A Year in Review part 1

The first word that comes to mind when I think of the approaching end of this year is "phew!" Mark had an intense year of residency being lower on the totem pole. And, of course, the rest of us have been busy as usual. Mark's call schedule will hopefully be a little lighter this upcoming year, however, I'm sure the year will prove to be just as busy. We are expecting baby #4 some time in May!

Upon reflection of the year--of all the good and bad events, I can see Christ's hand in our lives and I continue to be grateful for all of the tender mercies (including the support from so many friends and family members) in our lives that come because of Him. It is especially after difficult trials that I feel a greater motivation to try a little harder to be a kinder person and to strengthen my faith and testimony in our Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope all of you feel His love in your life like we have in ours. Here is a wonderful Christmas message to help us all refocus on this season's true meaning:
He is the Gift

Merry Christmas!

Holly and family

Here are lots of pictures so you can see what we've been up to this year:

Drew, my parents, my grandma and aunt came to visit during spring break

We celebrated Dad's birthday while they were here

The kids love Uncle Drew

Maren gave us all a private ballet recital while they were here

Holly and Mark took a much needed vacation without kids to Montreal (Mark had a radiology conference there)

This was our first kid-free vacation since we've been married (nearly 8 years!). Did I mention it was much needed? Looking forward to the next one!

We rescued a lost dog and found both its owners (they didn't want her anymore) and a new home for her

Ellie turned 2 and got a bike!

We got a zoo pass

Noah his first top tooth

We went camping (and it rained on us almost the whole time!)

Maren turned 4 and had a very girly, pony birthday party

Maren with one of her best buds

We went to 2 awesome family reunions (I only have pictures from the B side)

The kids love re-meeting and playing with cousins. Looking forward to more reunions/closer proximity!

To be continued (hopefully, haha)