Happy New Year!

Happy (late, really late) New Year! The last few weeks have been catch up for us since traveling over Christmas. We’re happy to be back home and into our routine again after being sick with three different viruses. We started our trip on the plane with Finn getting a fever and a terrible cold with the works including discharge from his eyes. All of our kids were miserable by the end of Christmas night and having a delayed flight was just icing on the flying cake. We ended up taking the kids into a pediatrics office by our second day in Omaha. Luckily everything was viral and we just needed to let it run its course, but a couple days later we were hit with a stomach bug. Of the twelve people staying at my parents, ten of us had been sick and Mike had made his own trip to the urgent care for a sinus infection. We ended up having to cancel my family Christmas just so everyone could recover. By the time Monday rolled around we were so happy to have it pass through all of us, start a new week and finish off our trip with a bang pop.

Mike was so sweet and planned an overnight date for us while we were back. It was amazing to say the least! If we get the chance to have a date outside of the house it’s usually a few hours tops, but we’ve never been away from our kids more than that. We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Omaha, where we spent out wedding night. We had dinner downtown at one of our favorite spots and had drinks at the hotel bar before making our way back to the room for the night. In the morning he had breakfast and a couples massage all lined up for us. It was amazing and sooooo needed! I’m forever grateful for my parents and sister + brother in law for watching our kids so we could thoroughly enjoy some time together and get some much needed R+R. What a great way to start the new year!

Looking back at 2017, it was a second hard year for us. Mine and Mike’s relationship was tested in ways we couldn't imagine, but we learned a lot of about each other, our marriage, our finances and how strong we are. We learned we are fighters. We learned the importance of putting each other before our kids, and the blessings that come when we put God above all else. We made it a point to date each other more and although I blogged about several of our dates, I had hoped to share more, but didn’t. We continued dating but kept a lot of our dates simple the second half of the year with rented movies and dinner on the living room floor. This last year we also learned to let go and relax more. Saying no more and saying yes less to obligations. Making more time for family and embracing the spontaniety of fun. Through all of it, I fell deeper in love with my husband, my kids and our little family. Last year was definitely our year to reflect and decide where and what we wanted to spend our time.

This year we’re keeping a lot of the same intentions a priority as we can always do better when it comes to our marriage and family. On top of it all we look forward to bettering our health and our home. I can’t wait to see what this year has for us as long as it doesn’t include any more sickness, I can definitely do without that! Cheers to the new year, new beginnings, new hopes, new dreams and a new vision for our lives!