Highlights of 2018

How it is time to bid 2018 adieu already is absolutely shocking to me! I could swear that it was January just last week, and yet, here we are, anticipating the arrival of 2019. Before we say farewell to 2018, though, I wanted to wrap up this year's blog posts as I like to do at the conclusion of each year: by noting some of my favorite highlights from each month. So. Here we go! 2018, you were so good to us. A look at some of my favorite moments: 

January. We kicked off 2018 by celebrating Raleigh's 6th birthday - my sister, niece, Raleigh, and I stayed in the American Girl Room at a hotel in Charlotte and had a blast! We also attended the Luton family reunion that month, had fun in tons of snow, got some answers regarding Bella's hearing, AND my hub and I snuck off to Florida to cheer on our favorite Panther in the NFL Pro Bowl with our LifeGroup.  

February. Rec league basketball rolled on for our Bankster, Raleigh and my hub attended the daddy/daughter dance for the third year, we celebrated our first Chinese New Year, and Bella took her first step the last day of the month, on February 26, 2018. Go Bels!

March. March was fun! My hub and I attended the third annual Greenway Gala, we attended our sweet town's St. Patrick's Day festival, and, as basketball concluded, the kiddos started baseball and teeball and my big two tried out for (and made!) swim team!

April. April arrived and with it came tons of spring break fun and Easter, too! Bels also got her hearing aid and I snuck away for a girls weekend with my college BFFs. We closed out the month by celebrating Harrison's 4th birthday with a father-son campout birthday party! 

May. May was BY FAR our busiest month of the entire year!!! We celebrated back-to-back birthdays for our Bella (who turned 3!) and daddy (who went on a deep-sea fishing trip with brothers/friends to celebrate). We also celebrated Mother's Day and welcomed in the end of an awesome school year for my big three kiddos by heading to our annual Memorial Day beach trip with two families we love. AND we cheered on Rals in her dance recital. Whew!  

June. June started with a bang and didn't stop! My hub and I headed to Cabo for one of the best trips of our lives! So.Much.Fun. Also, swim meets began for my big two as well as the first of a few summer camps we had scheduled for the summer, including Dabo Swinney football camp for Banks. We also had so much fun on the Luton "side" of the family beach trip and closed out the month with a LifeGroup lake trip! 

July. Things didn't slow down in July either! We celebrated the 4th of July at a neighborhood pool party and also headed to Florence, South Carolina, to attend the All-Stars baseball tourney to root on our Banks. There were more camps, including Camp Rock (Banks first sleep away camp through our church, during which he made the choice to become a Christian and asked to be baptized) and dance camp for Rals. We had a very special day on July 31st, which was our Gotcha Day anniversary (exactly one year since we had met our Bella Elizabeth!). We also went to the beach again for the BLOMPS "side" of the family beach trip AND my hub and I later snuck away on a weekend trip to Charleston with some dear friends. Whew!

August. We closed out summer by enjoying our first annual "Adventure Week," during which the kiddos and I had all kinds of adventures all over town! Then, it was time for the start of preschool, 1st, and 3rd grades at FMES (for my big two and littlest one). Banks and daddy also attended a weekend Father-Son camp, and Raleigh started her first year of cheerleading and Harrison, his second year of soccer. 

September. This month was a doozy, full of so much family fun! We attended the first Clemson game of the year as a family and soon after, flag football and cheer games began. We also surprised our big three with a magical trip to Disney and then I jetted straight to Vegas to celebrate my big brother's 40th birthday. Finally, we ended the month by celebrating Banks' 9th birthday with a gem-mining party. 

October. October was a fun month, too! Harrison and I were thrilled to go to a Panthers game with one of his close buds (and one of mine!). We also attended our town's Fall frolic and had our annual family photos taken. I ran my first half marathon, Raleigh and daddy took a flight to NYC (her first flight! She LOVED it and the special time with her dad), and we had lots of Halloween fun!

November. This was a special month for our family: My hub and I got away to the mountains for a few days, just the two of us, before heading to Clemson for an adults-only weekend. We were so very proud to watch our Banks get baptized in front of our church, our family, and our friends. Then, my hub snuck away for a guys weekend with some college buds. We also celebrated Thanksgiving with both "sides" of the family, and we got our Christmas tree a few days later!

December. And then there was December, beautiful December, which was all things Christmas with my birthday thrown right in the middle of it all! It was a full, fun month with family and friends we love so dearly! 

And those were just a FEW of my favorite moments from 2018. Gosh, there were so many more really good ones. And just to keep it REAL (and not just focus on the highlight REEL), there were certainly struggles and challenges, too. But they have shaped us and helped us grow, and I am truly thankful for them all. <3 

I feel incredibly blessed to have a life that is full of love from my beloved family and treasured friends. I look forward to another year to surround myself by the ones I love, to grow and change to be more Christ-like, to challenge myself to reach new goals, and to make new memories along the way. Here's to 2018. <3 And now? It's into 2019 we go...