Hi All!

First off, we hope you are having the merriest time this Christmas Season! Our prayer is that your homes are filled with family, rest, and joy!

Our year has been an adventurous one for sure. From visiting family, road trips to new cities, and all the in-betweens, 2021 has been a year we don’t want to forget.

2021 HIGHLIGHTS

We got to experience snow in Kansas City over the New Year and did lots of sledding!
A blizzard hit home and dropped 9+ inches of snow on us!
We visited The Magic House
Grayson experienced his first ER visit that resulted in 3 staples and a scar that matches his daddy’s almost perfectly.
We took on raising chickens and found that it was quite a rewarding experience. I loved our time with them aside from the terrible mess they make…everywhere. But after our coop went airborne TWICE we decided a more permanent home was the best idea. Hopefully, we can have them again and have them in a more secure enclosure!
We took a few trips to the Zoo (always a favorite day for us)
Matthew and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary
We had the best trip to visit Matthew’s grandparents and dad over Memorial Day weekend.
Grayson became a waterbug after a time or two of being terrified to even be held in the water.
Matthew, Grayson, and I traveled to Chicago and got to explore the city…by foot…we were exhausted!
We got to watch the Clydesdales
A spur of the moment trip to Nashville
A trip to Cape Girardeau and Begg’s Family Farm
A quiet and stress-free Thanksgiving at home
Decorating way too early for Christmas to extend the Christmas Cheer!

Grayson finished up his 1st year of preschool and enjoyed His first year of YMCA soccer in the spring. He enjoyed the summer with a new water slide. He was eager to return to class for his final year at TLC Pre-K with the best teacher (Ms. Tiffany) and all his friends! FUN FACT: There are only 8 kids in his class and they are all BOYS! Bless Ms. Tiffany’s heart! He loves to tell us that he is the “expert” on anything he may have learned in class. He is a sponge when it comes to random facts, song lyrics, and any other knowledge he picks up. Grayson also started AWANA this fall and we have been blown us away with how well he is doing with scripture memorization.

Hudson is a firecracker. He loves trucks, trains, and any snack he can get his teeny hands on! We tackled potty training this year and to our delight, He has taken to it rather easily. Hudson also had a pretty nasty sickness over the summer that lead to lots of breathing treatments. My sister had a new little one arrive this summer and Hudson was/is smitten! He loves her so much! He enjoys time at home while Grayson is at school. He is the snugglier one of the two boys and the quality time with him is sweet!

Matthew was blessed to go back to His job at Williamson Home in February. He loves the company and his work so this was a huge answer to prayers. They are still mostly remote so we still spend most days together. We laugh a lot. I am thankful for that! He has been golfing more often and is looking forward to improving his game. He spent a lot of the summer slip-n-sliding with the boys. I have so many photos of them all out there playing and it makes my heart so happy!

I (Alaina) finished up year number 7 photographing 15 weddings. My favorite things about this year have been watching my boys grow and build such a sweet relationship. I also enjoyed our quick trip to Nashville over Labor Day weekend. I was floored to be featured in a student spotlight for an amazing photographer/mentor that I have been learning from for the past 4 years.

If you’ve made it to the end I think the least you deserve is some of our favorite photos from the year! Check them out below!