2024 - 24 things

 

I did get 30 of these cards out this year!  I miss the days of sending out 50-60 Christmas cards but it's just not as popular as it was a decade ago.  I tried to make sure those that probably don't follow me here or on Facebook got them. . .hope this is "good enough" for everyone else.

We had an incredibly full year with so much to be grateful for.  In no particular order, here are 24 moments that marked 2024 - I hope I have a good balance of "big" things as well as appreciating the small little things that make up this life.  I wasn't very good about blogging in 2024 so I am determined to get this post out :)

This was my favorite family photo of 2024.  It's on the back of the card above and also one I made as a magnet for our fridge.  Generally we get Father's Day pictures on the lake and a canvas print made but all the kids couldn't make it for that this year.  This was year 2 with our "new to us" boat and we loved it just as much as the year before!  We had many, many gorgeous weekends on the lake with family and friends.

GRADUATION!!!  What a huge accomplishment for the grads.  We are so proud of them - and the support of their siblings and grandparents at the ceremony.  We followed the day with a big party - one in which I failed to get hardly a picture.  Sigh.  Living in the moment is what the goal is, right?

Our traveling friends showed up and Connie never forgets a picture though ;)

We attended the Tennessee/Kentucky game at Neyland Stadium together this year as our annual tailgating/UTK game with the VanJura family.  We had our traveling friends as well as an Ohio friend my sister and I have known for over 20 years attend.  It was a great day!

We had an unusually large snowfall in mid-January. This is one of my favorite pictures from that week, with Stephen shoveling snow in his shorts - ha!  Absolutely everything was closed, including most grocery stores for a couple of days.  The kids in the neighborhood loved it!

This is one of the few posts I wrote this year.  We had a great time together in Gatlinburg - here is Aunt Jodi with 5 of the Foster Six.  We had a fun crowd. . .she already has a 2025 trip on the calendar!  

Jodi even got a new granddog this year - Frankie :)

A new doggie entered our lives this year also - Erin adopted Radar on Mother's Day.  He was our graduation present for her - he's been such a great addition to our family!

Any time my entire family is together is a special day.  Robert made it up to Knoxville for Easter this year!  My sister and her family spent Easter in a tropical place :)

In April Tom and I were able to travel to Florida to spend the weekend with my brother and Kristin.  It is always a great weekend get-away for us - we went to the racetrack, Tarpon Springs, and hung out at their place with their doggies.

We had an amazing lake trip this year - Laura wasn't able to make it or either of the VJ cousins, but the other three kids brought lots of friends (and we brought some too).  So happy to have this annual trip each year.  Brad and Kristin were even there!

Foster siblings all together before the others descended on Byrdstown :)

Thanksgiving.  My favorite holiday :). We travel to Murfreesboro each year and Tom's cousin, Debbie, and her family invite us all in, along with neighbors and girlfriends, for an amazing meal on Thanksgiving and then another one the day after!  This was the crew this year - a cold day but otherwise perfect.

These three. . .Laura left for Clarksville in June to serve in missions with Chi Alpha at Austin Peay.  It's been difficult having her so far away and with very limited time off - her life is really not her "own" in this season.  Her brothers were bummed that no one was going to see her on her birthday in October.  She has most Thursdays off so they figured out a way to see her the day before - the boys took the day off work and they met up together in Chattanooga (one lives there and one in Knoxville).  Her dad, Erin, and I were all at work so getting this picture was a highlight for sure.  Birthdays ARE important!

The last two years I have gone through my pictures at the end of the year and been pleasantly surprised by how much time I have gotten to spend with my sister.  There were so many years when we were raising families that we were "so busy" that time together was a little more rare.  I'm glad we've had these opportunities to spend together.  I pray we continue to give this effort as the years march on.  I truly love her so very much.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have a sister and I was blessed with a terrific one - I do not take that for granted.  Together in the cold AND warm weather!!

This is a double item - spending time with my Dad but also being in Ohio with beautiful weather!!!  Sometimes that is rare - we were up there in the fall and it was a gorgeous day at Hidden Valley Orchard.

I love this picture.  (1) it is rare that either of these two will willingly pose for a picture; (2) it is the last day of classes for any of our children; (3) it was a total surprise to receive :)

Laura spent some time in Ohio with my mother this spring and I went up one weekend to be with them.  We made reservations at a new-to-us restaurant and got this 3-generation picture.  The family likeness is strong!!

Tom surprised me for our anniversary (29!!!) with a bottle of wine that he bought in Italy and had shipped to a friend.  We got together to watch a play in Crossville (one of the actors is a student who has been on both European trips we have taken).  It's always great hanging out with these very special travel friends.  

This girl has had a good time dressing the doggies for all the occasions this year!  Tommy caught this picture of them this fall, which I love.

I got a 3-generation picture of the Bell men too!!  These boys are so incredibly lucky to have the grandpas and father that the Lord has given them in this life.  Also, this is kind of a "double" picture too because the Traeger was a Father's Day gift that Stephen insisted we would love - and we do!

Stephen also purchased a Blackstone off of Facebook that got lots of use - we even dragged it to the tailgate this year! 

I got to go to Memphis for a 40+ 4.0 USTA state tournament this summer with these ladies!!  We didn't come close to winning, but it was a great experience at a fairly new tennis complex in the city.  Mei was my traveling companion/roommate this year :)

My sweet niece and I got to see Elevation Worship again together this year!!  This is the very.best.concert (this is our second time doing this together) and I am blessed to get to spend this time with her doing this :)

Pop Peth passed away November 1st.  This was not unexpected - he was 89 and had chosen not to pursue further treatment.  My sister and I have known him and his family since high school and have stayed in touch through the years.  Jodi and I were able to visit with his wife of over 50 years a couple weeks ago.  She is such a special lady.

This was an incredible day for me. . .I have known these guys since elementary school!  Chad (on my right) was one of my best friends when we lived in Columbus, OH and his brother, Brian, was in my sister's grade.  We hung out together quite a bit, going to the same school and swimming at the community pool in the summers.  I have kept in touch with Chad loosely over the years but pretty consistently through Christmas cards with his parents.  They invited me up to a graduation party this summer and it worked out that I was going to be in Ohio at the time and I made the drive up there.  I love these life-long friendships that the Lord has put in my life through the years and in all the places we have lived.  Later in the fall Brian's daughter was running in a race in Knoxville and he invited me to come an cheer her on, which I did.  Funny enough, these boys graduated from a Columbus, OH suburban high school and my sister and I from a Dayton, OH suburban high school and yet today Brian's family lives a few miles away from Jodi in suburban Cincinnati - small world!

This incredible family of mine (plus a couple of girlfriends) played pickleball together December 26th this year!  We had a bucket list of a few things we wanted to do together over break and this was one of them.  Erin had to work but everyone else was around and showed up for this activity.  The oldest player is 85 and the youngest grandchild 21.  Such a fun thing to do together - and look!  It was nice enough to play outside in December.  I never, ever take this beautiful weather for granted here in East Tennessee :)

I'll end with the BIGGEST event of our year - our trip to Italy.

I wouldn't say this was our best picture of the hundreds taken or our favorite day, but it is probably the biggest landmark and expected photo, right?  I only blogged half the trip and lost steam in the details.  I would never make it as a travel blogger - ha!

We had such a great time with the group and just being out of the country together.  I'm glad this is something we make a priority in our life and plan to head to Europe again this year with the same group - we are so lucky to be able to do this.

Southern Italy was our favorite - these memories will last forever.

There you go - it's a wrap for 2024!  I probably could have done another 24 pictures and captions, but I'll leave it at that for now and (maybe?) blog more next year. . .

We had a sermon Sunday that really turned this New Year on its head for me.  Instead of making ourselves better, tweaks that we may or may not incorporate into habit and spend a lot of time thinking about and working toward, what about putting that same effort into making HIM bigger in our lives?  The One who is already perfect, the One who came to save us, the One who desires for all to know Him.  Why not make HIM bigger, instead of ourselves?  Just a thought. . .one that I'm going to continue to ponder on - each time I think about a resolution I'm going to reframe to thinking about how I can better serve Him, worship Him, and pray for miracles in the lives of those that don't yet know Him.

Much love to all who read,

Jenni