Of my 26 years on this earth, I think I would have to say that 2016 was the best yet! Holy cow, what a whirlwind of a year! It seems like every 4 years we have a year where we shove a whole bunch of major life changes into a few months time frame. This year consisted of a lot of long awaited dreams coming true. Looking over this past year just makes me feel so blessed and so excited for what the future has to hold! Here’s a recap of 2016’s greatest hits!

• We got a new puppy, Charlotte! Henry was in need of a buddy and we had puppy fever real bad, so Charlotte was a very welcome addition to our little family! Now I can’t imagine life without that little ball of sass!
• Branden matched at EVMS for his OB/Gyn residency! I can honestly say that I have never been as terrified as I was when we were opening his letter telling us where he matched and where we would be spending the next four years. But once we opened the letter and saw what we wanted to see, Match Day made at least the top 5 list of the best days of my life! 
• I quit my full time day job as a Software Developer to pursue photography full time. Boy was this a dream I had hoped and longed for for quite some time! Every day is still so surreal when I realize that this job is now my career and not a side gig. I really am living the dream! 
• We bought our first house!!! This was another dream that I have had for years now that came true this year! I had been researching houses and neighborhoods in Norfolk for the last few years while Branden was in medical school, but knew we couldn’t buy until we knew where he would be doing residency. So right after Match Day, we looked at houses (it was pretty surreal looking at houses for real and not just browsing them online) and made an offer the NEXT DAY! I dreamed of the perfect house, neighborhood, street, etc for our first home and our little craftsman checked every box! It is so perfect and has been such a blast to make our own! Check out these posts to see more of our house! 
• Branden graduated medical school and officially became Dr. Deyerle!! I know I sound like a broken record when I keep talking about these long-awaited dreams that came true this year, but this one definitely makes that list too! Those 4 years of medical school were hard. They tested us individually and as a married couple. But in the end we came out stronger, wiser and with an MD! Proud doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about this amazing achievement of his!
• We took our first trip to Europe! Neither of us had ever been to Europe so when Branden had a few weeks off after graduation, we knew we had to take advantage of it and do a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We went on the most amazing Mediterranean cruise and got to see so much of Europe! It was a jam packed and high-paced trip and left us with so many amazing memories! And photos! Check out these posts to see all the highlights of our trip and other recent travels.
• Branden started his Ob/Gyn residency. It was definitely a transition going from have a few months off to working 80 hour weeks at the hospital. So far, Branden loves the work he is doing but is definitely a little worn thin. The stresses and hours of this job will take some adjusting, but I still can’t believe that he gets to bring new life into the world in a normal day’s work! What a blessing it is to have a career like that!

So that pretty much sums up the biggest moments of 2016! What a year! Our life was turned completely upside down this year, but in the best way possible! I’d love to hear what were the best moments of YOUR 2016! Leave a comment sharing your favorite 2016 memory!!!