2022 Top Nine

Every year, since the year before we welcomed Bryleigh Girl, I have been doing a blog recap of our year!! So this is officially my TENTH one! It’s so fun to look back at the year and see all the ways the Lord has provided for our family and the things He has carried us through. Our top nine doesn’t always mean our BEST nine, because sometimes our toughest moments in a year have some of the biggest impacts on us.

((GOODBYES)) This year, the first moment is just that - In July, we said goodbye to my PawPaw. It was unexpected and fast, but the Lord also allowed for some very sweet time for our family to be with him and say goodbye. He’s had an incredible impact on SO many and his life and legacy are a huge part of who I am and who my children will be. We have been missing him, and we will continue to miss him, but we are so grateful that we know he is with Jesus and He’s had the greatest (fastest) six months! Looking ahead to 2023, we want to make sure that we spend time with our loved ones that are still here with us and honor the ones who are no longer here.

((HELLOS)) While we said a very tough “goodbye” to PawPaw in 2022, we had a super sweet and unexpected “Hello!” We welcomed RIGGINS LAYNE to our family in January of this year. We can assure you it wasn’t our smartest decision ever. We’ve questioned it repeatedly and even considered finding him a new home, but it was probably one of our greatest lessons and areas we heard from the Lord on the most. For those that might not know - when we got Riggins…we also got scabies (the dog and myself…thankfully no-one else ever had it). Riggins and Carson are the absolute best buds and it is always so fun to watch them together! We know he’s been a big part of Carson coming to life this year, but more on that in a bit. Looking ahead to 2023, we are hoping to work on training Riggins in a few areas so that he can help even more, especially where Carson is concerned.

((KIDDOS)) Actually - we’ll touch on that now! Watching CARSON (3) come to life has probably been my favorite thing of 2023! The first four months of this year, Carson finished up his time with ECI. During that time he had a big evaluation with Mansfield ISD and qualified to start receiving services through the school district. This was a huge answer to prayer!! He went to school for the last month of the school year, and then started his first full year in August with the big kids. He has BLOSSOMED this year and is making so much progress! We’re so proud of him and how hard he works, and he is seriously just SO MUCH FUN!! Looking ahead to 2023 for more growth and the possibility of some more diagnostic testing for him, but we aren’t rushing anything!

Over the last year, I have been using a bible that I will give to WILLIAM (6) when he is older. Each year, I read through the Bible and make notes and prayers as I’m reading. Last year, I read through and prayed for Bryleigh, and this year, I wanted to focus on praying for Will. Starting during Lent (March), I began to specifically pray for BREAKTHROUGH in his life and it became an anthem for the rest of our year. He is so incredibly smart, couple that with his very strong personality and we run in to some tough days. Closing out this year, I’m realizing what I really need to be praying for is MYSELF and asking the Lord for direction on how to discipline and disciple him, so that will be a big focus for me in the year ahead.

This year, Will finished up preschool at our beloved ECC and learned to READ!! It was so exciting watching as he began to learn to put the pieces together and he took off with it! He’s also played t-ball through MYBA and is currently on a soccer team through i9. He did a sports camp with them over the summer and still talks about it to this day! Looking ahead to 2023, we are hopeful to grow in our own understanding of Will’s brain and how we can best challenge him and help him grow and flourish.

It has been so fun to watch BRYLEIGH (8) over the last year as she has grown and matured. When we started 2022, she was a snaggled tooth girl on the cusp of becoming a preteen. Just in these recent weeks while she has been home with me a little more (thanksgiving break, a week with flu, and now Christmas break), I am seeing just how much she is truly growing up. She turned 8 to start this year, she’ll be 9 in just a few short weeks, and it is just wild to think that in one short year as I write this post, she’ll be on the cusp of ten!! It’s a joy to watch her grow and see who she is becoming.

Bryleigh is still tumbling all over our house, and any other surface she happens to find along the way, but she’s taking a break from weekly session. We’re looking at gymnastics classes for her in the new year!! She’s also jumped in to the running club they have at school, and I can totally see that as a gift she’s able to use as she grows up! She’s a natural little runner, and if she’s not tumbling…she’s probably running…or crafting! Sister can never get enough art!! A highlight for her in 2022 was definitely the summer camp she attended at Skylark, and she’s counting down the days until she goes back this summer! Looking ahead to 2023, we’re excited to watch as our girl continues to grow into the person God created her to be and helping her use and grow her God given talents and gifts.

((SCHOOL)) One of the HIGHlights of the 2022 year was definitely when all three of our babes started school on August 17! Bryleigh is in 3rd grade with the most amazing teacher, and Will is in kindergarten, crushing his reading levels on a regular basis!! They are both at Willie Brown, while Carson is right up the road at JL Boren in their Early Childhood Special Education program. He’s going half a day for the PK-3 class where he is also receiving OT and Speech therapy, and he is absolutely loving it. We love both of these precious schools and all of the opportunities they have for our kids. Looking ahead to 2023 with excitement for all that our kids will learn in their classrooms and beyond, and we are praying that Carson gets to join the bigs at WBA next school year. (It’s hard to believe that when I write this post next year, Bryleigh will be headed in to her very last semester at Willie Brown!!)

((2nd FIRST DAY)) We had no idea when we set out on all of our back to school adventures and our first day festivities that we’d be doing it all again very shortly. But a week into Will’s first days of Kindergarten, we got a call from the school that he was 1 of 19 students that would be moving from their current classes into a new class due to their class sizes being too big. We LOVED his first teacher and felt like she was perfect for him and his personality, so we were devastated. He had already made some really sweet friendships too, so we were bummed all around, but he handled the whole thing like a rockstar. It was a roller coaster and shortly after we started walking through a similar situation in Carson’s class due to his teacher leaving. God has used these situations to grow us and our dependance on him, and we are looking forward to 2023 with hopeful expectation for all that God has in store for our boys in their classrooms with their very specific and God-ordained teachers. We know that the Lord is in complete control of theses situations and He is caring so tenderly for our boys!

((30A VACAY)) This summer we fulfilled a dream we’d had for a while and took our family of 5 on a beach vacation!! Bryleigh had asked for years for a trip to the beach, and it was so fun to surprise them last Christmas with the news we’d be going this past summer! My parents joined us for most of the trip, and we had the best time all together!! Our kids were rockstars on the 11.5 hour drive, and they were troopers for the week in an Air BNB. We cooked some meals at our rental and then ate out at the best diner that we fell in love with…so much so that we went twice! We fell in love with Seaside and can’t wait to go back!! Well…… most of us! It was a bit of a rough trip for Will and some of his sensory sensitivities, and we learned he can’t hang with the smell of seaweed! Looking ahead to 2023…we have no idea what our vacation will look like this summer as Brad will be in the thick of his busiest and biggest moments for work he’s had to date, but we can’t wait to see what’s ahead, and I’m certainly ready to get planning and make some uninterrupted memories with the family!

((PROMOTED)) Brad, or B-Dad as we lovingly refer to him, works so very hard to provide for our family and we are SO grateful for all that it allows us to do, including my ability to stay at home and take care of “all-the-things.” This was a BIG year for him at his company and we are celebrating his promotion to Senior Manager!! He’s working so hard on a specific project right now, and in November, he had his first work trip since Covid hit and derailed all of life. (Brad also just had his first official positive covid test this year - and it wiped him OUT for a few days.) He’ll be traveling more in 2023, and he’s looking forward to it! We’re so proud of him!!

We also celebrated him this year when he was ordained as a deacon at our church. I’m so thankful for a husband that has always made church a priority for our family. We are attending the church that He grew up in, and it is just so special to see the men that mentored him in his younger years acknowledging the man he is today! We spent most of 2022 leading our community group, and while the Lord has some changes for our family in the year ahead, those memories are some of the highlights of our year! We are so grateful for Fielder Church and the impact it has made and continues to make on each of us. Looking ahead to 2023 for Brad with excitement for his work travels, prayerfully finishing up his current project, and seeking the Lord’s wisdom on next steps for where He would have us serve and do community at Fielder.

((WEDDINGS & WRITING)) This has been a BIG year for me in my own journey of passions and giftings. I vividly remember praying and journaling at the beginning of 2022 for the Lord to bless me with three weddings this year. I didn’t have much on the calendar, but had done 3 in 2021 and it felt like a good number. Well…I just finished up wedding number FOUR for 2022 and already have four on the calendar for 2023! I’m SO thankful for how the Lord has allowed this to be a part of my story.

Along with weddings, I know that the Lord has very specifically called me to write - sharing our story for His glory. In 2021, I took big steps in being obedient to Him by starting this new blog and reserving some pieces of the World Wide Web with visions/dreams He’s given me, but this year was an even bigger year as I officially started writing my manuscript for the book that He has put on my heart to share. I even bravely submitted it twice for publishing opportunities. Looking ahead to 2023, I am so excited for the weddings I already have on my calendar, prayerful that there may be a few more, and I am praying for wisdom and guidance from the Lord as I continue (and hopefully finish up) my manuscript for Even in the Wilderness.

Shout out to Melissa Alvarez Photography for these sweet memories captured.

((CHRISTIANS!!)) Hands down, the absolute best part of 2022 was watching and experiencing Bryleigh and William come to know Christ. It’s something that we had watched as God worked in their little hearts, fully participating as we did family devotionals and bible studies at different times - especially during the Lent season this year, leading up to Easter. It was just precious to watch as they did it together, but also totally separately, individually, and in their very own ways. It was a day I will never, ever forget. Looking ahead to 2023, we are excited to disciple our baby Christians (and their little brother) and watch them as they continue to grow in wisdom and stature and favor with the Lord.

1se - One Second Everyday, a flashback to our 2022