Woo lawzy it has been a hot second since I’ve posted here.  2018 was a serious whirlwind and life is finally starting to slow down (thank goodness!).  During December I let myself relax over the holidays so I could totally process the year and prepare for 2019 in mind and spirit.  I’ll tell you honestly, as great as it was to step back for a bit there was a big part of me that felt guilty like I was falling behind.  Even though part of me was distracted by this feeling of neglecting things I wanted to get done, 90% of me was able to have really intentional reflection about 2018.  Good LORD was this needed and here’s why. 

I had a terrible taste in my mouth about 2018 at the beginning of December.  I left my friends and a job I loved, moved not just once but twice, spilled an entire can of paint in my car, got in a car accident in the middle of July heat while I wasn’t wearing pants… yeah… this is a true story and probably one of more embarrassing moments….  In the beginning of December I was ready to kick 2018 out the door like an unwanted pest.  I felt so unaccomplished, looking back as if I didn’t have anything to be proud of.   But you know what December made me realize?  All of that is a LIE. A huge fat lie!

The reality is that I may not have accomplished big shiny awards or huge monumental things over this past year but good lord did I work hard and accomplished a lot! For instance we were able pack up and move two separate times in the matter of 4 months.  The first time we downsized from a three bedroom with attic space to a one bedroom with no storage.  This meant a lot of trips to goodwill and learning to not be attached to so much stuff.  I also switched jobs which meant a lot of tears and goodbyes to people I love but taught me about how much those people mean to me and how big my support system really is.  Because we made a big move this past summer and had to say goodbye to so many people, it meant that we made a point to be really intentional and spend quality time with the people we love!

While 2018 may have been filled with a lot of challenges it was the biggest growing year for us ever!  There were a lot of tears but we leaned on God, friends and family and learned a lot!  I learned that when I ask for help God sees me through it.  I learned that I should not be embarrassed to say that I believe in God out loud.  I learned that people who love me won’t judge me for this even if they aren’t believers.  I learned that above all else, I love quality time with people I cherish.  I learned how much I love helping others and encouraging them.  I learned that no amount of distance can take away from true friendship and family, these people will always be there for me and me for them.  I learned that even when it feels like everything is being flipped upside down Sterling is my best friend I cherish him for keeping me laughing.

2018 may have been hard but it was also SO great!  I’m so glad I took a step back in December to process this because I feel like I can see all the good things clearly!  Thank God for this because we were blessed with some AMAZING moments all tied together with AMAZING people!  Here’s a recap of our best and favorite moments from 2018. 🙂

Some of these images are iPhone images and are not the greatest quality but they are filled with moments and people I love so that makes them worth sharing. 🙂

New Years 2018We spent our New Years last year in the mountains by camp (Camp Mont Shenandoah – I went there for 10 years and it’s my favorite place)!  It was a great New Years! Then we got to meet our nephew Sam!

I became an Instructional Coach last year and got to do amazing projects with amazing teachers like the one below!  In this lesson we transformed the library into a shopping mall so the kids could practice calculating sales tax and percent discount!  I ran the donut shop and had a blast! 

Some of our best friends had babies!! We went to Austin with my best friends for our joint 30th birthday celebration! My parents came to visit us in Richmond for St. Patrick’s Day! We soaked up lots of time with our friends before we left Richmond! 

I had my third tap dance recital as an adult!  By far my favorite costume and such a fun class.  I miss these ladies and Monday nights at tap class! The picture below is grainy but is a CHERISHED memory!  My mentor, department chair and friend retired after 30+ years of teaching!  The below two pictures are of the science department I worked with.  These people were my family when I first moved to Richmond and I love them!  The bottom picture they sent me this year after I had moved.  I love these people! 

We showed our niece Cora snapchat filters and she LOVED them! 

These girls 🙂 

As we packed up our life in Richmond for our big move to Baltimore.  Lots of tears but we did it! 

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary by exploring Harper’s Ferry! 

We had lots of snuggles with the dogs, Winnie has settled into Baltimore especially well. 

Really great friends came to visit me in Baltimore! 

I went to the beach with my youngest brother for a whole week, with no TV and no Internet.  It was the best! 

I photographed THREE of my old students’ senior pictures!  I love these girls!

My holiday minis were also filled with some GREAT friends from Richmond and their families!  I loved getting to spend time with them! 

I tagged along on the boys trip to Ole Miss and we had a blast! 

We cut down our Christmas tree with my parents and realized just how big this tree was when it didn’t exactly fit in our house… we made it work haha. 

We had a great Christmas with our friends and families!