2022 in Review + Nov-Dec Photo Dump

2022 was a year of extremes for our family: extremely satisfying career- & school-wise, extremely dramatic health- & transition-wise. We also welcomed a 6th family member: Blaise! (See Annelise’s arms above ❤️) 

JB shined in his first full year as Chief Human Resources Officer at his latest company - check out his newspaper interview here from November! I kept StudioSmile going, transitioned from teaching PiYo to Vinyasa Flow, taught both my kids Driver’s Ed, began singing with a new church who needed female soloists, pulled the trigger on a GIANT adventure coming this April (teaser! wait & see!!!) & accepted an additional position as a fitness coach/personal trainer 3 afternoons a week:

Will got his driver's license, started his first regular job at Baskin, graduated from high school, chose HCC for this year to save money, and made the Honors List for his first semester:

Annelise suffered a wrestling career-ending injury in her ankle on January 4, the pain of which colored every single hour of the next 7 months of her life, culminating in reconstructive ankle surgery this summer. She powered through her recovery, learned how to crochet, got her driver's license & her first real job (which didn’t take long to discover was not a good fit,) began her junior year of high school, earned an officer position in her school’s FCCLA chapter, and found a much better job fit this fall working at Five Below.

My word of the year for 2022 was sustain - and oh, how God sustained us through all the health challenges, medical bills, & life transitions! The word God has given me for 2023 is adventure - quite a departure from “sustain” & 2021’s “provision” - but I’m so excited to see what adventures He has ahead for us, and the best part is that I know that I know that I know He will carry us through!

Now for the last couple months since my last post in pics:

My mom came to visit the beginning of November! Yay for Christmas shopping & delicious restaurant exploration: 

Random joy - taking the girls through the Baskin Robbins drive through to get pup cups from Will at work:

JB & I went to the Washington/Texans game here in Houston on November 20th = my first in-person Washington win EVER!!! The entire stadium was filled with burgundy & gold - it felt like an amazing home game. Darrick Forrest (S) & Benjamin St-Juste (CB) signed my "Surviving Snyder" shirt after pregame warmups, and Kendall Fuller's pick 6 was right in front of us!

We had a family day November 25th at the Texas Renaissance Festival - the rain miraculously held off, we sat with Celtic Christmas Santa, Will had bacon on a stick & won a medal throwing darts, Annelise got a cool hat, and we all just reveled:

JB & I went to his first company Christmas party in years on December 3rd, and it was actually fun!

Houston Beagle & Hound Rescue had a Meet & Greet here in our town (a big deal, b/c they cover alllll of Houston) on December 11th, so of course we took the girls to say hi! I love how HBHR always remembers them...and no, we didn't come home with a 3rd ;-)

Annelise's Christmas request was for us to have family dessert time at Sweet Memes - we went on Christmas Eve last year, but this year, she had work at Five Below & I had singing, so the weekend before on December 17th was it:

Will's Christmas request was for us to make our family favorite Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies - labor intensive, but so worth it - esp. with his help!!! December 19th:

Christmas Eve: I thought I'd be sharing a singing video, but tech woes destroyed the live feed, so we just have our family shot onstage afterwards. :-P

Super thankful Annelise got off work in time for our whole fam to be together! The most noteworthy thing is actually that we came home and watched "A Christmas Story Christmas" = divine! The original was my fam’s most precious Christmas movie growing up, and if I had to capture my dad (who passed 25 years ago) in a movie character, The Old Man would be it!!! This new movie was so satisfying - I bawled 4 times & laughed so many more! All the original actors coming back + all the cinematic easter eggs = my heart felt like I got a Christmas visit & update from old friends.

Joyous Christmas Day - gift desires granted, even my beloved bubble tea wished me a merry, & we spent all afternoon/evening with our fam BFFs feasting & playing games:

(I got *the* sequin jacket to rep my World Series champs, the Wrexham AFC away kit (soccer is not my fave, but Welcome to Wrexham is!!!), and the leggings that went viral after a hilarious review on Amazon from a lady who literally rolled down a mountain in them & they held up great! :-D)

We're getting ready to head back over to those same friends' house for New Year's Eve right now. I wish you ALL the most *fulfilling* year ahead, beyond what you could possibly imagine!!!