2011: Year in Pictures

{Highlights: Polar Bear Swim and Lizzy's Birthday!}



{Highlights: The band held a benefit concert and funded the local food bank, Lizzy really started to run and walk everywhere!}



{Highlights: J and I did Insanity with great results! Spring started to show its colors.}


{Highlights: We completed our first 5k! It didn't go how I planned, but I finished. Also, J worked out of town almost the whole month, which was not a highlight, but certainly a big part of the month. I also had my first newborn photo shoot for Emily's son, and discovered I love it.}


{Highlights: Got to work the Compassion International table at a Newsboys/Kutless concert, where I snuck up to the stage like I was supposed to be there and got some AWESOME photos. Kaitlin and Jesse came for a visit--Kait and I got a night to drink instead of always being the DD's.}


{Highlights: My little brother graduated from high school, I learned how to make cobbler in mason jars, Justin planned a fantastic anniversary surprise!}


{Highlights: 4th of July food extravaganza. We also picked like 25 pounds of blueberries!}



{Highlights: We went to the lake house in Idaho and met up with Lisa & Lars in Portland (Lisa was my college roommate, but now lives in Norway) on the way! Hiked Table Rock the day before we all got the stomach flu, and finally learned how to do beautiful backlit photos thanks to a contest sponsored by Lee Jeans!}



{Highlights: Our hutch re-do, and painting our kitchen cabinets white.}


{Highlights: Lizzy started to want to dress herself, family day at the pumpkin patch, and Lizzy-the-Bumblebee for Halloween!}


{Highlights: The band went to Mt. Shasta, CA for a gig, I blogged about it and learned what a small world it is! It turns out that fellow blogger Cara @ Whimsy Smitten was actually living with the band's drummer Mike--he is her step-father-in-law! Also, Kait and Jesse came back for a visit before Jesse deployed...seeing them is a highlight, the fact that Jess is deployed again is NOT.}



{Highlights: All things Christmas, including a surprise new laptop! Thank goodness for a busy time of year--it helped keep my mind off our upcoming trip to Portland to deal with recently diagnosed skin cancer. All the joy that the holidays brought really felt like it redeemed the month!}

Overall, it was a great year. There was definitely more good than bad, and blessings abounded! Still, with all that's happened in December with the skin cancer, I'm a little nervous to think about all that 2012 could and will bring--here's hoping that this time next year, we'll be looking back and smiling at the fact that we couldn't have even imagined all the blessings that were in store!

See {2010} and {2009}