So much changes over the course of a year. 2017 was no exception. Not only was it a fresh start from 2016, but it ushered in a lot of change and excitement for our family.

January 2017

After having lots of issues with the battery on my van dying, I got a fancy new battery. It’s okay to be jealous. Thankful to not have any more issues.

Girl Scout Cookie season started. The beginning of the longest two months ever. I love the cookies, but I’m not sad when it ends in March.

Lily got an MRI on her ankle. She has Osteochondritis, but we didn’t know the extent until after the MRI.

I celebrated 10 years at work. I’ve been working with the same company for 10 years. That used to be the norm, but it isn’t so commonplace anymore. I love the girls I work with and adore our clientele.

February 2017

Navy turned 6. We spent the weekend at the Kalahari Resort for his birthday. Traveling there was a challenge because neither kid knew what we were doing for Navy’s birthday. Boy, were they surprised when we arrived!

Lily did a report on Robert Indiana, an artist from Indiana. She requested that we see some of his works. While we still haven’t done this, I would love to make it happen in 2018.

Osteochondritis. Our nemesis. We met with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon from Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. While the hole in her talus is significant, he was optimistic that surgery would not be needed. He also didn’t want to have to cut through her growth plates if it could be avoided. This was the start of our regular ortho visits. I’m so glad that our insurance is covering a lot of this.

March 2017

Lily was on crutches. That sucked. Thankfully, she mastered the crutches in no time, and they didn’t slow her down.

Grammie turned 80. FDR was president when she was born. The Golden Gate Bridge opened. Amelia Earhart disappeared. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered.

Lily turned 10. Double digits. We went to her favorite Japanese restaurant for sushi and hibachi. She had her favorite pie in lieu of cake.

Baseball tryouts for my little leaguer. He would ultimately be drafted to the Mets. He still has aspirations to play for the Fort Wayne Tincaps, his favorite team.

April 2017

First birthdays. So many babies celebrating turning 1. So much fun. So much cake.

Baseball practices started for the 8U teams. Navy needs a lot of work with focusing.

I went to a LuLaRoe training session. DeAnne was there. I met some really great people.

We welcomed home Honor Flight. It was such an amazing experience. Not just to watch their adventures via Facebook LIVE, but to be there when they got home. Wow!

Osteochondritis still sucks. The hole is smaller, but still there. No more crutches or walking boot. If there’s significant pain, Lily can use the boot as she feels necessary.

May 2017

Navy hurt his arm. They thought there was a small break, but couldn’t be sure and didn’t want to do an MRI. They splinted it, just in case.

We celebrated a wedding. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony.

Officially moved into the new house. Finally had a table to eat on.

I got the call from LuLaRoe. I became a LuLaRoe consultant. It’s a scary and exciting journey.

Squeaky joined our family. This little orphaned kitten needed a home. He was so tiny and scared. I couldn’t say no.

June 2017

For the most part, June was a pretty sedate month for us. Just a little bit of excitement, but nothing crazy.

Yet another potentially broken arm. This one from the monkey bars. Thankfully, it was just splinted for a few weeks and all was well. Somehow, we still haven’t reached that magical deductible number. I’m not really sure how.

We got a pool. It’s just a small one, but so much better than the wading pools that they’ve had in the past. They can actually play in this one, and I don’t have to empty it every week to scrub out the gunk.

July 2017

Lily had an ortho check-up. Osteochondritis still sucks. The hole continues to get smaller. She got to snuggle pet store kittens as a reward.

We welcomed Cupcake to our family. Squeaky wasn’t a fan, but he got used to having a little sister.

Navy had surgery for an epigastric hernia. That was what it finally did to hit our deductible. I’ll be paying on this for a long time to come.

Lily went to Girl Scout camp. I know that she looks forward to it, but I hate a whole week without her home. I missed her so much!

August 2017

Another first birthday. Can’t believe that sweet Baby Nephew is 1. He was such a chocolatey mess.

Lily got a new pair of glasses. I’m kinda jealous. They’re bluish-purple with a heart gem on the side.

First day of school. Can’t believe that Lily is in 5th grade, and Navy is starting 1st. These two are growing up way too fast.

Some random fun. We sprayed Lily’s hair with some temporary color. I’ve been experimenting with LuLaRoe fashion. Can’t believe how fast the summer just flew by!

September 2017

We had a lot of fun in September! We did the Be a Tourist thing in downtown Fort Wayne. At the end, we met a lady who has a sweet Scarlett Macaw.

My nephew turned 9. The party had an epic silly string fight. That was probably my favorite part.

Lily decided to play flute in the band. I really hope that she likes it. If not flute, maybe she’d like to try something else.

Another ortho check-up. Osteochondritis still sucks. The hole continues to get smaller, but it’s still here. I’m grateful that these appointments are more spaced out, and we don’t need any extra interventions.

October 2017

October was full of a lot of fun, but also brought some huge challenges.

The hardest thing was that cancer touched our family. Thankfully not our household, but that didn’t make the fear of the unknown any less painful.

Lily and I completed the Walk to End Alzheimers and the River City Rat Race 5k. She finished the 5k in 35m09s and was 31st in her age group. I finished 40m06s and was 22nd in my age group.

We did some pretty fun things, too. I celebrated my birthday with lots of cake. We had some fall family pictures take. We did Halloween festivities multiple times.

November 2017

We spent much of this month relaxing from the chaos that was October.

Another nephew had a birthday. That was pretty awesome. He turned the BIG 5!!

I attempted to start running again. That really didn’t get off the ground like I’d hoped, but I’m not giving up.

I started fueling my passion for cooking. I tried several meal delivery services and searched tons of recipes online. I’m so excited for what my culinary future holds.

Lily worked pretty hard practicing her flute, in spite of not having a music teacher or band for several weeks. Lessons to come!

December 2017

December was filled with lots of Christmas stuff. We had several events with family and friends. Lots of food, and the kids were totally spoiled.

We spent Christmas morning home opening presents from Santa. The kids must have been pretty good. We celebrated Christmas with a traditional dinner later with family.

For New Year’s Eve, we ventured to the Chicago suburbs to visit a friend. We visited Trader Joe’s for the first time. It was amazing. We also had a Giordano’s deep dish pizza!

I cannot wait to see what 2018 has in store for us!