REFLECTIONS BEHIND + ANTICIPATIONS AHEAD

I’m sure everyone else in the world feels the same sentiment that I feel these days: where has the past year gone.

I’m amazed every single year at how quickly an entire twelve months passes by, and how suddenly I am flipping my calendar over to a brand new year. Maybe it’s something to do with getting older and time going faster, but in any case, it’s amazing.

This past year has been…good. So good. Not always easy, and there were days and weeks of personal valleys and challenges and growth, but at the end of two thousand and fourteen, the one word I could use to describe such a year is…good.

We traveled a lot (texas, asia, south carolina, tennessee, south carolina again, tennessee again), and while there were times that I felt like it was just time to stay home for more than a month or two at a time, I’m so glad we took those trips. I know that from here on out traveling will be different with having our little ones with us…so I’m glad we took advantage of the past year and put on the miles when it was easier to do so.

We had a great summer spent mostly in New York, and also ventured into the produce selling world with our little peach stand we ran for a few months. Those were a really fun few months, even though it was a busy time for us both, meeting so many people and eating peaches till we were actually sick of them. My brother was living with us for the summer too, and the rest of my family came up for a few days to visit as well in August. Summertime in New York is the best, and we had suppers on the deck and morning walks in the sunshine and trips to town for ice cream.

Our peach season ended at the end of August, and only a few days later, we found out the happiest news…we were having a baby! It was the most surreal moment of the year, and I will never forget how my heart started pounded and my husband’s eyes got wide and we just laughed and smiled with happiness. That moment on that Sunday morning in September is one I will cherish forever. That moment is the highest highlight of our year, without a doubt. The following few months were a little rough as we navigated the nausea and tiredness and emotional upheaveals that typically come with a first trimester, but we made it through and things only got better and better.

November was a busy month of travel, and also a time we spent both mourning and celebrating our friend Michael who passed away. It was a difficult season, but the goodness of the Lord still shone through all the sadness and emotions that come with death.

And then it was the holidays and now it’s the end of the year.

Next year is exciting for us…with the birth of our little one! I barely think about anything else involved with the next year except for this little one. It’s already the highlight of two thousand and fifteen!

I often like to have a word for the new year ahead of me, but honestly, I don’t have one this year. Maybe it’s because I’m too fixated on the birth of our baby that everything else important to life feels like background noise…? Or maybe because next year’s word will probably end up feeling something like poopy diapers and snuggles, hehe. I’m kidding here…because as all encompassing as parenting is, I do hope that the other important aspects of life don’t get pushed completely out of my sphere.

So the year is wordless, but the year is so full of anticipation that it overwhelms me at times.

Here are some goals for me in two thousand and fifteen:

– to grow deeper in security + identity in Christ
– to stay connected to my husband
– to be proactive in spiritual battle
– to learn a new skill

What about you: what is a goal that you have for yourself for the new year?