Oh HEEEEEY 2015 - Looking Good!

I debated whether or not to post about ringing in 2015 because 1) I took basically no pictures to commemorate the event and 2) it was very low-key.  I ultimately decided I would because for this date-obsessed Mama ushering in a New Year is a very sentimental thing.  In the days leading up to it I look back on the year and where it's taken me and those around me.  This always results in a rush of warm, sappy emotions for yours truly which I celebrate by sending a series of reflective texts to Ryan.  As a man who doesn't emote well, he's not a big fan of this holiday for this reason.  We both know this won't stop me though as it happens each year like clockwork.

As I found myself reflecting upon all that 2014 brought, I couldn't help but feel incredibly, incredibly thankful.  I say that each year, but this year I say it with tears of gratitude in my eyes. As I've stated many times, I am a planner by nature.  When I sat in the same familiar, introspective place on December 31, 2013, I not only looked at what I had been blessed with (EMERY!) but I mulled over what I thought 2014 held in store for us.  Being a family of four by the time the sands ran out on 2014 wasn't exactly my plan.  Normally when my plans go awry I become a level of cranky that would make Oscar the Grouch look like Miss Congeniality.  This year though I can't iterate enough how genuinely thankful I was to be wrong.  It was a perfectly, divinely-timed lesson that I don't need to be in charge all the time.  I can't control everything, and that's a good thing because someone else is far better at it than I am.

This leads into my pseudo-resolution for 2015 - to let go of the reins and to just enjoy, to take what comes and try to truly appreciate every moment I'm given.  As I sit here with a beautiful, wiggly baby on my lap I think back to when my nearly 2 year old was that baby.  It feels like only yesterday, but when I go collect her from school in a few minutes and she RUNS over to me YELLING about her "ki-chun" (which is absolutely how it will go), it will remind me that it wasn't yesterday.  It was a lot of yesterdays ago.  A lot of yesterdays that disappeared way too quickly.  So for 2015 I resolve to enjoy more, trust more, and cuddle my babies more.  I also resolve to control less, worry less and plan-by-the-minute less.

I did a good job of enacting this resolution through our New Years plans.  We did basically zero planning and as a result were priviledged to enjoy the company of my parents and my brother to ring in 2015.  Ryan and I got to watch the ball drop from the comfort of our own home, with a glass of champagne in hand, surrounded by people we love.  As an added bonus, my Dad and Ryan replaced some outdated lights upstairs and on the staircase with recessed lighting.  Because I was busy living in the moment (read: chasing children and chatting with my Mom), I took zero before pictures .  I'll hit you with some afters in another post later.  I even got to flex my don't-worry muscle as multiple holes were cut in dry wall and I totally didn't even break a sweat.  So my ability to stick to this resolution is looking gooood.  ;c)  Mucho, mucho thanks to my parents for sharing their holiday with us AND helping with some house renovations in the process.  I really can't imagine where we would be without you!

I hope that you all experienced just as much joy in 2014 as we did, and that you're looking forward to all 2015 holds as much as we are.  Happy New Year kids!

Emery was beyond pumped to have her Nonnie, Pawpaw and "Mott," over.  She was so amped up that she crashed on her Daddy.  Anyone who knows Emery knows how incredibly shocking and touching this is.

This one, on the other hand, really wanted to see what this whole New Years celebration was all about.  Here she is pictured just after midnight.  Wide awake.  Not looking impressed.