20!7

It's that time of year!! Another year has flown by and it's time to highlight some things that happened in 2017! I've filled out this survey for the last several years and it's fun to see how my answers have changed.

What did you do this year that you had never done before?

I hosted a baby shower (sprinkle)

& we bought a puppy :-)

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Did anyone close to me not give birth? Ha ha Most all of my friends in Lewisburg had babies this year :-P No babies in the family, but lots of baby friends!

Did anyone close to you die?

My Grandaddy's brother, Uncle Steve, passed away. I was never very close with him, but I know he was a very sweet man and so special to so many!!

What dates from 2017 will remain etched in your memory?
We have a lot this year!

January 24, 2017
Our Luci's birthday :-)

March 31st
The day we found out Andy passed the bar AND we met Luci!

April 2nd, 2017
The day we got our girl!

Week of October 8th
When Andy got ordained and then sworn into state and federal court!

Did you suffer any illness or injury?

Andy got a bad case of strep and a sinus infection in June & it seems like I've had sinus issues once every month since September - boo!

What was the best thing you bought?

I'd say the best money we spent this year was on Luci ;-) and our trip to NYC!

Where did most of your money go?

BILLS and Andy's new (to us) truck!

What songs will remind you of 2017?
"Despacito" Ha ha
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, "Each One can Reach One" Hymn that we sang every Sunday since it was our theme for the year at church 

What do you wish you would have done more of?

I wish I would have done more of what I love during the school year/work week. (like Creating/Lettering/Reading, etc.) So often I just go through the motions during the work week and only do things I enjoy on the weekend. I need to change that! 

What was your favorite tv program?

This year, I have almost totally converted to youtube. I barely ever watch TV anymore and I follow many daily vloggers on youtube. :-)
What I said above last year is still true. I didn't even watch The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars!

What is the best book you read this year?
I enjoyed all of my summer reads this year!

What did you do on your birthday?

I felt very loved the week of my 26th birthday with flowers, cards, and a fun date :-)

Where did you travel?

My favorite part of these year in review posts in recapping our travel :-)

We returned to Snowshoe Mountain with Amy and Tyler in January

Mocksville, NC at the beginning of April to pick up our girl and visit Marc and Mindy!

Myrtle Beach, SC with Nana and Papa at the end of April

Wake Forest, NC at the beginning of May for my cousin Melissa and Ben's wedding

Our trip to New York City over Memorial Day weekend

My annual week in Charlotte this year included Anna's graduation!

Boone, NC at the end of June for Anna's orientation

Myrtle Beach, SC with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Darlene in July

We took a day trip to Roanoke, VA in August to see Grandaddy while he was there

The middle of August took me back to Boone, NC to help Anna move in!

West Jefferson, NC to the cabin with Amy and Tyler

Wilmington and Salemburg, NC to visit my grandparents over Veteran's Day weekend

 and of course, we had many trips to Charlotte and Craigsville along with all of our holiday travel


Cheers to 2018!!!

The Great Christmas Post of 2017! {Part 1}

Merry Christmas!!!

This is always one of my longest posts of the year because we have so many Christmases, we put "Four Christmases" to shame ;-) I figured I'd go ahead and recap our Christmas fun so far while I'm home before we head to Craigsville this weekend.

Parker Christmas

We went to Wilmington the weekend of the 15th to celebrate Christmas with my Nana, Papa, and Aunt Darlene! My Dad and Kendall got there Friday evening. It was different this year because Papa has been in the hospital after recent surgery, but we made the best of it!

Luci and I slept most of the way home ;-) 

Luci's first Christmas

Andy, Luci, and I had our Christmas together last Friday night before we headed out for more traveling.

We agreed to keep it low-key this year and not get each other too many gifts. We got some things for Luci's stocking and then Andy hinted at getting a gift that we would both enjoy.

(I had to at least get him some stocking stuffers and a few small things like some new Sperrys and a hat)

Luci took one look into her stocking and this was her reaction Ha ha ha!

Luci loved her stocking and it was a win for us because we got to open our presents in peace while she enjoyed her new bone! hah

Andy's gift for us both was a TV for our bedroom! Way to keep it low-key babe. We've discussed it for a while, and I mostly wanted one so we could binge watch shows together before bed on the weekends :-) 

Christmas #3 at Dad's

We typically have Christmas with my Dad and Kendall on Christmas Eve, but since Will had the 23rd off, we switched our days. We got to Dad's around dinner time so we ate a yummy meal, opened gifts, and played Ticket to Ride which we got for my Dad and Kendall and they got for us!

I was anxious to use one of my lush bath bombs that night! So relaxing!

Christmas #4 at Mom's

We spent all day Christmas Eve at Mom's and attending the Christmas Eve Service at Carmel. After church we made Christmas cookies, had a steak dinner, drove around to look at lights, and played Left Center Right :-) 

We woke up on Christmas morning and had our traditional breakfast and gifts. This year was extra fun having Luci and Nala together ;-) Leah and I even dressed them in the same bandana without planning it! We are already dressing cousins a like and I love it :-)

Can't forget about my sweet boy Chapman who dealt with the craziness of the young dogs pretty well.

Royal Christmas

After all of our gifts were open and bellies were full on Christmas Day, we hit the road again for Salemburg to celebrate with Mom's family.

Aunt Alta hosted in her new home and it was gorgeous! It was so nice to spend time with my cousins that I rarely get to see anymore! 

I caught a sweet moment between little cousin Will and Grandaddy :-) 

I was so happy when the cartoon Grinch came on while we all relaxed after dinner. I hadn't seen it all year!

 (when you attempt a picture with Luci without a treat bribe haha)

Christmas Day ended relaxing at Grandaddy's :-)

Can you believe we still have more Christmasing to do!? This was just my family! Ha ha We will celebrate Christmas with Andy's family this weekend and then we may need a nap ;-) We are so incredibly blessed with wonderful families to spend the holidays with!