2015 HIGHLIGHTS

Every year on the 31st we share a TOP TEN list of the previous year. This year was SO FULL! God is so good, and we have MUCH to be thankful for! Just a few of our highlights: 

CAMERON'S TOP TEN: 

MY TOP TEN: 

Jordan's braids

Es graduation, first semester at UCA, roommates

Speaking at the women's event in Tulsa

Finding a good rent house w/bonus pool

Drawing up our dream house plans

Ryan & Kate's wedding

NLC 

Lauren's engagement

Cameron's karate lessons

Watching S excel at bball, vball & choir

ERIN'S TOP TEN:

KATE'S TOP TEN: 

SHERIDAN'S TOP TEN: 

LAUREN'S TOP TEN: 

Top Ten 2015:

- IAN; in love & engaged

- Dean's List; twice (Spring & Fall)

- Elevation Retreat; Mt. Nebo

- Hillsong Young & Free concert

- Outcry Tour; Tulsa with Ian, John & Jessica

- Woman Conference; NLC with Mom & Erin

- Heber Springs with Ian, John & Jess

- Working at Falls Creek; summer

- Ryan & Katelyn's wedding

- Christmas / Kansas City trip

Christmas Week

We did something this year that we've never done. We celebrated Christmas a whole week...and had fun every single day! I've asked Sheridan to write a guest post on the blog and I'll post it with pictures as soon as she has it done.

Highlights of each day:
Sunday: Singing in the worship team, helping host the Christmas Mall for single moms and their kids for Christmas

Monday: Our first full-fledged WHOBILATION!

Tuesday:  Love notes for the season.
Wednesday: Christmas Candlelight service at church and family gifts.

Thursday: Christmas Eve with the Rogers family in Conway.

Friday: Christmas day with the Boogaarts in Mountain Home.

Saturday: Post Christmas Chinese lunch and game day in Mountain Home.

Sunday - Wednesday: Family Vacation, complete with snow, in Kansas City.

As if that week wasn't full enough, we reflected on 2015 with our annual TOP TEN LISTS and almost ALL of us had more than 10 items on our lists. I mean, when you consider we moved, Ryan got married, Lauren got engaged, Erin graduated and went to college...I mean, that just scratches the surface of 2015. What will 2016 bring?

Christmas Vacation Highlights by Sheridan

            We had an AMAZING time at Kansas City, and it was so fun for all of our family to be together! This trip included ice skating at Crown Center, going to the beautiful Union Station, and going to a Federal Reserve Bank right across the street from our motel! 

My favorite by far was finally getting to see the famous Sheridan's icecream place that my family has always talked about. I've had a blue Sheridan's hat since I could remember, but I couldn't remember going to it because I was so young. So when we walked into Crown Center to find a place to eat, my mom said, "there's Sheridan's!" I think my eyes popped out of my head because I was so excited!! We ate it after lunch and I also got a new hat that's pink for a souvenir because it was such a special occasion! 

My next favorites were EVERYTHING. I had such a fun time at The College Basketball Experience, where there are different games and challenges, like hitting a buzzer beater shot, or you can actually be a sports anchor on ESPN!! 

There were so many great restaurants that we got to try out for the first time in KC, even if we did have to wait in line 50 minutes for incredible barbecue. We went to Manny's Mexican, Joe's barbecue, ordered Sarpinos pizza, and in Crown Center there was a restaurant called A Streetcar Named Desire that had a lot of different varieties of food. Kansas City is definitely top ten list worthy for 2015!!

To my son

To my son who asks for more blog posts...two nights before Christmas. I've been busy shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, parenting, shopping, baking, taxi-ing children back and forth from school, sending Christmas cards, decorating and cleaning the house, organizing my paperwork for my next event, doing 4 post sale evaluations with other franchises, reading a Christmas book, helping Sheridan study for semester tests, doing my Bible Study Fellowship lessons, laundry, going to Sheridan's choir concert and Jordan's music program,  making food and taking fantastic white elephant gifts to my last life group, shopping, making spreadsheets of gifts for 9 people for 3 people (getting it all even as can be), feeding my Hallmark movie addiction, taking 22 water bottles to Cameron's school party, attending his school party, going to Jordan's school party, sending cash with Cameron for his school store and discussing his budget for each person, going to LR for Dad's work Christmas dinner, shopping for and wrapping gifts, reading the advent book each night, parenting, cleaning the kitchen, shopping, running up to the property with dad for decisions on property, going to closing about the land, baking and hosting a Whobilation, singing in church last week with a 6am practice, re-filling the bird feeder on the back porch, working from 2-9 last Sunday at the Christmas mall, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, emptying the dishwasher, laundry, giving Jordan medicine, arranging and facilitating a facetime call with Marvin, writing 9 love notes, making 20 twice baked potatoes, a dessert and salad for Christmas eve, and feeding our family tonight before Candlelight. So, thank you for wanting to know what's up here. I'll get back to some more interesting posts next week maybe, or maybe the next.

Surprise Party

What's a proposal without a good surprise party with your family, your life group, some church friends, some summer camp friends, and some friends from high school? It's one of the greatest feelings for a parent to see their kids being loved on. We're super happy for Ian and Lauren, but to see their friends roll out and love on them...priceless.