Comfort and Joy

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will
give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:13

Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011-Year in Review

2011 was an eventful year for the Spence family.  I wanted to do a review of some of the big events that happened this past year.

January:
Austin moved to a big boy bed
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and it snowed in Memphis. Austin wasn't a big fan of the snow.  Could be a potential problem for living in Boston. =)
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February:
Miller's precious personality started to shine through
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Austin grew into his role as big brother beautifully IMG_2143
March:
Life was very busy with 2 little ones
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April:
We celebrated Easter.
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May:
I flew to Boston to find our new home
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Miller got tubes in his ears and 
we said goodbye to our beloved home.
June:
David graduated from Residency
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We celebrated with good friends IMG_3034
Miller turned 1
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July: 
We had a few parties to say goodbye to all our friends IMG_5237IMG_3320
Moved to Boston
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Vacationed at Martha's Vineyard
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and explored our new city
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August:
Celebrated the Forrest Sibling Playroom Grand Opening IMG_3703
Put on the 4th Annual Forrest Spence 5k
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September:
Celebrated the life of my precious first born by making cupcakes
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Took some wonderful trips IMG_3887
Celebrated my precious second borns birthday
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October:
Enjoyed a wonderful week with my mom and brother
Ferry to Boston 2
Celebrated Halloween
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November:
Finished up swim lessons and started soccer
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Enjoyed a week at Thanksgiving with Yaya and Dingdad IMG_5026
December:
Took a wonderful trip to Orlando
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Took a wonderful trip to NYC
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Celebrated Christmas
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What a year!  So thankful for the many blessings we have been given.  Looking forward to 2012!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Five for Friday

1.  Thanks to Pinterest the boys made a precious piece of artwork.
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2.  So excited because 3 of my best friends from college are coming to visit in March.  One already booked her flight so it means its official!  Woo hoo...can't wait to show them Beantown! P1010149
3.  The boys have loved having Gigi here...they are going to be super sad when she leaves.  They enjoy riding her like a horse...pretty amazing grandma =)
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4.  If you haven't noticed...I love Pinterest!  It is the best site for creative ideas.  Just recently I have started adding pins with hilarious sayings.  Here are some of my favorites.
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I am terrible at punctuation so this made me laugh outloud. 64457838386245121_BoDhD0xK_c
208150813997187974_GiZ3oU63_b 156851999491712463_UEJSl3Q5_c 64457838386250006_LEFofdN9_c
We love Modern Family and Phil Dunphy!259027416037658995_VIEWrrMA_c
5.  Tonight and tomorrow night I am going on a date with my hottie!  Thank goodness for grandma's who want to babysit.  This saying sums up my feelings for my sweetheart.
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Happy Friday homies!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Christmas Adventures part 1

My mom flew into town last Thursday night so we headed to the mall on Friday morning to see Santa.IMG_5501 IMG_5503 IMG_5506 IMG_5508 IMG_5511
We did a lot of "talking" Santa up to Austin so he would be willing to sit on his lap.  He finally said he wouldn't sit on his lap but would sit next to him.
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Austin loved seeing him but Miller didn't.  He was pretty scared of the big guy.  He finally warmed up after a little while.  Austin told Santa that he wanted a Buzz Lightyear Rescue Man...this was the first time I had heard him ask for this but he continued to ask for it throughout the day so Uncle Toph to the rescue.  He went to Toys R Us in NYC at 2:30 am after he got off work and then brought it with him the next day.
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As a treat for seeing Santa they gave out Ghirardelli chocolate...not sure if this is the best thing to give little kids as you can see with Miller below.  IMG_5527
That afternoon we made Gingerbread houses.  We ran out of supplies so we had to make do with what I had on hand so Austin's house is both white and chocolate icing but they really had fun making them.
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Miller consumed more candy than he put on his house.  They were both on a major sugar high that evening and didn't want to eat dinner.  Note to self...may want to make Gingerbread Houses in the morning next year.
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Austin loved having Gigi read one of his favorite books, Mortimer's Christmas Manger. IMG_5540
Miller loved playing with Uncle Toph.
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Christmas Eve we baked reindeer cookies for Santa and IMG_5544
a birthday cake for Jesus.IMG_5545 IMG_5549
We finished our Advent Series.  Austin loved doing this at night.  IMG_5552
We made a rudolph craft and one little guy loved wearing it around.
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The other little guy loved it for about 5 seconds.  IMG_5572 IMG_5576
Uncle Toph loved wearing it around as well. =)IMG_5579 IMG_5583
We left cookies and milk out for Santa...IMG_5587
and made some food for Santa's reindeer and sprinkled it on our sidewalk.  
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Uncle Toph and Gigi helped dress the boys in their reindeer pj's and then read some stories before we tucked them in for the night.  IMG_5594
Christmas Day post to follow...