Our 2016

How does one avoid sounding like a broken record when they talk about how fast time goes? Because seriously, where did this year go?! I can't believe it's already time for this annual post!! How?

I went back and read my review from last year and 2015 seemed a lot more eventful than 2016...then I started collecting pictures and writing this post. 2015 probably had more "stuff" and "trips" and "news" than this year, but this year had it's own kind of "stuff". Here is my review (not in order of event)

- Kaleb started PreK at a brand new school! It's been a fantastic change for him and we are so happy to be there! You can read about it here, here, or here.

- new babies came into the world! My brother had another girl, (that's niece #2 for me) and one of my best girlfriends also had a girl 4 days after my niece was born. I was asked and honored to be the Godmother to both of those beauties. They have been a joy added to this year and I seriously can't believe they are about to be ONE!

-I got my first hate mail/comment in 2016 due to a very popular post I wrote! Even though it was a pretty mean comment, it sorta made me feel like a celeb so it was a big deal for me!! Haha! The HEB Buddy post was by far by most shared blog post of the year!

-Kaleb turned F I V E and had a Lego party. We are in debate on whether or not he's getting too old and cool for themed house parties. It's all about letting go, right?

-We had a visitor this summer! Tomas is a family friend that came all the way from Slovakia. He stayed with us for about 6 weeks...we introduced him to Texas standards like Whataburger, queso and donuts. He loved all of them so much!! Hopefully he will get to come back again this summer, we would certainly love having him back!

-My parents took Kaleb and I to Disney World! It was a lot of fun but I'm really not ready to go back for a couple more years, at least. The amount of people that occupy that place is unreal. Hello introvert me.

-We took a beach trip and Kaleb learned to swim while we were there!! This was a huge accomplishment for him!

-Another HUGE accomplishment for Kman was that he actually started sleeping in his own bed!! Holla! If you follow my Instagram, you know the emotional roller coaster I went through when this went down. I thought I was READY for him to move out, I thought I was excited, until he actually moved. I cried like a baby the first night. He has been in his own room since then and I'm so proud of him!

-I traveled to L.A. for my annual BlogHer trip. Per usual it was a fantastic time with some of my greatest friends and fellow bloggers!! This coming year, I'm thinking of attending a different blogging conference in May so that means I probably won't do BlogHer this summer, which I'm super sad about BUT new conferences means new places, new people and new experiences! You just never know what are in the cards...

-Obviously, the biggest thing that happened this year was that I quit my job at the hospital! Whew, that was a scary scary decision for me. Leaving a set income and very good benefits for uncertainty when you're a single mom is enough to give you anxiety attacks; {which I experienced for my very first time this year}, but I knew it was necessary. I quit for many reasons but the biggest reason was for Kaleb. It's hard to be a good mom when you're unhappy all the time. I'm a little more than 6 months into it and it's still great! And we still have electricity. Ha!

-Speaking of quitting, I was able to go on Kaleb's first field trip with him! I don't think he realized what it meant for me to be able to go. He was glad I was there, but had no idea how blessed I felt that I COULD be there. It was a special moment for me, for sure. Until we actually had to ride the bus with 30 kids under the age of 6. LOL ;)

-Kaleb underwent his 3rd ear surgery for getting tubes the day before Thanksgiving. After they had him under and started looking around, they discovered his adenoids had grown back, which is super rare apparently. They removed them and put in his 3rd set of tubes; so far so good! And yesterday, in fact, he had a hearing test and passed, so that was such great news for us!!

-Last but not least, photography has taken over my life, in a good way! I had over 95 sessions in the last 12 months and for that, I'm forever grateful. I was nervous when I left my job, that no one would want me to take their pictures, but I was wrong! I got some great experience and had the chance to do some really meaningful, once-in-a-life-time, kind of shoots this year. Y'all supported me and I just can't say thank you enough!

I didn't get to write this year as much as I wanted. I even started several posts that I never published and this is a part of 2016 that I didn't like. Part of it was being so busy with sessions and editing, that by the time I finished photo edits, I didn't feel like sitting at my computer any longer. Another part of it was, I just didn't feel like it. Even though I took the leap of a lifetime by starting my own business and doing "what I want", I was still in a slight slump this year. I lacked motivation to do much, it came in waves but mostly I just didn't wanna. I became bored with what I have to say, so I just didn't say it. I've been praying that that would change. Since the photography is my only income now, I have to put that first and really hustle it, which means putting writing on the back burner, at least until I feel like I can give both my best. Plus, like you read above, there's not a lot of change happening in our world to write about. Kaleb started a new school and I think I had like 4 posts on just that, haha. There's only so much I can write on that and only so much y'all want to read on that.

I had one public speaking event in 2016, maybe 2017 will bring more of those...but who knows!

Much like last year, I'm open to whatever God has in store for us!! If we have another year of chill and not much change, I'm ready for it; but if 2017 is supposed to bring excitement, change and challenges, I'll be ready for that as well!

I won't be making any NY resolutions but I always have dreams and goals written down that I like to keep in my mind and in my prayers. I think even Kaleb has some wishes and dreams for 2017...according to his teachers, he's quiet the pray-er in his class. Makes my heart full to hear that.

That's kinda a wrap as far as this year goes. Like I said, 2016 was a calm kinda busy, if that's possible. No drama, nothing super crazy, just living day to day, trying to find our place under the sun. We hung out with friends as much as possible, we went on a million bike rides this summer, we stayed in the swimming pool until our skin wrinkled, we (I) ate lots of Mexican food and spent a lot of cuddly time on the couch. We cried, we laughed and we loved. And we never lost our hope or faith.

Happy New Year my friends! Let's make it another blessed one!!