Hi friends,

It’s 2020!! How did that happen?!??! It’s always a good thing for me to look back at the year we just finished to remind myself of all the things – the good, the hard, the happy, the sad, the fun – all those things that make life an adventure…because I’m just like you and don’t always think of life that way 🙂

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The first part of our year was filled with the ordinary things of life – laundry, shopping, errands, cleaning the house – all those things that need to be done whether we want to do them or not. 😉 One of the highlights of May was the girls in our church youth group remembering me with sweet cards and a group hug on Mother’s Day. ❤️

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We celebrated our 37th anniversary in May in Destin, FL – at the beach. It is one of our favorite places to go for relaxing and getting away from it all. The sound of the waves, the warm sand, morning walks along the beach, evening walks at sunset, the gulf breezes – it just can’t be beat!

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In June, I helped my Mom pack up her house where she had lived for over 50 years and where we grew up – somehow the yard was bigger when we were kids. 🙂 Lots of memories…

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August brought us a visit from 2 of our favorite girls and their parents. We are so thankful that even though the miles separate us – our hearts are still very connected! ❤️❤️❤️

Near the end of August, we made another trip to the beach to celebrate my husband’s 60th 😳 birthday. This time we stayed in Seaside, FL. (I have a post about it here.) And even though we had a few storms roll in, there is still nothing like the beach.

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Our sweet friends had a new baby girl. (She is wrapped in the blanket and sporting one of the beanies I made for her.)

In October, we celebrated my Mom’s 85th birthday in her new home. 🙂

A fun holiday tradition is our Youth Group Progressive Dinner. We drive the students to 4 different homes for appetizers, soup & salad, the main course, and dessert. A portion of the story of Jesus’ birth is read at each home, carols are sung, and the food is always amazing. It’s a great time of being together and remembering the reason for the season is Jesus!

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We ended the year spending Christmas with my family in Michigan City, IN. The city puts up an amazing Christmas light display in the park every year – here are a couple of pictures.

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And even in Winter, Lake Michigan is still beautiful! This was a wonderfully calm, warmer day in December which doesn’t always happen this time of year.

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2019 was filled with lots of wonderful, lots of good, and lots of love. Things weren’t always smooth and easy – just like they weren’t always smooth and easy for you. But life is an adventure which means there will be ups and downs. Today I’m focusing on the ups and looking forward to what 2020 has in store! 🙂

Happy New Year!

Anita