2018: A Year in Review

2018 is officially over. Whew! 2018 was a year filled with great friends, great adventures, and lots and lots of love. It was another year without Ian and Madison, and that will always leave a sting, but I'm learning to be stronger because of them, to love harder because of them, and to cherish each moment because of them. So let's take a look back at all that 2018 had to offer!

We started the year with my best girls (and their husbands and kids). We don't all get together as often as we would like, but we make the most of it when we do. This year's gathering included a complete kid photo, including Ian and Madison!

My birthday this year included a trip to Cameo, the Firefly, and beautiful diamond earrings. Eric spoils me.

In March, we hit up the wine trails with Eric's sisters and their husband/boyfriend. We had a blast playing Speak Out and watching Eric drool everywhere, saving humanity from infection in Pandemic, and of course binge-ing on some of our favorite wine.

March also marked Madison's first birthday. My Facebook feed was flooded with posts #becauseofMadison, and I still get teary eyed going through and reading how much Madison has affected everyone's lives. 

Eric and I celebrated 5 years of marriage this year. Where has the time gone?

The summer started with some fun on the lake and never stopped! We went on countless jeep rides, I attended a Pro-Life Women's Conference, got in lots of snuggles with Grant and celebrated his first birthday!

August was a big month for us- we traveled to Europe! I'm still working on finishing editing our pictures from Italy and France, but I have posted on London and Germany. We were all there to celebrate Andy's wedding- what a fun time it all was!

Eric ran in his third Tough Mudder this year- so proud of this guy!

Eric also started coaching Fresh/Soph basketball at NCHS this fall. I don't have any pictures of him in action, but here we are cheering him on!

And I'm realizing Eric had a big fall as he shot his first buck this year too!

October brought a trip with Grant to the Zoo, and a visit from the cutest little monkey for Halloween, and celebrating my Godson Bennett's first birthday.

In December we celebrated Ian's fourth birthday in Heaven, and enjoyed spoiling Grant at Christmas. He loved the little basketball hoop and ball we got him!

2018, what a year you were! 2019 if full of endless possibilities, and I can't wait to see what's in store for us.

A Trip to the Zoo

Whew, guys, it's been a hot minute since I've done a blog post! I promise our life isn't super boring. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We've been so busy this summer/early fall that blogging has fallen to the wayside. But I just had to share about my trip to the zoo on Monday with Grant, Nikki, and Erin!

Erin and I have been planning to do something with Grant (and his momma of course) on Columbus Day since this summer. After much debate, we finally settled on the zoo (thank you Connor for letting Grant's first zoo trip happen without you!). We weren't planning on it being 90 degrees in October, but I do have to say that it didn't feel that hot. Maybe it's because we were having too much fun!

I think it's safe to say that Grant loved the zoo (not so much the two hour car ride each way). He was mesmerized by the fish in the hippo tank, and I think the winner of his favorite animal was the monkeys. He was oh-oh and ah-ah all the way through the primate house. Talk about cute! He also loved the penguin building, especially slapping his hands on the barrier by the water and then putting his hands all over Nikki's face. She probably swallowed more penguin water than she cares to admit. 

I'm already looking forward to our next adventure with Grant. I know the zoo will be a favorite place to go for years to come, but I'm looking forward to even more new adventures with my nephew! 

Grant's Baptism

What a beautiful day to welcome Grant into the Kingdom of God! Nichole and Connor were proud parents, and I'd have to say the same thing for Grant's godparents, Erin and Cole. Heck, I think all of us were beaming during the entire baptism, except for Grant that is. He did pretty well until he actually got baptized, then he got pretty cranky. But that's ok. He's officially the newest member of God's kingdom and St. Thomas. We love you Grant!

Grant Levi Walters

These past two days have been emotionally loaded for me. Monday morning Eric's sister Nichole texted us that they were in the hospital getting ready to have their baby. I still remember when they told us that they were pregnant on Christmas Eve before midnight mass. I was so thankful that they told us before they surprised everyone at our family Christmas, but boy was that hard. I think I cried in the bathroom for the first 15 minutes of mass. Since that day, I've known that this day was coming (though it wasn't supposed to happen until August. Guess Grant couldn't wait to meet us all!). But I didn't realize how not ready I was for all of this until yesterday. 

I think I've felt every emotion under the sun- pure excitement and joy to meet my nephew, extreme sadness that I haven't gotten to feel this kind of joy myself, jealousy that Nikki and Connor get to experience parenting in a way that Eric and I should have been doing two years ago, fear that adding this new addition to our family would put Ian and Madison on the back-burner. Most of all, I felt this overwhelming feeling of love for this little boy that God placed in our lives. Nothing has felt better since holding Madison than Grant felt in my arms. I'm so thankful that I get to be an integral part of this little guy's life.

And I'm so thankful that I get to watch Eric be an uncle. I might have gone to meet Grant this morning by myself, and I'm so glad I did because I totally cried once I held Grant and I didn't want a whole group of people to see that. I went back with Eric once he got home from work today. The room was full and some of Nikki and Connor's friends were holding Grant. When Eric finally got the chance to meet his nephew, my heart melted into a million pieces and I don't think I'm ever going to be able to put them all back together. The way he smiled down at Grant as he was sleeping in his arms is a look that I hope I remember the rest of my life. Pure joy on his face. It honestly almost broke my heart that I haven't been able to give that to him. And I would have cried right then and there if the room wasn't full of people. I want nothing more than to give Eric a baby (or two, or three, or four) of his own. For now though, I get to catch a glimpse into what life will be like as he interacts with Grant. I have this strange feeling that these two are going to be the best of buds, and I'm so excited to see their relationship grow and develop into something wonderful.

So if you need me in the next couple of weeks, you might be able to find me at Nikki and Connor's house with a baby in my arms. Seriously though, I'm taking all the Grant cuddles I can get. Uncle Eric and Aunt Sharon love you so much Grant!

Baby #2: 35 Weeks

How far along: 35 weeks

Weight gain/loss: Not sure this week. I'll find out on Thursday!

Sleep: Sleep is good and I just can't get enough of it lately.

Rings: On.

Showing: Yes sir!

Cravings: Water. I've been so, so thirsty!

Gender: Girl.
 
Best Moment this Week: This was another one of those weeks that I wasn't sure what I would write in this section. That is, until I realized all the good things that happened this week. I'm continually amazed at the people who know about our sweet Madison and are praying for us, especially when they are people that we don't even know! This week we received a letter in the mail from a couple that we don't know. They wanted to let us know that they have been humbled and inspired by this blog and our journey. They felt God calling them to reach out to us, to let us know that they are praying for us. How amazing! We were overwhelmed with their kindness and generosity towards people they have never met. It warms my heart to know that Madison is touching the hearts of so many others.

This week we also finally got to announce that we are getting a niece or nephew! Eric's sister Nichole and her husband Connor are pregnant and due in August. I think God knew I would need some serious baby cuddles around that time. I've already warned Nikki that I might be over every day to get some loving in, so hopefully they won't mind :)

Then this weekend Eric and I traveled to Evansville, Indiana to check out our friends' new house and get together with some of our college friends. We usually go on a wine trip together every year to the wineries by Carbondale, but with one due in February and myself due in March, we decided that we should probably postpone until next year. I'm so glad we were still able to all get together. As we get older it gets harder and harder to find the time to see each other, but thankfully that hasn't stopped us yet- and I hope it never does!

Looking Forward To: I'm going to try to order a Molly Bear, a weighted teddy bear, for Ian this week. Fingers crossed I can get my order in! I start weekly doctor's appointments after this week, so I get to hear Madison's heartbeat every week now! Definitely going to be soaking that heavenly sound in.