Last year, I said these three things about 2014…
Every year, I do a review at the end of December of the last 12 months. This year, when I sat down to do the review, I thought a couple of things:
1. This year was obnoxiously big.
2. I hope next year is less eventful because the regular old days are my favorite.
3. No wonder I’m tired.
Hahaha! Yeah, I was wrong. This year was obnoxiously big, this year was eventful and this year I AM REALLY TIRED. So naive I was at the end of 2014 ;).
2016…I’m comin’ for you! I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.
To see the reviews from years past, you can find them here…
Here it is, 2015 in review. I don’t think I can recap it without sharing one of my very favorite Bible verses…
God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. -Ephesians 3:20, The Message
January
Let’s face it…January marked out entire year life.
On December 29, we left Dallas as a family of four and flew to China to become a family of five. We spent our last day together as the Shull four on January 3 atop the Great Wall of China.
The next day, we waited with nervousness, excitement and anticipation for them to bring in our Ashby.
And there she is. That girl right there became our girl. She was scared, she was confused, she was crying, she was then really quiet…she was ours. I could feel it in my soul…she was our girl.
We wrapped up our three weeks in China and flew back to the states on January 15 as a family of five.
In February, we learned the ropes of being a family of five.
And thanks to cold weather and some snow, we stayed inside and hibernated most of the month. It was cozy and I soaked in every minute of it!
March
In March, we went through the US re-adoption process and once and for all, made our adoption as legal and binding as possible ;). This girl is a Shull forever and always.
The snow melted and baseball season began.
On the 7th, my dad turned 60, and we had an awesome party with a food truck!
On the 13th, we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Love this guy so much.
April
And we celebrated Easter!
May
We started our annual swim lessons in May!
Oh summer! How we love thee! Last day of school happened in June! We ate snow cones and stayed up late to celebrate!
Kensington decided one day that she should donate her hair…so we did ;).
And on the 9th, we celebrated this girl turning three! It was her first birthday cupcake, birthday candle and Happy Birthday song. We feel so blessed to be a part of her life.
The celebrating continued when we hosted Ashby’s You Are My Sunshine birthday swim party!
July was such a great month! We loved celebrating July 4th as a family of five.
And we spent the rest of July doing this…
The second week of September, this cutie started preschool!
And on the 15th, my baby turned seven.
Our month was marked by sweet Ashby having surgery on both her upper chest and her hand. This girl is one tough cookie!
We celebrated all things turkey in November!
In November, we took our first road trip as a family of five to Missouri! We had the best time with Andrew’s family!
We kicked off December with our annual carriage ride!
Ashby met Santa for the first time ;).
Kensington did a fabulous job in the Nutcracker! We’re so proud of her!
Alexis Bailey says
What a great post and wonderful way to remember your year!! I'm just so darn impressed with how many family photos you have…I'm lucky to ge one shot on the six of us each year!! Totally planning on changing that in 2016!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Shulls!
Jennifer Martinez says
Such a great recap! I found your blog this year and have been loving following your family, can't wait to get your cookbooks! Xoxo may god bless you with a wonderful 2016
kimm atwood says
Loved seeing the year in review
Valerie Cox says
Thank you for always sharing your memories with us, Shay! It's amazing to look back and see how much Ashby has opened up in the past year. Many blessings for 2016!
Erika Slaughter says
I love these recap posts!! You guys had a huge year! I mean HUGE! We loved getting to be a part of it. 🙂 Praying for your 2016, friend!!
Narci says
What an amazing year for the Shulls!! We love you guys!!
Susan Williams says
Shay – Ashby's transformation is so apparent in this post! It made me teary to look at the first pic of her scared face to now! I know you are happy she is a Shull, but I think Ashby is pretty happy to be a Shull, too!
Beautifully Seaside // Formerly Chic Coastal Living says
Your family had such a great year!! God bless you in the New Year too!
dresselfamily.blogspot.com says
The best year ever !!!
Briana Runde says
What a great year for you guys!!!
Ashley Van Dam says
January 4th?? What am I going to read every morning for the next 6 days!??!
🙂 Enjoy your break!
Christy Goode says
What a great year! My husband and I are in the process of adopting a 2 year old boy from China, so we are definitely looking forward to the year ahead. Your posts about Ashby have been so helpful- thank you for sharing your family's adoption journey!
Agoodejourneyofhope.wordpress.com
Megan says
Girl!!!2015 was busy!!!! My favorite part of all these memories and pictures was seeing Ashby unfold!!! So sweet. Every moment.
Aubrey says
This is a GLORIOUS year in review! You had me at "becoming a family of five" and then sealed the deal with all that amazing travel! (Now that I think about it, it sounds a lot like our 2014!) And while you take a bloggity break, I'll be frantically playing catch up. Sigh. 🙂
kelly says
What an incredible year you had! It's really quite admirable how much you guys travel AND with little kids in tow! Can't tell you how much I love your little family and look forward to reading about your adventures each morning!
Also, y'all look great in all the pictures but you look super pretty in the NYC picture – so natural!
Jenny says
You guys have so much fun. Love it! 🙂
Phi Mai says
This has been the best post ever! Ashby is such a perfect addition to your family and can't believe it will be a whole year on January 4. Time flew by!! Happy New Year to the Shull Family and can't wait to read about Ashby's gotcha day! The kids have adjusted so well to Ashby. You and Andrew raised them well!
Vanessa Piot says
I always love these recap posts…your year was AWESOME! It has been so neat to watch your sweet family welcome it's fifth family member!
Little Bits of Joy Blog says
What a year, wow!!! You guys literally went around the world and back!!! What great memories!! It's amazing to see Ashby blossom over the year… it's so apparent how she really came into her own as part of your family! Have a wonderful New Year!
Johannah says
What an exciting year you have had! So going to miss your blog posts every morning, but enjoy your time with your family!!!
Cathy Prell says
Shay, you and your family are blessed, and you use your blog to do His work and to share the gospel whenever you can. You are an inspiration in so many ways.
May God bless you and your sweet family and your loved ones in 2016. Thank you for all of your encouragement, for sharing your family, and also for all your yummy recipes!
Happy New Year!
Much love and blessings!
Rachel - Floral and Fudge says
I love this look back on your year! Such gorgeous photos and wonderful memories!!
AS says
Excited to hear about Ashby's Gotcha Day. I'm celebrating mine today, and although I'm an adult, my mom still wishes me a Happy Gotcha Day! 🙂
Jeanie says
I enjoyed your 2015 recap, but no wonder you're tired!
Hannah Hardy says
I love your recap posts! What a FUN and BIG year you had. Reading about Ashby joining your family has definitely been my favorite!
Jen says
Hi! I just stumbled across your blog today and I've spent literally hours pouring over your posts. Love them all!! I'm curious if you've done a comprehensive post of where to stay in London and Paris? My husband and I (plus our 2 kids) would love to visit Paris this year but I'm scared to death to plan it! ha! We've been to London but it was before kids and we stayed in the cutest little B&B in Nottingham. I need kid-friendly hotels now!
Tiffany Bagalini says
Love this so much! Might need to start doing this myself 🙂
Paula says
What a beautiful transition throughout 2015 from a family of 4 to 5. Thanks so much for sharing a little bit of your blessed life with us all. Best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy 2016!
Angela Ellingson says
Love these posts! Such a great idea! What an amazing year for your family. Thank You Lord!
Elaine Welte says
You guys had the best year!
Leslie Seror says
Thanks for sharing, Shay. Hoping 2016 is another great year for the Shull family. xoxo
Sheaffer {Pinterest Told Me To} says
GREAT YEAR!!!!! My favorite part about this post is that I got to see the Paris pic again…the one where I thought Ashby's bow was an ascot you were wearing and your studded purse strap made me think you were wearing suspenders!!!!!!!!! That has to be one of my favorite moments of 2015. I thought you had gone and lost your mind!!! 🙂
Jackie Belin says
What an incredible year! Hugs and cheers to 2016!
Alicia--The Chronicles of Life As We Know It says
What an amazing and eventful 2015 you have had! Congratulations on bringing home your daughter. We adopted 5 kiddos out of the foster system this year. 2015 has definitely taken the cake for our best year, yet!
Amber says
What a GREAT year!!!! God is so good!
Jaren says
SOOOO Sweet! I always love following along so much! What a HUGE year! Prayers for y'all!
Mama Of Boys says
Loved this, what a fun recap. Feels like you've done LOADS and it all feels like it was yesterday?!! Here's to 2016 xx
Abby Brooks says
Wow, what an incredible year! I hope 2016 is the best year yet for the Shull family!!!
Johnsons says
Random question…have you heard if the lemon vanilla scent is coming back this month? Thx!!
Unknown says
I love reading your blogs! I am now a daily reader since you adopted Ashby. Your family is so sweet! My daughter from China is now in college and your story is so familiar to me and so heart warming. It pains me too to know about the numerous children in orphanages around the world. I encourage adoption too!
Hilary Boozer says
Love the videos, so so sweet! Happy Gotcha Day!