January 1, 2012
Farewell, 2011!
What an eventful year 2011 has been! Here are some highlights and some of my favorite pictures.
January: Six months pregnant, we flew to Wisconsin to visit Adam’s family and celebrate a late Christmas. They threw us a baby shower while we were there, and it was so fun to see so many friends and family! Next we flew straight to Arizona for a Larson family reunion. Thanks to weather we almost didn’t make it, but finally rolled in a day late. Again, it was so fun to see family! About this time, Adam decided to switch his major from Pastoral Counseling to Bible Exposition, and we started to wonder if we should move.
Somehow this was the only family picture I got in Wisconsin!
Some (not all!) of my extended family at our Christmas reunion
Cousins!
February: Back in South Carolina, we celebrated Adam’s 25th birthday when I took him on a surprise weekend away in North Carolina. We spent a day hiking around the waterfalls in the mountains (being careful not to get TOO far away from the car since I was almost eight months pregnant!) Then we visited the Biltmore Estates in Ashville and wandered around downtown Ashville a bit (before the pouring rain started).
Looking Glass Falls, North Carolina
The Biltmore Estates
March: Nesting kicked into full gear as we anticipated our baby’s due date. I still worked at the bookstore, spending all day bending down to shelve books. Some days I felt like just staying down on the floor once I got all the way down there! My mom came a few weeks before the due date, and we treated ourselves to pedicures, planted the garden, and waited for baby!
Nine months pregnant!
April: Baby’s due date came and went, and while I was thankful he wasn’t born on April Fool’s Day, I was so ready to meet him! Finally, on April 11 they induced me, and on April 12 Bear was born! There are no words to say what a wonderful gift we received that day. He is worth all the misery of pregnancy and labor a million times over. And, we decided he was just waiting until both Grandmas could be there, because (thanks to his late arrival) Grandma H. arrived a couple hours before he was born!
First Family Picture!
Coming home from the hospital
May: Grandma H. and Grandma L. went home, and we settled in to life with a newborn. We got our first smiles from Bear and fell more in love with him every day! Adam proved to be wonder dad, and would get up in the middle of the night to change Rean and bring him to me as I stumbled out of bed. Sleep deprivation and all, we LOVED being parents!
Smiles and Giggles!
Ready for safari!
June: We flew to Colorado for my sister’s wedding. Bear was eight weeks old, and while I was apprehensive about flying alone, he did amazing! Adam flew out a few days later and we had a blast at the wedding and loved introducing Bear to his Grandpa L., aunts, uncles, and old friends. Back in South Carolina, we celebrated my 27th birthday.
At the wedding
My favorite birthday gift
July/August: We had been questioning our future direction ever since Adam decided to change his major, and having Bear made us miss being near family even more. After a lot of prayer we decided that, since Adam was no longer pursuing a degree that was specific to the school in South Carolina, he wanted to transfer to a seminary closer to family. There aren’t any seminaries near Adam’s family, so we decided on one in Colorado and started preparing to move. We made sure to take Bear to the ocean (my favorite part of South Carolina!) and he was pretty impressed with the sand and waves.
Three months old
The ocean–one of my favorite places in the world
My favorite place, with my favorite boys!
September: We spent most of our “free time” working on projects around the house, getting it ready to sell. I was still absolutely loving getting to be a stay at home mom with Bear, who got cuter every day!
Five months old, first solid food!
Date night
Time to say goodbye to our beloved little house.
October: We said goodbye to our house and a few wonderful friends in South Carolina and hit the road. We decided to visit Wisconsin “on the way” since Adam had a few weeks before he had to start his new job in Colorado and Bear still hadn’t met the H. side of the family. We got to meet our new nieces and nephew who had been adopted from Colombia, South America in February. We relished every moment spent with Adam’s family and our Wisconsin church family!
Six Months Old
Little Bear Meets Old Bear
Grandma and Grandpa H and the Grandkids
November: We arrived in Colorado! For the first time since Bear was born we had family members close by to hug, cuddle, play with, babysit, and admire our sweet boy!
Playing piano with Grandma L
Thanksgiving Dinner, 2011
December: We celebrated Bear’s first Christmas, and the first time Adam has been in Colorado for Christmas with my family. It was so fun to watch Christmas through the eyes of a baby, and to be near family!
Bear’s First Christmas
Christmas with a baby is so fun!
Cutest, sweetest little boy in the world. We are so blessed!
All in all, 2011 was a year full of new adventures and God’s care and faithfulness through it all. I can’t wait to see what God has for us in 2012!
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Watermarked One 