2017 Jar Moments

Most of you know that we keep a yearly jar in our house, and on New Years Eve we open it up and look back at the year. I love it because often times, we are big picture people and this jar helps us to look back at the year as a whole and see some smaller moments that we probably would have forgotten about. Our adoption consumed a lot of our jar this year which totally makes sense because this was our year for our adoption to have some jar worthy moments! The last five jars have had very little regarding our adoption because well... not a whole lot looked like it was happening.

Another reason I love this jar is because despite how our year ends (some years have ended pretty terrible), we can look back and see all of the good we encountered. Whether it be answered prayers, acts of kindness, surprises, or adventures this puts our year into a pretty great perspective.

This year we probably slacked a little more with filling our jar. Maybe it was our lack of sleep, maybe it was pure forgetfulness- I am not quite sure, but even with what we have, you can tell that 2017 was a GREAT year for the Woodson household.

Every year, I try to pull a few from our jar and share what stood out to us. In no particular order and just pulled at random, here are a few that made the 2017 jar.

1. Celebrated Ethiopian New Year with friends and Family

2. Spoke at DayBreak Women's Conference with my Core 4 

3. Jeffrey started a Youtube Channel

4. Received Zane's Vital Letter! Getting Closer!

5. Gemma's First Birthday! Mickey Mouse Party!

6. Successfully made bread from scratch

7. Were so blessed by a meal train from our church family that came to our house and brought us meals for a month

8. OUR TRIP TO ETHIOPIA! WE MET ZANE! HE IS AMAZING!

9. Took a two hour tour of Dubai, saw the worldest tallest building, and put our feet in the Persian Gulf (Arabian Sea)

10. I had the most beautiful baby shower

11. Tim McGraw with Mom and Leah

12. My CMS family donated a large suitcase full of shoes, toothbrushes, wipes, and more for Ethiopian orphanages

13. Shakespeare in the Park (Last date before bringing Z home)

14. ZANE IS HOME FOREVER
15. Jeffrey was a part of Scott's wedding in New Mexico

There were so many more jar worthy moments this year! Some I failed to write down, and some I just didn't share because well 15 seemed like a good place to stop.

2017 was all about soaking in the moments and just enjoying and learning from where we were at. We have had some huge transitions, we have overcome much, and we have so very much to be grateful for this year! We experienced loss and heartache; we learned a lot about ourselves, and we discovered more of God's faithfulness and grace. 

We are beginning to game plan about 2018, and I am so excited for what the next year has for us. Hoping for better sleep, deeper relationships, being more intentional about goals, relaxing more and stressing less. 

We pray that wherever you are and however you are ending your year, you are going into 2018 with hope. 2017 was a year that proved a lot can change in just a matter of a year. Here's to next year and the journey and adventure that lies ahead!

Here is our best of nine from 2017.