Intentional

Just like that 2016 is gone and the first day of 2017 only has a few more hours.

I am glad to start a new year. 2016 was good to me - and it was hard. The new political climate is hard to digest but aside from that I don't have many complaints. I am healthy, surrounded with love, have a fulfilling job and a baby on the way!

I'm not really good at resolutions. I like to pick words that guide my actions and this year my word is: INTENTIONAL. I will be intentional about how I use my time, how I treat myself and others. I will be more intentional about what I allow in my body - not just food but what I allow in my eyes and ears, too. I will be intentional about accepting the changes that are sure to come and I will be intentional about laughing at myself and forgiving myself when I fall short.

So - this year started in Costa Rica - the start of our belated Honeymoon and it ended in Roslyn, WA. We were there for Brenen and Lacey's winter wonderland wedding. We sure jammed a lot in 365 days! Costa Rica, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver BC  a couple trips to Bliss and a handful to Utah - including one to Moab and another to watch Curtis get married (still can't believe it!), and I tacked on a couple solo work trips - Vegas twice, DC twice and Arizona (in the middle of summer - I thought I was going to melt). We both took leaps in our careers, became more dedicated to our health,  we got a new nephew, made memories with friends and family, bought a couple cars, joined Harley in doggie bootcamp (in preparation for Poppy) and oh yeah, and we made a baby!

Like I said, the year ended in Roslyn, WA. It was a perfect place to say goodbye to 2016 and welcome 2017. We watched some of our favorite people get married on Dec 30th and there was so much love and kindness and SNOW at the wedding. It was a reminder of the goodness in the world despite the confusion and fear I have felt since election day. Not to mention, it was my first time attending a winter wedding - and I LOVED it! Snow makes everything feel particularly magical. The next morning, NYE, we went snowshoeing with Erica and Jacquie. Blue skies, new snow, grateful hearts and able bodies. Perfect conditions, no doubt. The rest of NYE was spent watching football, lounging around the hotel room and dinner with friends - and a snow storm. I think the earth was preparing for a clean start to 2017!

The Brides! 

Poppy's second time snowshoeing this week!

We are back home now - we got here this morning - and it feels nice. We took down Christmas, spent time in Poppy's room moving things around, talked about how nice it feels in here, watched the Seahawks and had a homemade dinner together. We talked about the things we're going to do this year. This year is going to be the most life changing year to date and we both welcome the changes, the struggles, the growth and the indescribable fear that is associated with all of it.

364 days left this year - I will be intentional to make them the best that I can! And I'll do a lot of it holding my wife's hand!