Goodbye 2014-You Treated Us Well

Wow!  2014 was a wonderful year for us! So many exciting things happened over the past year and all in all it was a wonderful year!  Here are a few of the highlights!

The new year started with the hustle and bustle of us selling our home and moving into a different home a few blocks down the road.  We have been in the new home for 10 months now and have definitely started to put our stamp on things.  We have taken down a good chunk of the wallpaper, remodeled the main floor bath, painted the kitchen cabinets, walls, and installed a new countertop and sink until we can save the funds for a full remodel, and are preparing to get started on nursery.

In June, John and I traveled to Poland with my family to help my brother and Magda celebrate their wedding.  It was a trip I will never forget!  We had a wonderful time sightseeing around Krakow Poland and had a blast experiencing a traditional Polish Wedding!  The best part of it all though is that my brother married a wonderful person and I now get to call her my sister :)

In July we also got wonderful news that our little family would be growing just like we had hoped.  I am now 27 weeks pregnant and we will welcome our little bundle of joy in April 2015.  Elsie is really excited for a baby sister and is really starting to talk about the baby all the time.  Only like 3 more months!!

The summer we were very busy between our trip to Poland, visiting family and friends, and trying to get out with the camper to do some camping.  We made it to Margquette, IA over Memorial Day, Rathbun Lake, and Lake Red Rock over Labor Day.

Fall John was busier than ever but he did a wonderful job of setting aside Sundays as family days and we tried to make the most of them all.  I did a lot of planning for our Disney trip over the fall as well.
November into December proved to be very busy.  Elsie turned three in December and had her first birthday party with friends on a weeknight and then a birthday party with family over the weekend.  She chose to have a "Frozen" themed party-shocker.

Shortly after her birthday party we packed our bags and off to Disney we went.  We had such an amazing time and definitely worth all the time and effort we spent planning and preparing for it.  WE got home just in time to start Christmas celebrations in MN and in Iowa and now here we are, wrapping up the year.

 

We have SO many fun things to look forward to in 2015.  Of course the most exciting is the arrival of our little baby in April.  We will also be welcoming a new niece or nephew in June as Tony and Magda are expecting.  I also have three friends who are expecting this year:  Marc and Amber-2/2, Josh and Liz-5/9, and Jason and AShley 5/12.

We have two weddings on the book for this summer-Katie and Brad and Chris and Laura-both in June.

We have a trip to Puerto Rico planned for John and I for work coming up shortly.

There are talks that Tony and Magda might be planning a visit to the states this year.

I have two concerts planned for the upcoming year-Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean in July and Taylor Swift in September.

We have more plans in the works to make updates/changes to our house.

There is so much for us to be thankful for this year and in the upcoming year.  We are truly blessed with a happy, healthy family, a roof over our head, and food in our belly.  We pray that you all have a Happy New Year and too have much to look forward to in the year ahead.

Cheers to 2015!!