January - We always start the year off with a bang, by welcoming another wedding anniversary. This year (2021), we celebrated 10 years!! Happy Anniversary Garrett!! Love you! This month we took some time to vacation in Tennessee. This was the girls' first time seeing snow and they had an absolute blast. Garrett and I thoroughly enjoyed every second as well. One highlight was getting to see our dear friends Lauren and Andre while there and spend a little time with their family. This trip was definitely by far one of all of our favorites and we cannot wait to go again!
February - I went up to Alabama this month to visit my sister and brother-in-law... oh and my new baby nephew that was just born the end of January! I really wish that Amanda and Thiago lived closer so we could see them more and snuggle that sweet baby Maverick more, but I will soak up any chance I get to spend time with them.
March - This month the girls got to come with me to meet their baby cousin for the first time! They were so excited to hold and snuggle Maverick and were such great helpers. I really am loving being an aunt to this sweet boy and I cannot wait to watch him and the girls grow up together over the years. This month, Grace got to attend her first barrel racing banquet and actually won the Peewee class, bringing home her first barrel buckle. She was one happy and surprised girl.
April - April means it's Grace's birthday month! Happy 9 years baby girl! And, this year her birthday fell on a barrel race... but there was nowhere else she'd rather be. Icing on the cake, she took home the win that day! We also did our first big overnight barrel race in Unadilla, GA. Grace had so much fun and it really was a great learning opportunity for all of us! Cannot wait to do more of these, especially now that we have our own travel trailer to camp in and transport our horses.
May - This month Scarlett got her very own horse! She has been riding a little while now and has just really started barrel racing competitively like her sister. We knew it was time to find her match... and Harley is her match made in heaven. Grace got to celebrate the birthday of her sweet friend Grace this month and experienced her first overnight trip without mom and dad. She had so much fun and we could not have picked a better family for her to experience that with; thank you Goodmans! I'm sure we will be planning more play dates and sleepovers in the future. While she was away, Scarlett was of course sad without big sis... so her and I did a mommy-daughter day and went painting!
June - This was the month for summer camp! Both girls went to Lake Aurora this year, but without mom. They are now past the age for the parent/child camp, which makes me a little sad, but they were really excited. They each went their own week and made sweet friends, while also spending time with existing friends. I cannot wait to continue watching them grow year to year at this camp. This month, Grace got to participate in her first ever State barrel race! She got to ride in the Silver Spurs Arena and had so much fun!
July - July means it's Scarlett's birthday month! Happy 7 years little bit! This month we celebrated at a barrel race... go figure, HAHA. Although, this was a big barrel race... this was the NBHA Youth World and Grace's first time experiencing such a large event. Thank you Melissa for such a wonderful experience!! We made sure to shower Scarlett with love while there and celebrate her on her day too. She had so much fun... both girls did! And, did I mention we are expecting number 3?! This month we found out it's a girl!! We could not be more excited to be welcoming another sweet girl into the mix. Scarlett was not too happy of the idea... she wanted a boy and just about cried when she heard it was a girl. She's past that now though and is really excited to be the "middle of the sandwich"... she's the good stuff, as she'd say... the cheese! LOL.
August - Well, we are back around to August, which means back to school. Thankfully, this year is starting to look a little more normal. We actually got to go meet the girls' teachers in person and both girls are over the moon because they got exactly who they wanted (lucky ladies). They are very excited to be back to school in person, with optional masks, and back to seeing their school friends.
September - Sheppard reunion was this month and it's always so much fun! It was extra fun this year too because two of the girls' favorite cousins were there. The girls had so much fun with Ava and Logan. We always enjoy the reunion because it's filled with great people, great food, fun games, and lots of lake swimming. This is also Garrett's birthday month! We had a lot of fun at the Rays game for his birthday with dear friends Brian and Sara and their sweet family. We definitely need to plan more of these because they are always so much fun! Happy birthday handsome. I also celebrated 5 years with Duke Energy this month. I cannot believe it has already been 5 years and what a growing and fun experience it continues to be.
October - October is my birthday month and this month my birthday weekend was spent at the Mother-Daughter retreat. This is always such a special event for myself and I know my girls and mom enjoy it also. This was our 4th year at the event and it was as great as ever. Scarlett and Grace had the opportunity to cheer this month with the high schoolers. They absolutely loved it and I'll tell you what, that Scarlett has the voice and clapping of a cheerleader. Grace was just radiant and such a light out there. We are back on track this month for homemade Halloween costumes too! Thanks Nana and Granny for the help and creativity... the girls looked great and LOVED their one of a kind costumes (Wolf and Spider).
November - This month was a whirlwind in our household because Garrett and I, BOTH, started new jobs. I took a new position at Duke Energy and Garrett moved to a different company, ISM. He is sad to leave Leidos, but is excited about this new opportunity. I am nervous about my new venture, but am very excited to be going into management. This was definitely a God thing. It was also in large part due to great mentorship; Duke has afforded me wonderful friendships and mentorships. I will forever cherish my relationships there, especially yours MJ; thank you! Things in the world are slowly trying to get back to normal and this month Scarlett got to attend another Jiu Jitsu tournament, which she had not done since COVID-19. She started off a little nervous and hesitant, but finished strong, bringing home a silver medal! Way to go little bit! We made sure to also do our annual tree cutting this month before baby sister arrives. The girls got to see Santa as well. Just days after cutting down our tree, we were at the hospital welcoming our newest little peanut, Shelby Laine, into the world! She was born November 30th at 1:17pm, weighing just 6lbs 9oz, and was 19in long. She is our smallest baby and is definitely the final puzzle piece that we've been waiting for all these years.
December - This month was a big one for Scarlett... she earned herself her first barrel racing buckle by earning reserve champion (2nd place) of the Peewees at the WVSC finale race. She also was promoted to a solid gray belt this month at Jiu Jitsu. Thank you Coach Annie and David for always pushing and encouraging her... she is so excited! Lastly, we celebrated Christmas this month and this was Shelby's first Christmas. The girls hit the jackpot with a new basketball hoop from Santa and with some awesome scooters from their Nana and Papi. All in all though, we are just very grateful for the time with family... many of the great grands even got to meet their newest great grandbaby this month. That is something I will cherish and I'm sure they will cherish forever.
Here's to a blessed filled year... full of love, joy, gratitude, and faith. God has really blessed us and I pray that we never take any of those blessings for granted and that our girls grow up grateful and faithful.
