Time to take a look back at some of the most memorable snapshot moments of the year. I’m sure we left important things out, and the order is relatively loose, but it’s still fun to reminisce. Enjoy!
10. Fairfield Inn, Muscatine Iowa
This little out of the way hotel is the closest Marriot hotel to Aledo, IL. We have enough points for free nights here, Fairfield Inns are generally very good and reasonably priced, and we needed to be in that vicinity twice this year. It turned out to be a very quiet, relaxing, getaway spot for us!
9. Burnt Cremé at Brit’s
One of my favorite places to be in Minneapolis is Brit’s Pub. Their burnt cremé is an incredibly sweet and delicious crème brûlée. When we can agree on a desert, you know it’s a winner! We enjoyed it several times this fall during the Desiring God National Conference.
8. Kidless trip to Nashville
For the second year in a row, Matt was invited to speak at the NRB convention in Nashville, and Nancy got to come with him to stay at the Opryland Hotel. A wonderful trip!
7. Music Ministry Workshop
Matt and several others from Stonebrook’s music ministry put together a workshop to train music ministry members in our church and it turned out to be a pretty big hit with 80 people from 11 churches from around central Iowa in attendance!
6. Chronicles of Narnia
Matt has been reading the Chronicles of Narnia to Elena and Kate (and himself) this year. They are almost finished with A Horse and His Boy.
5. Classical Conversations
Elena started kindergarten this year. We are teaching her at home using the Classical Conversations curriculum which is working very well for her. We are both amazed at her progress.
4. Wisconsin Circle Block Party
After several years of thinking about it, our neighborhood finally got around to throwing a block party. It was a ton of fun to meet everyone and hang out, share delicious food, play some games, and listen to the ISU football game on the radio. We had beautiful weather and a great turnout. Definitely something we’ll do again soon!
3. Stone Soup
Our small group at church grew too large for one sitting this year, so we had to multiply into two groups. It is a huge blessing to get to know a small group of new friends in our church. We finished a study on Philippians, went through a short study called “The First Principles: Becoming a Disciple”, and are now embarking on a long walk through Romans. Should be good!
2. Grandpa Bill
On May 26 we said a tearful but temporary farewell to Matt’s grandfather, “Grandpa Bill” (Papa Bill to Elena and Kate) in May. We have many fond memories and will miss him dearly.
1. Anna Elizabeth
A week later (on June 2) we said hello to our third daughter, Anna Elizabeth. She is an absolute joy, is ridiculously cute, and is adored by her sisters and everyone else.
What a year it has been!
December 31, 2011
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