My word for 2019 was Abundance.
I thought that 2019 would look VERY different than how it has. I was talking to Theo last night, and we were cry-laughing about the fact that this year made us officially adults. This year threw more stuff at us than we have ever had to deal with before.
I felt very strongly about my word of the year being abundance. I thought that this would be a year of rest and great restoration. I thought that God’s abundance would come to us through material blessings. However, that is not what God has taught me this year. I can now look back and say that God has taught me one huge, major lesson this year: God’s abundance is there, even in the hardest times and the darkest of days. God’s abundance does not depend on my circumstances or material wealth and blessings.
So, yes, I will fight for the mentality that this year was incredibly ABUNDANT. In the injuries and the sickness, we realized what health is and how abundantly we have it. In the drama and the trauma with our neighbor, we learned what compassion and grace and mental health are and how abundantly we have been given these things, and need to give in return. We also learned the abundance of safety and security and how incredibly blessed we were to be able to move back into our home. We learned about the abundance of patience and waiting. We learned about the abundance of friends and family that we have. We learned about the abundance of God’s presence through it all.
January
Highs and Lows: Ezra started out the year tucked cozily inside a hospital bed, hooked up to a lot of wires! But just a few short days later we were able to bring him home and he has been HEALTHY for the most part since then. Another low was the passing of my dear Grandma, Betty Hall. But the silver lining of that event was that Mom got to make a quick trip to the States and meet Ezra for the first time!
Most Read Blog Post: Let’s Find Enjoyment in Our Children and Ezra vs. RSV
February
Highs and Lows: February was a whirlwind, as we excitedly decided to list our house for sale and downsize to a small house that we rented. As I look back on this, I am filled with regret. If only I knew what was going to come,
Most Read Blog Post: Yes, I Consumed my Placenta
March
Highs and Lows: The highlight of March was attending Titus and Marissa’s wedding in Florida! Family weddings are always fun, and this one did not disappoint! The trip there and back was…challenging, but we made it! We ended up having to rent a van to drive there, which was expensive, but turned out to be a big blessing! Theo also turned 28 this month!
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April
Highs and Lows: In April, we found a new (to us) van, started to enjoy the warm weather and gorgeous flowers of Spring, and welcomed my parents back to the States for their vacation! My Dad got to meet Ezra for the first time.
Most Popular Blog Post: March Book List
May
Highs and Lows: May is always a packed month for us. We traveled to Eastern NY to bury my Grandma and celebrate her life with friends and family. The same weekend, we went to NYC to visit Theo’s brother and sister in law. We also spent as much time as we could outside, especially while my parents were visiting! We celebrated my 28th birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary. This was also the month that Dayton “hosted” a KKK rally and was hit by some extremely severe tornadoes. Both of those events really affected our lives as Theo had to work overtime and deal with a lot of the devastation of both events. Our house remained under contract with a potential buyer who kept asking for “more time”.
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June
Highs and Lows: In June, Theo took the two older kids backpacking! Yes, they carried their own packs and hike nearly two miles, then camped overnight and hiked back out in the morning. It’s one of those things that was miserable most of the time during it, but once they got home, they couldn’t stop talking about it! I did not mind being home with just Ezra, who hadn’t even started crawling yet! This was also the month that we started to consider moving away
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July
Highs and Lows: In July, we went to the zoo and went camping with friends. It was a HOT month, so the kids and I tried to go to parks and splash pads as much as we could. We were not able to make use of our yard during most of this month because of the escalation with our neighbor. Our house still had not sold. We found out that the potential “buyers” on the home didn’t have enough financial means to buy our house in the first place. Three months of “under contract” and it all fell through. House went back on the market.
Most Popular Blog Post: Sweet Summertime (to be fair, this was the only blog post I published all summer LOL)
August
Highs and Lows: Shew, August. We started off August with a family reunion in Northern Michigan. While on this trip, Theo tore all of his hamstring muscles in
Tera also turned FIVE in August and started Kindergarten! In an unexpected turn of events, I also stepped foot back into the classroom in August as a
Most Popular Blog Post: Dayton Strong
September
Highs and Lows: September was a month that we dipped into mostly lows. Theo was in a lot of pain from his injury and was finally approved to go back to work at a desk. The desk jobs provided for the police officers are TERRIBLE, and he HATED it. Every second of it. It’s hard to keep spirits high when one hates their job, so this was just a tough month for all of us. We also got to the point that we couldn’t go outside without having to call the police because of our neighbor. We felt unsafe and our stress was through the roof. Thankfully, Theo did not need surgery and he did start to see S L O W improvement in his leg during the month of September! I continued to run the Airbnb at our house that STILL had not sold.
Most Popular Blog Post: The Hamstring Injury
October
Highs and Lows: In October, Kiah graduated from his speech therapy through Help Me Grow and he turned THREE! Tera and I got into the groove of school a little bit more, and I ran a half marathon. My in-laws came into town to celebrate Kiah’s birthday and cheer me on, so that was incredibly special! Theo also chopped off a significant chunk of his finger and Kiah was evaluated for a heart murmur that was concerning. Praise the Lord, Kiah’s heart is 100% fine! Theo’s finger continues to heal. This was also the month that we moved back into our house after things with our neighbor got unbearably bad. Our house was STILL on the market, despite all the odds being in favor of selling it. I continued to run the Airbnb until we moved back in, and then we closed it.
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November
Highs and Lows: In November, we began to get settled back into our house and Theo got back to regular patrol duty – for the first time since July!
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December
Highs and Lows: December was a busy month with school performances, class parties and me stepping up to substitute teach part-time (in addition to the part-time hours that I teach). Theo finally
Most Popular Blog Post: Support, Please. And Accountability.
And that is a wrap on 2019! Tomorrow I’ll post my 2019 goals recap along with my 2020 goals AND a super fun list of questions to help you out for reflecting and planning. And then I’ll be back on Friday for my Friday favorites!