Often on New Year’s Day I look back on the previous year and I think to myself (or say out loud), “Thank God that’s over!” But I can’t really say I’ve ever sat back and really reflected on the past year in depth so I really saw the big picture. Since I’ve been enjoying time off I have done exactly that. So, here’s a look back at the best of my year.

There were low points, for sure. And I’ve reflected and prayed over those. But I find I often get stuck in those negative moments and make them much bigger in my life than they really are. By doing staying stuck in those negative moments, I overlook all of the amazing and wonderful things that have happened over the past 365 days. I’ll share what I learned from my reflections on challenges from 2016 in another post. For now I am loving my trip down memory lane and seeing what a great year we actually had!

My life – the best of 2016

• We celebrated birthdays!!! I turned 35, Mark turned 36 and my boys turned 11, 10 and 3!
• Colson and Cayson played their first season ever on a football team
• Colson scored his first ever touchdown – a 71 yard pass!
• Colson made the 10U All-Star Football team
• I learned about football – I really didn’t know anything!
• Colson and Cayson played another season of Little League Baseball
• Cayson made the 8/9 year old All-Star team
• Mark and I started watching sports together with the kids – may seem lame but to my testosterone filled family this is a good thing!
•  Mark went to work full-time at Luck Stone
• I celebrated my 8^th year as the Communication Specialist at REC
• Colson graduated 5^th grade and started Middle School
• Cayson finished 4^th grade and started 5^th grade
• Mark and I traveled to Portland, Oregon – this was the first time either one of us had been to the West Coast
• I went to New Orleans in February
• While in Louisiana I went on an alligator tour in a swamp. I saw alligators and wild pigs!
• I traveled to Omaha, Nebraska and while I was there I stood on the Nebraska/Iowa state line
• We took our annual family vacation to the Outer Banks in July
• We also went to the Outer Banks in June and in September
• Mark and I celebrated our 3^rd wedding anniversary
• I won the Graznak Award for being an excellent communicator from the Cooperative Communicator’s Association
• I also won other awards for communication excellence from CCA and NRECA
• I presented on Cooperative communications at several conferences/workshops
• We started going to church – although we haven’t been every Sunday – it’s a good start
• We got Layton a swing set in July
• Our 3^rd dog showed up – Scooter
• We got 3 cats – Mittens, Doodles and Claire
• We got 6 chickens in March and since then we only lost 1
• As expected, our chickens lay eggs!
• Mark and I built a chicken coop together
• We planted a garden for the 4^th year
• We found trustworthy babysitters for the boys
• Colson got a 3DS
• Cayson got an Xbox
• We went to see Christmas lights
• The kids had their photo taken with Santa
• We picked apples at Carter’s Mountain (their apples are the best!)
• We went to Crabtree Falls
• We tried to pick peaches but missed the season, so we got already picked peaches instead from Chiles Peach Orchard
• Mark and I won a sound bar from my company holiday party last January – it makes for a good house party
• We delivered meals at Thanksgiving
• We had our first Thanksgiving and Christmas at home, just us
• The boys went trick or treating again  - we had a zombie hunter, Darrell from TWD, and Lightning MacQueen
• We took Layton to see his first movie in a theatre – it went great the first time, the second time – not so good
• Cayson got an award for being good on the school bus
• Mark and I decided to focus on us
• We are grateful for each other, our family, our jobs, and our photography business
• We still have a wonderful and comfortable home to come to every day
• We had a very healthy year for ourselves and our kids
• We started praying together as a family – mostly at meal-time but it’s an amazing start
• We made a War Room
• I had portraits taken of me by Debbie Ringle and it was an awesome experience
• I coached cheerleading
• I met Angie Scott – what an amazing woman!
• Cayden helped me coach part of the season of cheerleading
• We enjoyed several days over the late Spring, Summer and even early fall at Lake Anna
• I took Layton to the Children’s Museum
• The boys went bowling
• We saw more glorious sunrises and sunsets than we can count!
• We saw 3 waterfalls while in Oregon – even the tallest, Multnomah Falls
• We drove around Mt. Hood in Oregon
• We spent the night at Canon Beach on Oregon, saw the Pacific ocean for the first time, walked in the Pacific for the first time, found 7 sand dollars and saw Haystack Rock up close (we felt so small)
• We saw many rainbows in our front and back yard after rainy spring and summer days
• Cayden and I saw the sunrise together
• Cayden and I ran on the beach to take pictures in a lightning storm
• Carlie did a lip sync of Rumor Has It
• Panera started selling French Onion Soup again (praise God!)
• Mark, the boys and I drove to Nags Head through Hurricane Matthew then we explored the damage along the coast
• Mark and I went on a couple of dates – just us!
• While walking one day Mark and I saw a bald eagle like 5 feet or so away
• We went kayaking!
• We saw the fireworks over Lake Anna
• We put up a new hammock down by the pond and spent a few days just relaxing down there
• We celebrated my grannies 99^th birthday!
• We played in the snow
• We visited Bodie Island Light House
• My best friend Ashley and I enjoyed lunch together
• I opened a studio with Staci – then we decided it was best to find a new location
• I went on field trips with Colson before he finished 5^th grade and have been on field trips with Cayson for 4^th and 5^th grade
• We had fun at the several fall festivals around town this year
• We at many, many, many ice cream cones
• We did our own version of Kid’s Baking Championship at home, and Chopped Junior. Colson made a mean Jamaican Jerk Chicken!!
• We had our own back-yard movie theatre
• We enjoyed a movie at the Goochland Drive-In Theatre (Awesome place!)
• We did fires in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows
• We had fun fishing in our pond
• We went to Kings Dominion
• Layton got a haircut
• One night Mark and I stayed out there late and fell asleep
• I photographed 56 client sessions this year!!! All while working a full-time job, being a wife and raising 3 children, 3 cats, 3 dogs and 5 chickens. Pretty damn proud of myself!
• I revamped my website and I finally feel like it feels like me!

What a great year! I can't wait to see what happens in 2017 and to share that 365 days from now! 

~ Casey