long weekends away with both Brent and Jen's families this year. It is such a blessing for us and the kids to have the relationships we do with our parents, siblings, nieces and nephews.
- Summer Fun - Two other events that stick out to me this summer were my cousin Steph and Richie's wedding and the Basilica Block Party. Steph is the oldest cousin on my dad's side of the family and I've been very blessed by our growing relationship as adults. This summer was extra fun anticipating her wedding to her wonderful fiance, Richie! Brent and I also had a wonderful weekend at the Basilica Block Party. Greg joined us for concerts both nights and Cally for one night. The best concert and experience was definitely Michael Franti and Spearhead. There's nothing quite like lots of feel good music and dancing at an outdoor concert:)
- Mom's Retirement - Again, I posted about my mom's retirement, but now I've seen in in action for a couple months. It's such a joy to see the enjoyment my parents both get from spending their days with Nora and Piper (and occasionally Luke when he's off school). The relationships the kids share with Papa and Gma are priceless:)
It was a blessed 2014 indeed.
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