Let me share a few of Highlights for the Sprague Fam:
In January this handsom fella turned a big ONE!
In february we spent some amazing time in the tropical city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira with my parents.
and the fun didn't stop! come march, we spent some wonderful time with our dear friends, in Lisbon, Portugal
April zoomed by, and all of a sudden we found ourselves in early may. The weather bloomed and we couldn't help but dive right into the first tastes of summer at Lukki, one of our favorite parks outside of Helsinki.
In May we had some family Photos taken to remember out time here.
Then, come June we took a deep breath and set out traveling again. To Minnesota,Wisconsin, Arizona and Mexico!
In July my sweet girl turned FOUR!
We also got to visit London to celebrate and we crossed off a bucket list item: Star Wars Celebration. So fun.
We ended the month happy to be home, and come August we drank all the goodness that is Finnish Summer. As I pondered all I loved about finland and what it has done to me as a mother, I wrote one of my favorite pieces. called "ihana"
Come September the adventures began anew, as we hiked out to the land of Norway. We saw incredible Fjords and fell inlove with the little town of Bergen.
At the end of September, early October, I had a somewhat suprise visit from my sister, which was an absolute delight. We planned a little weekend to Paris, where we both had never been and had an absolutely wonderful time just being together and eating one too many macaroons. It was the first time she and I had ever spent time just the two of us (as adults) and it was a deeply special time to me. We celebrated her 30th Birthday, albeit a little early and later celebrated Ben's as well.
And for our last trip of the year, we went to Brussels, Belgium mid October.
In November, I accomplished something I had hoped for quite some time- I was published on a site I highly respect and admire, Coffee + Crumbs, with my post "Not Leaving."
We spent the rest of November and December quitely celebrating the newfound news that we were expecting another little spraguelet (!!!) Mixed with the news that we would be returning to the States in the new year plus Ben working overtime, it has been a bit of a whirlwind end. I've been very sick (more so than with my other 4 pregnancies) which has been a time of deep testing and prayer. I'm so grateful for community (our church brought us food and gave us company when cooking felt impossible!) All the prayers we've gotten over the past three months have carried us. All this change to process has left this blog a quiet place (as it might be for a few more months...)
Both christmas and New Years Eve were a mixed time time of celebrating and me being sick. Making big celebrations a bit dampened...
Yet here we are. We're grateful for this year and all the travel we were able to do. It is ending with big changes on the horizon making us expectant for 2017!
____________________________________________________________
As part of new year contemplations and anticipating all thats coming, I've decided to go for a break on instagram and facebook. I've deleted them off my phone.
About two weeks ago, Eowyn was trying to talk to me while I was looking through instagram. She was trying to get my attention so I put down my phone. When I did, she looked up startled and asked "what?!" in a tone as if she was in trouble.
While this is the first time she acted weird like this, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to take a look at how often I am engaged with my phone AND kids simultaneously. After paying attention (and since I've been sick we've relied on media extra) I knew in my heart a bit of a break was in order. I suck at moderation in the beginning of giving up anything, so the best route for me is to just go ahead and stop doing whatever it is entirely-be it eating sugar, media or otherwise-until I feel freedom in the area.
So, yet another disclaimer if you notice a bit of a quiet 2017 over here. I'm working on paying attention to what matters - plus we really dont have time to be scrolling when we have rooms to purge and suitcases to pack.
Ben and I joke that our phrase of the year is "Don't Panic." Everything feels very overwhelming right now. So, we keep joking to each other. While the panic hasn't set in, it was difficult moving here logistically and there's several more steps involved (and less help from his company) to get us back.
Add a baby and the reality that I've still been sick while trying to get things ready (for Both Elias and Eowyn, I never was sick past 11 weeks.) it makes it all a bit more cumbersome.
Pray for us as we make the steps to relocate. Our hearts are excited, yet heavy to leave our church family. These friendships have been the deepest we've ever experienced, so leaving them feels like leaving ourselves. We've set up this house completely fresh, no hand-me-downs etc. So having to give much of this up again to start over again (we gave away much back stateside as well-praise God-we didn't need it.) can be emotional and a lot of work. The pregnancy has hightened everything (emotions, stress, etc.) We are SO thrilled for this baby (and anyone who has lost especially knows that a baby is the greatest gift ever, no matter when it comes!) but we also want to be able to focus and celebrate it without all the extra adjusting. I am deeply looking forward to April-June when we can do a proper job of being intentional about our preperations for ths little one.
Fortunately, We've moved over a weekend, and we've waited to move over a year. So the time we have alloted for moving and preparing for our little one will be enough-it always is.
See you all on here, as well as sporatically elsewhere. If ya need me, I'm on whatsapp and facebook messenger.
Happy New Year, friends.
To see previous highlight reels, click here
No comments:
Post a Comment