2014 Comes to a Close

It's hard to believe another year is coming to a close.  We had a very nice day today.  I took Mia over to play with Danielle while I worked this morning.  Ryan and Lily stayed home and enjoyed a nice, quiet morning.  After Mia and I got home from lunch and a Publix run, we decided to roast marshmallows and make s'mores.  Always a fun treat!

 It was such a lovely day that the girls ended up playing outside for quite awhile after the marshmallows were done.  A little while later, it was dinnertime.  2015 jello was one item on the menu.

 Then it was time to have a little fun before the new year!

 We went outside with glow sticks to blow glow-in-the-dark bubbles (which didn't really work so well as bubbles, but the solution looked pretty cool) and then play with sparklers.  The girls always love that.

 After the sparklers, we played a game Lily came up with called Attack of the Parents.  Basically, it was tag, but we had to get them with our glow sticks.  It was actually pretty fun.

 

From there, we came inside to talk about a few favorite memories from the year (Lily's baptism and our family cruise was a repeated theme).  At 8:00, we counted down.  I was surprised by how excited the girls were, but they loved it!  We took a family picture, Skyped for a few minutes with Grandpops and Grandma Jan and then put the girls to bed; they were zonked out in just a matter of minutes.

Now, Ryan and I are just watching football and waiting on midnight.  It gives us time to think back on the year.  Truly, one of the most joyous moments was being with Lily as she made the decision to trust in Christ as her Lord and Savior; she recognizes that she is a sinner who needs Christ to take the punishment for her sins so she can one day stand before a holy and righteous God.  My heart explodes with joy when I think about that moment and think about seeing her baptized by Ryan a few weeks later.  Nothing short of amazing. 

 

The girls turned 8 and 6 this year; Mia has started to Kindergarten.  I can't believe how quickly they are growing and what awesome girls they are becoming.  They amaze me every day.

 

We had some fun travels this year too.  Our family cruise was a great time for us all; the Allure of the Seas is a fantastic ship.  We also visited Legoland and New Smyrna Beach on that trip.  Ryan and I took trips to North Carolina for our anniversary and Chicago to celebrate Jan's birthday.  Our family went to Chicago to visit David and Jan for a few days this summer which was a lot of fun.  Of course, Ryan and I also had big, though separate, trips to China two times, Africa and Alaska; these trips stretched us and deepened our faith. 

 

We can't begin to count all the blessings we saw in 2014.  We thank God for the provisions and opportunities He has provided.  We praise Him for being good.  We don't say He is good because it's been a good year for us though it has been and we're thankful.  He is good always, and we trust in and rely on that.  We look forward to seeing where He will lead our family and what opportunities He will present in 2015; we pray we notice and use each one to give glory to God and His Kingdom.  We hope that 2015 will be a great year for you and your family as well!