Happy New Year to you and yours!  I hope you were able to enjoy the holidays and ring in 2018 with full hearts and lots of cheer.

Have you ever used a focus word for the new year?  I like the idea better than resolutions, which always seem to fade away after a month.  A focus word sums up what you want for the new year, the next chapter in your life.  What is the big, important idea you want to ring through in 2018?  For me, it was so obvious what mine should be after we flew back to the States for Christmas.  I want 2018 to be the year I focus on family.

I want to focus on my husband and build our bond.  I want to celebrate him, be a caring wife to him, and lift each other up every day.  I want to focus on our family back in the States, my brothers, parents, and brother, sister, and parent in-laws.  Living in Europe and them in the states means we will miss out on some things, but I want to make a deliberate effort to make memories together as much as we can.

We were finally able to go back to the States to spend Christmas with our families, the first time since moving to Germany in the Fall of 2015.  Being home surrounded by our families, seeing old friends, and visiting our old stomping grounds really hit home to me how important family is!  I know it may sound obvious to many, but when you live on the other side of the world from your siblings and parents, coming back home makes it a million times sweeter.  While we absolutely love our lives in Germany and do not take for granted the opportunities at our fingertips, I was suddenly very aware of how many memories we miss out on with the people who matter the most.

Didn’t know I was a nostalgic, hopeless romantic type?  Now you do ; )

I spent all my time soaking up every minute spent with family that I hardly took any pictures.  That’s when you know you had a good time!  We split our days between VA and DC, DE, and NC.  It was busy but we were able to see both my and Dave’s family and it was perfect.

AWe were ready to celebrate the New Year in Stuttgart !  I personally was very excited because I had always heard that Stuttgart’s New Years fireworks are insane but had yet to experience it in person.  Past Euro New Years were spent in Berlin and Edinburgh.

Stuttgart did not disappoint!  NYE is the one night that fireworks are legal by anyone and everyone in Stuttgart, and the entire city goes all out.  Private citizens everywhere are lighting off real fireworks and they go on for hours.  Luckily for us, our house overlooks the entire downtown city and the surrounding hills of Stuttgart.  We had a small balcony party and had the best time with plenty of champagne!  The fireworks were fabulous and we had a 360 degree view of them!

Cheers to a new, healthy, happy year!  I will be focusing on family for 2018.  What will your focus be?

xo