Recap of Our 2017

I'm about 6 months behind in blogging, and I do plan on getting up to date, eventually. ;) For now though, I just wanted to do a quick review of 2017 for our family. I'm definitely missing a lot. Take a look at my older posts from the year for more happenings and details. And one day I'll get around to updating from July-December... you'll have to check back later for that. Lol.

• We celebrated Kayla's 2nd birthday in January (She's about to turn 3!! I can't believe it!)

• We celebrated Jacob's 26th birthday in February 

• We got my Grandpa's little red truck. Jacob and Kayla are especially obsessed with it!! (Maybe because Jacob is the cool parent and will take her for drives around the neighborhood in it...)

•  We paid off our truck!!! Yay for no car payments! (This pic is from 2014 when we picked it up from the previous owner)

•  We celebrated my 24th birthday in March

•  We lost my Grandpa at the end of March. The kids and I made the drive up to Utah with my parents to attend his funeral at the beginning of April. (pic taken in 2013)

•  We sold my Explorer. It was so bittersweet. This was my first car, and I drove it up until I was pregnant with Wilson. So many memories in between.

•  We packed up everything but a few suitcases into a storage unit, and moved out of what has been our home for the last 4 years.

• We said goodbye to Jacob for about 8 weeks as he went to basic training for the Air Force. The kids and I lived with his parents while he was gone.

• Somehow we survived potty training in the middle of all of this. Haha.

•  We had our first ER trip the night before we got to see Jacob again for the first time in 2 months. Kayla fell out of a shopping cart and landed on her head/face. Thankfully, she walked away with nothing but a small cut (from the sunglasses she was wearing) and some nasty looking bruises that lasted a few weeks.

• FINALLY reunited with Jacob!!

•  His BMT (basic military training) graduation at the end of August. It was the same weekend that Hurricane Harvey hit. It was a crazy weekend, even all the way up in San Antonio.

So happy to be together again after 2 months!

•  After Jacob officially graduated BMT, there was technically still one more week of basic training. That one week turned into 2 because of some silly paperwork errors. And of course my truck just so happened to breakdown in the middle of those 2 weeks. Jacob is my mechanic and I had no way of contacting him... it was a long 2 weeks... (plus the 2 more weeks it took to figure out what was wrong and to get it fixed)

•  Jacob was sent to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, TX for tech school in September. The kids and I moved up to my sister's house in Dallas, so that we'd be closer, since we could now visit him on weekends. And hallelujah for technology because phone calls and FaceTime are what got us through those few months of tech school! We made a handful of weekend visits up to Wichita Falls. Not to mention all the traveling in general we did between my parents, his parents, my sister, going to see him, etc. that we've made over the past 6 months or so. If you want to see us, you're gonna have to come visit us in Louisiana... We're sick of being in the car! Haha.

• Wilson turned 1!!

•  Jacob and I celebrated 4 years of marriage. I even got flowers from him. Not bad considering I was in Dallas and he was in Wichita Falls ;)

•  Jacob graduated tech school and reported to his first duty station... Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

•  We ended up joining him a few days later. The 4 of us lived in a hotel for about a month. That month was probably the absolute hardest. It's a miracle we all survived... Lol.

•  Just before Thanksgiving, we lost my Grandma Nicholas. (This pic was taken when Jacob and I got married in 2013)

• WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! After 6 crazy, long months, we finally are together, with all of our stuff, in our own home. BEST. FEELING. EVER. 

 We love our new home. We really hope we'll be stationed here for a while. It'll be a sad day when we have to say goodbye to our first home. (And yes, I totally took this pic from the listing. Lol.)

•  Christmas Eve we spent a few hours with all of my family in Katy

•  We were able to be together with the whole McConnell side of the family on Christmas Day in College Station (plus a day before and a few days after)

2017 has been a rollercoaster!!! Seriously! It has been so hard and absolutely exhausting... and yet one of the best years at the same time. We have all grown so much individually, as a family, and Jacob and I as a couple.  I have no doubt that Heavenly Father has a greater plan for me and my family than anything that I can imagine. We are so blessed and have so much to be grateful for! 

Happy New Year and Best Wishes from the McConnell's!