Perspective: 2016

Lately I have been noticing many posts on social media referring to how rough 2016 has been. Citing everything from the death of beloved celebrities to the outcome of the presidential election. People exclaiming how horrible this past year was and they are ready for it to be over. 

Listen, I get it. It has been a rough year. Various parts of the world are in unrest. Violence is prevalent. It would seem our country is extremely divided. We have lost many notable people. And fear runs rampant.

But, that is only part of the story. 

This year, people met and fell in love. Babies were born. Strangers helped those in need. Millions stood up for what they believed in. I have witnessed multiple expressions of generosity between mankind. 

Hand in hand with each horrific event is one that is equal or greater in love and compassion. While faced with the realities of 2016, I know that this year has also brought an incredible amount of love and hope in my life personally.

Each year I create a year in review for my family. Highlighting all we have accomplished and experienced. For the sake of this blog, I decided to share my top 5 moments from 2016:

5. My Birthday. I am a fan of birthdays. This year I invited friends and family to join me bowling to celebrate and I had a blast - acting like a kid, with my kid. We had pizza and cupcakes and lots of laughs. It was a wonderful time. 




4. Ella's birthday! I love throwing a good party. Pair that with

my husband's love of hosting and we can go a little overboard. The guest list was long. The theme was simple and fun. There was too much food. But, my daughter had a great time playing with all her friends. We also had all of Aaron's family in town to make it an extra special weekend. 

3. 4th of July. Over the course of a few weeks, the 4th of July went from a small gathering to 2 of my 3 brothers coming to town with families in tow. It was an impromptu family affair and it filled my heart. It is so fun watching Ella develop relationships with her cousins, aunts, and uncles. 


2. Family trip to Kansas City. Logistics of the year did not lend themselves to taking an extended vacation to visit any family this past year. But, we still wanted to take some sort of family vacation. We decided to drive 3 hours south to Kansas City to take our first ever family trip which was not to visit anyone. It was an incredible treat take some time for just the three of us. Ella was excited to swim, explore, and stay at a hotel! We made some great memories.


1. Clara. 2016 brought us a new member to our family. In March, we discovered we were pregnant. In April, we heard the heartbeat. In June, we found out she was a girl. And in November, we welcomed Clara into the world. She has been the perfect addition. My heart expanded and more love crept in. 

I would like to issue a challenge to each one of you to take some time to think back on the past year and take stock of all the wonderful things you were able to experience. It can be something as simple as being able to connect with an old friend online to a major life like the birth of a child. Whatever it is, it will help you to see that there is some good left in the world. 

Here's to 2016: not as bad a you may have thought.