Two thousand sixteen was without a doubt a memorable year. It is a year that will be remembered for some devastating events around our country and around the world, for political controversy and division, and for the largest humanitarian crisis since WWII. But amidst the darkest shadows, may it be a year where even the smallest flickers of light are not forgotten. This year held many blessings for our family that I never want to forget, so here are some of my 2016 reflections...
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| Reflecting on a memorable year. |
In February, JJ and I flew away into the sunset...the Hawaiian sunset... for a
week in paradise! Sometimes it takes a work conference in a beautiful location to peel us away from our daily routine and to leave our toddler for an extended time. This was one of those times, and boy did we need it more than we knew! Despite missing our original flight from Dallas to Honolulu, we were able to relax once we reached the salty sea air and enjoyed a week of sun, sand, hiking, surfing, and enjoying all things Hawaiian. Oh, and the work conference was great too! ; )
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| Lanikai Beach, Oahu |
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| Our first luau exprience |
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| Waikiki Beach, Oahu |
Speaking of work, we are both truly blessed to be where we are in our current pharmacy careers. I am humbled on a daily basis by working with pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients and a phenomenal team of colleagues. Life as a full time working professional momma brings its own challenges but is incredibly rewarding overall. The patients and families I have the privilege of serving make each day worth the commute to work and make coming home to my own family that much sweeter. This year, an added bonus was that I got to ride to work with my Dad several days a week, as we live only 3 miles from each other and both commute to work in downtown OKC! Our windshield time was precious and priceless. And that curbside dropoff/pickup was second to none :)
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| Fun with my team. We work hard and play hard. [Also, those are rockstar hands, not Longhorn hands!] |
Meanwhile, JJ kept things at home running smoothly while working his full time job from his home office. The flexibility of having him in this role has been incredible, where he was able to help me get out the door each morning (breakfast in hand), enjoy regular breakfast dates with Charlotte, and have the opportunity to work out or do projects around the house on his hour lunch break. He is really great at his job, but the most rewarding part for him is being able to be here for our family in a major way. Here are a few of the projects he did this year, "one lunch break at a time."
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| JJ built these raised bed gardens and utilized the "companion planting" method to optimize our crops! We grew everything from tomatoes and okra to eggplant, strawberries, and many others in between. I wish I had an "after" picture! |
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| JJ brought life to our once-overgrown flowerbeds! |
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To optimize space in Charlotte's room, we removed the closet doors and made a play space inside
for her to read and store toys. |
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JJ built these bookshelves using baseboards, for a space-saving and eye-level book display for our toddler [inside her closet!]
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In March, we held a very bittersweet
sendoff for my sister and her family (with three kids ages five and under!), as they sold or packed everything they owned and boarded a plane to Thailand on a one-way ticket. This move had been a dream in their hearts for 7 years, so to see it come to fruition was a beautiful thing, albeit heart-wrenching to know we would be literally half a world away. We are so incredibly proud of who they are and for the way they live!
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| We cherished the time these cousins had together! |
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| The whole tribe! |
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| Paper lantern sendoff in true Thai fashion... |
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| Speaking of Thai fashion... authentic outfit from the Land of Smiles |
Spring gave way to summer and brought with it a new business opportunity for me to become a consultant with
Beautycounter, a company that has a
mission I'm passionate about. It has turned into a fun venture in advocating for safer skincare regulations as well as providing safer products for my family and friends. Also, with a little extra income, we were able to finally cash in our vehicle savings for a new [to us] Highlander! This was a huge bucket list check for us, as we had been saving for years in order to avoid having a new car payment.
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| New addition to our family...Signed, sealed, delivered. Debt-free! |
Summer brought wedding celebrations, a 65th wedding anniversary, and hosting an intimate backyard banquet with our Lifegroup. As the heat turned up, we jumped right into swimming lessons for Charlotte. Our little water bug
turned 2 in August and celebrated appropriately with a splash pad birthday party.
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| Favorite wedding date! |
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| Mammo and Pappo's 65th wedding anniversary! |
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| We love these people! Our Lifegroup meets weekly at our house, and we are better because of them. |
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| Nothing like a backyard banquet to celebrate life with those you love! |
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| First swim at the big pool! |
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| Our big TWO year old! |
JJ and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and his birthday in September with a trip to one of our favorite places, Asheville, NC. We indulged in our favorite local cuisines, attended a small town apple festival, and stayed at the beautifully historic Grove Park Inn in the Blue Ridge Mountains. (Somehow, I scored a day at this world-class spa...for JJ's birthday?! We called it my "early birthday" gift ; )
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| Small-town mountain festival to welcome Fall |
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| Beautiful Grove Park Inn |
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| Relaxation vacation at it's finest! |
October was filled with more family birthday celebrations (mine included!), Halloween fun, and Sooner football... our favorite time of year! It was also spent preparing for November...
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| We are all about some family costumes... |
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| Saturdays are for football in Oklahoma! |
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| Starting them young...Sooner born and bred! |
Remember that trip to Hawaii in February? Well, 9 months later - in November - we
welcomed a new baby girl into our family!
Best souvenir we ever brought home from vacation ; ) That completed our 4 month run of birthdays in the Peek family (August - Charlotte, September - JJ, October - Leigh, November - Adeline) Guess we need to have one more in December?! Ha.
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| Peek, party of FOUR! |
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| Welcome, Adeline Grace! |
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| Room for TWO! |
Spending the holidays together as a new family has been such a sweet time for us! I was fortunate to take 12 weeks of maternity leave, which will allow me to be home with my girls (and my guy) until early 2017. Until then, we are soaking up every last blessing of 2016.
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| Annual Christmas Parade |
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| Adeline's first church service with "Mimi and Didi" |
We are looking forward to a fresh year of adventures, challenges, blessings, and saying "yes" to all of the new opportunities that God has in store for us. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
With l
ove,
JJ, Leigh, Charlotte, and Adeline
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