2014 in Review

This was a pretty mild year for us. No babies, no pregnancies, no moves, no job changes. But I did find a few noteworthy events in my review of the past year to share with you. 

1. I gave up Dr Pepper for 28 days and did not lose a single pound (despite replacing it solely with water).

2. Lena celebrated her first birthday with roseola, her first ear infection, and a blizzard.

2. Justin and I celebrated his 29^th birthday in Auburn Hills, MI with a shopping spree at Bass Pro Shops.

3. I chopped 10 inches off my hair.

4. Justin’s car dropped dead and we bought a new one thanks to our tax return (and the generosity of friends who sold us their car for less than it was worth!).

5. We had a "tornado" that blew open our living room door and did a bunch of damage, both inside and outside the house.

6. I got my first smart phone!

7. Lucy turned 4 and celebrated with a “Frozen” party!

8. I stepped outside my comfort zone and started attending a yoga class with Kelly. We were both surprised by how much we loved it, and signed up for a second session, only to have the yoga studio close a few weeks later!

9. I battled depression most of the year. 

10. I planned and executed a VBS curriculum for the preschoolers at our church. 

11. Lucy was a flower girl . . . twice. First at Uncle Jordan and Aunt Karla's wedding in July:

Then at Uncle Luke and Aunt Esther's wedding in December:

Still waiting on professional pics, so this is the best one I've got of Lucy in her dress/tiara.

12. Justin and I celebrated our 9^th anniversary with dinner at Amore.

13. We visited the air zoo and went to princess night at the Whitecaps.

14. Lucy puked at Rio Grande for Mom’s birthday.

15. We spent a lot of time at local beaches, but never made it to the big lake. 

16. We also spent a lot of time in the pool and Lucy started to get the hang of swimming.

17. We went camping with Justin's family.

18. Lucy started Cubbies at church and is loving it!

19. We started homeschooling. 

20. I celebrated turning 29 with a family hotel trip.

21. I had enough of the depression and went to see my doctor. She started me on Prozac, and it has made all the difference in the world. I am feeling so much better!

22. I started my 30 before 30 list.

23. We sold our house for significantly more than we bought it for 5 years ago, and were able to pay off all our credit card debt and over half our student loan debt!!

24. And I finally got a new car! I drove my van with a slipping transmission and no heat for over a year before buying this beauty:

Last Christmas I got the 5 Year Journal and faithfully kept up with it this year. I recorded a lot that is interesting to look back on, including all the books I read this year. At first, when I started my "30 Before 30" list, I was worried I'd be able to read 30 books in one year, but when I went back and wrote down all the books I read this year, it totaled 20! So I only have to squeeze in another 10. :-) I'm going to share my list, but not link to all of them. You know how Amazon works. Do it yourself. ;-)

Books I Read in 2014

Freefall (Kristen Heitzmann)

The Mission of Motherhood (Sally Clarkson)

Crossfire (Jeannette Windle)

Bridge to Haven (Francine Rivers)

Hannah Grace (Sharlene MacLaren)

The Bachelor’s Bargain (Catherine Palmer)

Love Finds You in Calico, CA (Elizabeth Ludwig)

Betrayal (Robin Lee Hatcher)

A Proper Pursuit (Lynn Austin)

The Inheritance (Tamera Alexander)

A Sensible Arrangement (Tracie Peterson)

A Courteous Cad (Catherine Palmer)

Eve’s Daughters (Lynn Austin)

Heart’s Awakening (Delia Parr)

Blue Moon Promise (Colleen Coble)

Me Before You (JoJo Moyes)

The Secret Keeper (Kate Morton)

Out of a Far Country (Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan)

Before Amen (Max Lucado)

The Bible! (God)

See that last one ^? I did it! I finally accomplished my goal of reading through the entire Bible. It was my resolution for this year and one of the only resolutions I've ever kept. Haha. I credit my success to the One Year Bible (and the work of the Holy Spirit, of course). It was so helpful to have the days' readings arranged for me. There were definitely times I got behind, but I always caught up eventually. This entry is already so long I'm not going to include my thoughts on it just yet. I'll make a separate post for that.

My other resolution was to lose some weight. I didn't lose a ton, but I'm definitely less now than I was at the beginning of the year, and I'm continuing to limit my Dr Pepper in an attempt to lose a little more.

Resolutions 2015

So my resolutions for 2015 are as follows:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 List by October 10.

2. Repair the damage pregnancy did to my core. Haha. I definitely have diastasis recti after carrying Lena the heifer, and while I want to have another one, I'm not prepared for the pain of carrying another huge baby. I'm hoping that by re-strengthening my core, it won't be quite as bad the next time. 

3. Find another devotional/continue to read the Bible. I'm afraid that now that I've finished reading through it, I won't be as diligent about studying it.  
4. Make photo books. I've given up on scrapbooking, so I never even print my pictures. I post most things on facebook/my blog, but I want hard copies too.
4. I've seen this floating around facebook and really want to try it: