According to Us

This week has been a week of traditions for me. Alan left for a trip with several students on Sunday night, while in the mean time I wrap up the end of Christmas and the year reflecting on all that has come and gone.

If you are interested, I have included links for our past year reflections. Not sure what happened in 2011. Ha!

2010

2012

2013

2014

Before I begin, I must admit something I noticed about this year. I have hardly used my real camera. It’s not really surprising, because of several reasons. One I started working more, and therefore have less “free” time. Two, the camera on my phone is a lot more convenient. No matter, I have also noticed what I take a lot of pictures of, and have decided to be more purposeful in what I capture in 2016.Also my phone broke in the summer so I lost my photos that I didn’t back up. Thanks to IG I have a few of them saved.

January: To start the new year, we were on our way back from a fantastic trip to Colorado for Christmas. My family met together to celebrate my parents’ 50 Anniversary and first Christmas together in almost 30 years. There are 7 of us kids, so it’s hard to all get together. We made a brief trip to visit my aunt and uncle in the flat top mountains. Although it was extremely cold, we love the gorgeous views and 18 inches of snow on the ground. We spent New Years Eve crammed in a hotel room on our return home. That is after spending 5 hours that morning traveling and then realizing my phone was lost on the flat top mountains where it fell out while I was taking pictures with my real camera. What a way to end 2014!!! As I looked through all my pictures, the only one I have from January is the one below. I had bought a set of 4 view finders and the disks for less than $2 and my kids loved it. For a couple of days. Well worth the 2 bucks.

February: Is always a busy time with Valentines and other school activities. Alex was in a play at school. Tori got her glasses for the first time. 3 of 5 kids had the flu, one of which had to be taken to the ER because she was dehydrated. Fun times at the Bandy house! About this time our dog had chewed up my Bible I had since I was in college. I cried for 2 days. However, about the same time I had discovered Illustrated Faith and Bible Journaling. Alan had gotten me a journaling Bible (at a great cyber deal) for Christmas and so a new personal adventure began. Alan began to fill in as Interim at a church near by.

March: Usually with warm weather, although it can still snow, we begin to spend time out and about more. Spring Break always falls in March for us. Alex was turning 16 this year, and had been planning a big weekend for her sweet 16. I took her and several of her close friend to Nashville for a long weekend. It was a fast, all girls, shop til you drop and stay up late fun time. I’m sure it’s one she won’t ever forget. A dear friend of mine found out she had cancer, which is never an easy or good time.

April: This month is kind of a blur. I’m not going to lie. Easter is always a  very full weekend for me with the nature of my job. This year we hosted a large event, and made it bigger by creating what we called “A Family Passion Week Journey.” With that out-of-the-way, the end of the school year began to wind down. We had tons of showers & birthday parties, as well as play rehearsals, land runs, and field trips.

May: May began with a bang. The large play at the High school was the first two weekends. We had major rain storms that dropped 8+ inches in an hour. Dance recital. End of school awards. Before I knew it the month was coming to a close as well as the school year. Alan took the older two kids to TX for Comicon, which was a first for all three. They had a great time! I believe somewhere in this time, Alan received Tenure at his job.

June: During this month, Josiah was only home for one week. He had a couple of camps, plus spent some time with a friend. Tori went to her first camp with the church. My parents’ moved from the state they lived in the longest, after retiring, to a much closer state to us. Honestly, June was a bit of a blur. It was a down time to relax and enjoy the summer. Because Kiki’s birthday was at the end of the school year, we had her birthday party in June. I went for the old school at home, let the kids play with very little planned style. All we had planned was decorating cakes. It was fantastic.  At the same time I had also begun to work more. My dear friend had surgery to remove her cancer, and because we worked together, I began to help fill in while she was in recovery.

July: Always begins with a bang. Ha-I’m so punny. We celebrated in our tradition by going to Pops. (A little burger joint on Rt 66.) Alex took driver’s ed. VBS was a huge success. Then we went on a late vacation at the end of the month. After having a nice visit with Doc and Hunny for a few days, we headed on down to the beach. I had done a little research and found out that sea turtles began to hatch about the time that we would be on vacation. Our first night there at dinner we were talking about what we would like to do at the beach. I told everyone that I wanted to watch baby sea turtles hatch. That night, Alan took the kids to the beach to catch ghost crabs and I stayed behind with the little one. He called me almost right away, because they came to a nest of hatching turtles. The rest of the week was full of them We were between two nests that hatched every night. It was an amazing time to turn 40.

August: I don’t like taking a vacation so late in the summer because when we return we hit the ground running. The kids always begin the school year mid-August. During August, we also went down to help my parents move in to their new home.

September: Looking at the calendar, September was a quiet month for us.  Kiki got her first pair of glasses. The kids were in full swing at school. I was still working more hours at work. Uneventful is always a good thing.

October: This month began with Alex in One Act (which is a competition play) with school. During Fall Break we decided to take the kids camping for one night to unplug and make some memories. Only three of the kids dressed up for Halloween, which as a mom is kind of sad. Alan’s mom ended up being very sick, and so we began to make plans for her to finally move in with us. When we bought this house, it was knowing that one day we would need to help give her more care. It was good to see long-term plans begin to occur, although  seeing your loved ones ill and aging is not always easy.

November: It’s kind of funny for me to look at my calendar for November and see barely anything written on it. I know it was full, because everyday is full. I love all the sweet blessings that our family brings and means. In our fullness there is joy. It doesn’t mean that it is easy or fun, but making everyday count is what life is all about.

December: Perhaps November doesn’t seem very full because December is off the hook crazy. There was one day in particular that pushed and stretched me, but I didn’t crack. I got a glimps to see what I was made of, and what I saw is that I am limited. We all are, but we can always face far more than what life hands to us. To know that I have the Peace of Christ in me, there is more to this life than the moment I am in. Life is not made up in moments, and true greatness in not ever found in things. You can always give more of yourself, and it’s not until you are completely empty that you find how full you can really be.

As I look ahead to 2016, I honestly have no idea what lies ahead. For us, big changes are coming- our oldest is almost done with High School. What?!?! But there are so many things we don’t know are coming. Both in joy and sorrow.  My hope is that I am humbled by the blessings and challenged to be more by the trials. Never take love for granted. Hug your babies, don’t be afraid to be messy, laugh at life, be challenged to love the unlovely, and be a light for those struggling in the dark.

Happy New Year, from our family to yours.

Tags: 2015, happy new year, New Year, this is us, year in review