Today is my 15th wedding anniversary, which seems like a really big deal – not in a “have a party” or “buy an expensive present” sort of way, but in a “wow, we’re really adults” kind of way. Fifteen years! That’s pretty much official, right?
As 2014 came to a close, I’d been planning to take a little time to skim back through the memories I collected through the year. But time got away from me and I was feeling like that ship had sailed – that is, until I arrived at today and felt very contemplative and introspective. So I figured now is as good a time as any!
Here are some of my favorite memories from the past year, annotations given clockwise from top left:
family photos || they really CAN play together nicely || halloween || family reunion at Dad’s retirement || making snow out of frozen water during the polar vortex
the best way to show fingernail polish || a nephew! || fearless || soothing a baby in the middle of (many) nights || my favorite picture of my mom and sisters
love the light || jude’s first birthday || gabe on his favorite naples beach || mother’s day
isla’s a dentist || the breathtaking sunset in naples || cousins pushing cousins in wagons || christmas morning prayer || starting to play with essential oils || visiting the beginning of route 1 in key west || pretty eyes
checking the sunset || smiles got less rare toward the end of the year || bentley has the best smiles! || my family at christmas || she’s elsa, running up the north mountain with her superhero cape
a regular summer day || ballet || more at the beach || i got her out of bed to play in the first snowfall || a wild thing cake for my 1-year-old wil thing || babies bathing in sinks
this picture really caught me – i looked happy here and like i was enjoying my baby, which was such a relief since he’d been so colicky and i was anxious and very stressed || she loves to paint || one of my favorites from christmas morning || trying to get in a few more pictures – what better place than dinner in front of the christmas tree? didn’t expect him to start crying… || where’d she go? || more from mother’s day
Overall, 2014 was…hard. Not hard as in losing a loved one hard or anything awful happening – just hard. It was work, and it took more strength and endurance than I expected. Tahd traveled a lot at the beginning of the year, Jude cried a lot, Gabe transition from 1 sibling to 2 was tricky, and I hardly slept. Going from 1 to 2 was relatively easy, and I guess I expected that although going to 3 wouldn’t be a walk in the park, the challenges faced would be commensurate with the challenges we faced when Isla was born. I was wrong. It wasn’t commensurate. It was exponential.
Good things happened, too. I finally became an auntie. We had amazing time with extended family as we celebrated my dad’s retirement from pastoral ministry. We took a wonderful trip to Florida for a few weeks in the summer. I got to attend the Influence Conference again. Those are just a few of the major highlights. Really, the year was full of regular life, everyday happinesses. Sometimes these got overshadowed when I was feeling the weight of our struggles, but when I could slow down and take a deep breath, they were always right there, close to the surface, waiting to be noticed. Those were the things I captured most on Instagram:
I always hate to leave a year behind, but I’m excited to see what this next year brings. I want to delight in the little and big, the regular, the humorous, the profound, the new, the normal, and everything in between.
Love all the pics and your narration! A great way to close se out a year!
Love all the pictures and narration – a great way to closed out a year and welcome the new year!!