It's been a busy year so far. I am so thankful to be surrounded by family and friends because that has brought a lot of joy to our lives and helped to distract from some of the sadness. Last week marked 1 year without Neal, that is so hard to believe.
We rang in the New Year with dear friends. We made a charcuterie board together and had a dance party. The girls had a sleepover and William and I had our own sleepover (like we do every night, ha). The food was good, everyone had fun and the people time was great. It's been a hard year that I am glad is over.
Valanakah was a big deal every year. These kids now expect it and look so forward to it. I made it happen for them and they loved it. Our sweet friends dropped Valanah gifts some days too. The girls made acts of service promises by day as my daily gifts, which was perfect. It was good.
Reese traveled with our church to a camp in Texas this year for spring break. She didn't have the best time but felt it was okay. I think it would have been better if more of her closer friends went too and I think she'd heard the camp was going to be amazing (T bar M) but she compared it to New Life in her head and it paled in comparison. Ella, William and I headed to Houston. Jacob traveled down with us because he had come to visit during his spring break, the week before ours. We stayed with Aunt Mau and Uncle Chris, which is always fun. We went to the rodeo and saw Luke Bryan and rode some rides. On the way home we spend the night at Uncle Pat & Aunt Cheryl's ranch. William lived his best ranch life feeding cows, riding tractors and getting muddy. It was a fund time.
We got home from Houston mid week. We enjoyed out time at home that week too. Keeco volunteered at the animal shelter in honor of Neal and we all really enjoyed that. We also had a few people over one night and made some plates and watched videos of Neal. It was a good week.
Last weekend we celebrated Easter. We've intended to go to the outdoor service several years but it has always gotten canceled due to weather when we have tried. The weather this year couldn't have been more beautiful. The outdoor service was so good and so many special people came to the same time service as us which was great. We had friends over for lunch and did an egg hunt. Everyone seemed to have a great time, the food was delicious, the kids played outside for hours and everyone was so worn out. It was a good Sunday celebrating with family and friends.
Last Friday was the year mark of the day that we lost Neal. Chelsea took the day off and she and my mom spent most of the day with us. We ate and cooked and got our nails done. We planted a tree in Neal's honor and placed the stone that Tyler & Chelsea got for us. It was a good day together but it's so hard to believe that he's been gone for a year and that we will do this whole life without him.
