2012 Highlight Reel (Wow, this took me forever.)

I just heard that tomorrow was New Years Eve. What can I say? We must have BIG plans.

This year brought the most new readers yet and I have been thinking back over 2012 and wanted to review a few highlights, and the posts that, as always, only told part of the story…Thanks for coming along.

January

We welcomed 2012 on Highway 64 driving back from a friend’s wedding in Memphis. We listened to audiobooks on the kindle I gave Travis for Christmas. He turned around and gave me one for-no-particular-reason or perhaps Valentines Day. I began E-reading and have not looked back.

I also made a profound statement when I named Going To Target Less as my New Years Resolution. I admit I did remarkably better this year. I think I made four trips in December. That sadly is a strong improvement.

February

I did a brief guest series on Place featuring some of my favorite people writing on their exotic location. 

I mused on Lent a bit and named some items I would give up.

In one weekend, we hosted the Love and Respect Conference at our church, Olivia threw up so I missed it, we met a couple visiting from Canada who are now friends living in Williamsburg, and I took a positive pregnancy test, thus derailing some of those Lent goals. (Did you wonder why I didn’t bring up the topic again?)

I also posted 14 days of Love, which actually made me like Valentines Day, and practice churning out posts.

Oh and I became entrenched in the world of Downton Abbey.

March

I paid homage to our stump, soared with my Super Girl, and overthought that TinkerBell movie. 

April

I wrote for the first time about being married to a pastor, got the closest I get to being political, went to the Outer Banks for a glorious weekend, attended an outdoor wedding moved inside, and freaked out and cut off my hair.

May

I read The Prodigal Son and Taylor Armstrong’s book. I’m diverse like that.  We went on vacation to Florida, celebrated Mothers Day, and somewhere in there my sister had her darling baby, and I decided to apply to seminary…

June

I finally told all of you I was pregnant, puzzled over Hello Kitty’s lack of mouth, missed Tom Hanks in Virginia Beach and TIm Tebow across the street, and explained to Olivia that we were not re-incarnationists. My brother’s family moved back to the East Coast, I turned 31 and read Anna Quindlen’s book to commemorate it and Travis and I celebrated nine years of marriage.

July

I hit my summer rhythm of barely posting but did manage to let you know that we were having our third girl, read and re-read Ben Conner’s Amplifying Our Witness, and completely reconfigured our entire house. 

August

After dreaming up the solution to all vacation conflict, I really felt the transitions that were upon us, said goodbye to the Ritners, hello to grad school and sent Sophia to kindergarten. Looking back, August was a lot of a lot. I’m surprised I wasn’t in Target everyday coping..

September

We traded in our car for a van and then headed to Rockbridge for some zip-lining. I did the Jess Jiao Smith Jewelry Giveaway, and made an open-call for names which received more participation than I could have imagined. (People still give me suggestions.) I also wrote a letter to my teenage self, regretted being too heavy for Olivia’s fantasy world and confessed my commitment to the Fast Food Nation.

October

We visited Jamestown, P.F. Chang’s, and Yankee Candle to ask Santa for name suggestions. My Dad assembled The Most Impossible Crib of All Time, and the Clydesdales paraded down the street.

November

I learned to receive, celebrated my baby turning four and becoming a big sister, joyously welcomed Leila Luisa, and got honest about post-partum depression. 

December

I warned Christmas to be a bit more kind, was surprised by a Moose, and saw the sweet smiles of our Baby Girl. A school, a town, and each and every one of us were silenced by tragedy and I watched my oldest turn six, only to realize this parenting gig never lightens, only changes form. My brother and sister-in-law welcomed a precious son making this next generation a force of its own:

2012 was a big one. I’m grateful for the goodness, challenges and growth and am ready  to move forward:

2013…show us what you’ve got.

 Have a wonderful Happy New Year! and thanks for reading. What were your favorite posts?