2018 Year in Review

Time to take a moment and reflect on the past year and all that we endured. I can say with a smile that 2018 was much more kind to our family than 2017 was and for that I am truly grateful!

2017 brought a lot of heartache, fear and fight, so when 2018 showed up and calmed everything down for a bit, we welcomed it with open arms.

So here's my little reflection of the Hill family's 2018 year (in no particular order):

As always we got to travel a bit in 2018. I went to Baltimore for a work trip. It was a quick one so I didn't get to see much of the area but I did enjoy some Maryland crab cakes and walk downtown Baltimore!  As a family we ventured to Riviera Maya again (per Trevor's birthday wish) and brought Klayton, my mom and my dad along. We enjoyed relaxing by the pool and seeing Isla Mujeres. Klay unfortunately had an odd, mysterious encounter with a jellyfish and Trevor ended the trip with a case of swimmers ear. But we still had so much fun! We rounded out the summer with our annual beach trip -- this time to Port A. There was still quite a bit of damage from Harvey last year, but it was still a good time beach side. We also did a little stay-cation and went camping Memorial Day weekend again with dear friends! Lots of fun, sun, cooking out and boating went on! Can't wait to do our third one this coming year!

Port Aransas - found a sand dollar

Riviera Maya - just a swinging

We had some BIG milestone birthdays happen this year! I turned the big 4-0! My family threw me a fabulous, sophisticated party (just what I wanted) with all my closest friends and family! It was fun to get all dressed up and sing my heart out to some karaoke with those I love!  Additionally, the twins turned 1 this year with a huge party, including a bounce house, pony rides, Libbie's Food truck and cake smashes! Plus Klayton, my nephew, turned 18! He's all grown and I can't believe he's that old! Feels like not too long ago we were celebrating his 1st with a pinata in the back yard! He also graduated high school and we are so proud of him for that. 2017 was a pivotal year and left us with worry about so many things. But God shined his grace and love and Klay is another generation of Bowie High School graduates within our family.

Trevor turned 11 this year, so not a big milestone per say, but he did graduate 5th grade (elementary school) and start 6th grade (middle school) this year! He's got a locker and 7 different classes and teachers, plus he's riding the bus to and from school now! He's adjusted well and we've only had a few issues with forgetting to turn in work and such. They are required to choose a fine art and he chose band. He's becoming a pretty good trumpet player, picking it up quite easily and already comfortable giving little mini concerts to those who haven't been able to attend his school concerts.
He practices daily at home, without much coaxing from us and it's not as bad as I imagined it to be! He did another season of Spring Baseball (pitching numerous games), continued Parkour and loves his dog RJ like a true brother. In 5th grade Trevor and I got to spend the night in the Houston Museum of Natural Science which was lots of fun! That field trip also had a visit to Galveston beach for some fun habitat learning.

Justin is still with his same employer, taking care of the estate and ranch of his boss. He's enjoying the relaxed nature of the job (no office, annoying co-workers or nagging bosses to worry about) but the daily grind and physical labor is sometimes wearing on the body. It definitely wore out his little truck, so in Spring 2018 we searched around and got Justin his dream truck! An extended full cab Chevy Silverado 4x4. It's a 2013 but in great shape. He's already been planning out all the accessories he slowly wants to add to it. He's worked hard and totally deserved a new-to-him ride!

I'm still at Texas Workforce Commission on the Early Education Quality Initiatives team for WF Policy. It's a bit much for explaining when people ask what I do. But I'm just proud to say that I celebrated 2 years here working with the state of Texas as we try to help child care and the children of Texas have access to quality care and education. It's a huge undertaking and it keeps me busy, on my toes and learning every day! Additionally, I helped coordinate the fundraising efforts for the HarperStrong team again for the LLS Light the Night walk. We came in #1 again, raising over $23,000 - all thanks to people like you and your support of Harper and others fighting this horrible disease. Harper was the honored hero this year, which led me to give a speech at the kick-off luncheon AND the walk! It was truly my honor to be her voice and our family's representative. I also did quite a bit of crafting this past year at the local Board and Brush. Tons of fun and new decor for the house! Also to continue my now tradition of concerts near my birthday a big group of us ventured to San Antonio for the Journey/Def Leppard concert. It was AWESOME!

Speaking of Harper, she's doing great! She got to come home from her 8 month hospital stay January 20, 2018. So we started the year off celebrating big! You can always follow her story on her Caring Bridge website or within her Facebook group. She's still in remission and will finish her oral chemo maintenance regimen in June 2019. She and Cruz are growing like weeds and becoming toddlers full of spunk and personality. God truly blessed us when he graced us with her! She has brought so much to our lives in more than her presence.

Well that's pretty much our year. Again, we are blessed to have so much to celebrate this year. It wasn't all sunshine and roses all the time, but we were definitely graced with no huge blows. My parents celebrated a year at their "final home" in San Marcos and my mom's cancer is also still gone, while my dad enjoys working from home. My dad's mom passed away this year at age 95, but thankfully my dad was able to be with her and we got to talk to her on the phone. Sarah and Nick moved back from Oregon and are actively looking for a place to permanently call home. Justin's family is good as well. We enjoy our special visits with his Grandma, Grandpa Jim and Uncle Mark. We're all healthy and thriving. It's all we've asked for.

We hope that if your 2018 was trying and hard that 2019 is kind. We hope that you know that we love you all and hope to see you more frequently, catch up and maybe toast a drink with you in 2019. Most of all we hope that the new year brings each of you all that you dream and aspire. It's the last before the 2020 decade! So let's make it count!!