Adieu, '22

Now that you're done barfing over my cheesy rhyme for the title of this post, let's get to the real reason you're here: to read a list about my favorite things from 2022.

My word for 2022 was INVEST. God showed His faithfulness to me in so many ways this year, big and small--I definitely deepened my understanding of the richness of investing in good things. 

I continued working for Christian Student Fellowship, and God opened so many new doors for us this year! I can't wait to see what He's going to do in 2023. 

My husband started work as a cable installer and it suits him well. I'm very proud (when I'm not worried about him climbing ladders mounted to cable lines). 

We got to meet our baby girl, the sweetest dang thing to ever grace the planet. She's a little burst of chocolatey sunshine. 

We updated our bathroom upstairs; my mom lent me her artistic know-it-all-ness to help me turn my vision of a Mexican-inspired mural on the wall into a reality. The bathroom is much improved. 

I started making my own flour tortillas regularly instead of buying them. Which, if you know me, should be pretty impressive to you because baking generally repulses me. 

We visited my in-laws in Western Nebraska over the 4th of July, and discovered that Lydia is a water baby--just like her dad. 

I turned 25. Now I can round up to 30!

I totaled my car a week after my birthday. No one was hurt (except my pride which probably needed a little shakedown anyway), and we were able to replace the car with one that fits our growing family a bit better. God redeems everything!

I had a sinus infection over the summer, and one day it manifested in a fever that made me and others around me question my sanity, but out of this came one of my favorite stories to remember and laugh hysterically at--when, in the car with a delirious me, my husband told me that he'd had the seat heater on all day (it was about 90 degrees out) thinking it was an air conditioner. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard than when the mystery of why he was so sweaty was finally solved. And I still laugh whenever I think about it. 

My sister gave birth to the muscliest baby boy I've ever seen, with the cutest little elf nose. He's a big sweetie.

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a huge slice of tiramisu. 

The babies and I watched Zac run his SECOND marathon!

Zac and I took our kids on a vacation to all the nostalgic haunts of our college days (they even got to meet a few of our old professors). 

My sister and I celebrated our first annual Hogsmeade Day, a celebration of all things (but mostly food) Harry Potter!

We went to the pumpkin patch not once but 3 times! And finally achieved a fall-themed family photo.

Lydia tried to eat at least a million pieces of fuzz off the living room floor (and only succeeded about half the time). 

We went trick-or-treating with the babies for the first time! Salem made a handsome mini mailman. 

Salem learned how to pretend everything is a car. Or a gun. 

My husband built me a wall of bookshelves in our bedroom as an early Christmas present. 

We used the kids as an excuse to go see a 40-foot-tall Christmas tree in a museum in town. 

My boy turned TWO. What a nutcracker this guy is (meaning he's nutty and full of wisecracks). 

Our family had our first Christmas morning since Salem learned what presents are, so that was the best thing ever. And it was a white Christmas, so I really don't see us improving on that. 

We took the kids to see my piano teacher and her friend's Christmas recital.

I got an iPhone after years of suffering with the cheapest phones available to me. So far, it's been worth it. 

Zac and I invited an insane amount of people into our home for a New Year's/Christmas party, the first of hopefully many more. 

For 2023, the word I'm choosing to focus on is GO. I pray this will be a year of courage, of action, of bold obedience to the Lord's call. 

Jude 1:22-23

"Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire, to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh." 

2021: the year of change in stasis

My word for 2021 was LEARN. Looking back, I think I did that.

Thank God for His patience with me, and His always faithful love. His goodness is eternal. His steadfastness is a well of courage. He is the only Truth in the universe, and He invites us to seek and find. 

Last year I...

Read the entire Harry Potter series out loud to my husband and son...

Acquired a new old car named Han "Stormtrooper" Solo...

Got a new dining table...

Had the scary leak in our basement fixed by some true professionals...

Found out I'm pregnant again! Baby girl Coté, due in February...

Lost one of the sweetest kitty boys in the world, the dashing and heroic Bombadil...

Said hello to a new friend, Princess Peach, and had fun watching her grow alongside baby Salem...

Grew some flowers in my garden...

Helped plan my sister's wedding to her true love...

And rejoiced very selfishly when they moved into a house only five minutes away...

Painted our house a bright, warm, Abuela's-house-in-Mexico orange (well, I and many friends)...

Made it just past the halfway mark on a novel I've been working on for some time (don't rush me)...

Saw the new baby giraffe at the zoo...

Took my boys to Vala's on a perfectly crisp fall day...

Watched my very cool, very determined husband run a marathon...

Relied on God a lot when our life was turned upside down over one week in November: both cars out of commission, broken and replaced furnace, and Zac lost his job...

Received the precious blessing of peace from the Holy Spirit as I watched God provide for all those needs with perfect timing...

Cheered Zac on as he found a new job...

Celebrated Salem's first birthday...

Spent a huge amount of time, planned and unplanned, at my parents' house, which somehow feels even more like home to me now than when I actually lived there...

Baptized a friend...

Shared dinner with my sister and her husband most Fridays...

Gave and received many gifts...

Cooked many meals, played many games, hugged many friends, sang many songs, read many books...

Daydreamed about the next time I will see Lake Superior...

Resolved to buy more books and fill my home with only good stories...

And to be more intentional with photos documenting a beautiful life...

And to never let fear appear to me more powerful than my God.

This year, my word is INVEST. May God bring fruit out of the learning.

"He who trusts in riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish like a green leaf." -Proverbs 11:28

My ultimate book re-read list

Hello, you wonderful person.

Do you ever just sit and think about books? I do it often. More often, perhaps, than I actually read them (something I've excused myself from since having a baby, but need to work on).

I love books. Of the many things in my life that I feel strongly about, books are probably number 4 after Jesus, my precious family, and human rights for preborn babies. Passionate though I am about books, I suffer, as do many of my fellow bibliophiles, from the curse of forever desiring to purchase new books while also refusing to read them, instead returning to beloved titles from my formative years. In my home there are over 400 books, about 40 of which I've never read. That number keeps pretty stable, because every time I do miraculously read a new book, I consider that an achievement worthy of celebrating with (you guessed it) a new book. 

I do not, and will never understand those people who choose to never re-read books. I'm of the philosophy that a good story, the kind that goes beyond entertainment to actually enhance your shape as a person, is like a favorite meal--it should make you want to experience it again. Perhaps readers who refuse to re-read have simply never known a connection like that with a story and its characters, in which case they need to keep searching. 

I don't re-read all of my books, but I feel very blessed to have many I'm happy to greet as old friends every now and again.

So, if you haven't found your re-reads yet, this list might be a good place to start your journey of discovery.

1. Harry Potter. All of them. 

I re-read this epic saga every year and it never gets old. In fact, every time I re-enter Harry's world it feels new again. And it's especially exciting this year, as I've had the joy of reading it out loud to my husband and son.

2. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

J.R.R. Tolkien's word-smithing is the stuff of magic. Reading his intricately woven masterpiece is like stepping back in time, both fascinating and bittersweet. No one writes like that anymore.

3. The Wind on Fire trilogy by William Nicholson.

These beautiful books are alien and inviting, heart-wrenching and humorous. They will make you feel courageous.

4. The Noble Warriors trilogy by the same.

I can't even put into words what I feel about these books. I read them at a crucial and difficult time in my life, and they helped me center myself and ironically (for Nicholson is an atheist), helped deepen my faith in a surprising way. 

5. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.

One of those amazing books of which I have memories as vivid as any real-life experience. It's a tale of fear-conquering love, soup, and overcoming grief.

6. Wildwood Dancing and its companion, Cybele's Secret, by Juliet Marallier.

I discovered these beautiful fairy tales by accident at a library book sale. I love to re-read them in the fall, when the chilly air outside helps transport me to the Transylvanian forest where the first book is set. 

7. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson.

I read (most of) these in 8th grade, at the recommendation of a scurrilous knave I had the misfortune of having a crush on. The books are so good they can't be tainted even by the memory of me making a fool of my 13-year-old self. And I have never laughed so hard at something I've read, ever, in my life. 

8. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.

What can I say but that I love this book? I find myself in the characters. In my experience it's best re-read around the New Year, when everyone is hoping to turn over a new leaf after feeling, perhaps, a little stale for some time.

9. Wishing Moon by Michael O. Tunnel.

An Arabian Cinderella. What more could you ask for? I've re-read this on several occasions when my life was feeling distinctly un-magical. 

10. Watership Down by Richard Adams.

I have never been as surprised by a book as I was by this one. My mother and sister admonished me for years to read it, and I finally did in the week or so after giving birth to my son. It is beautiful and powerful and strange and my goal is to re-read it at Christmas every year. 

These are by no means the only books I could've added to this list, but for sanity I'll stop there. Happy Re-reading!

2020: the blessed year

 

At some point after making my social media accounts, I got into a habit of posting a review of the past year’s most significant events every New Year’s Eve at midnight. It’s been a year or two since my last one, and that feels wrong. You can make fun of me if you want, but there’s something about having things in lists that makes me happy, especially when the list is a list of happy things, and something in the act of writing that list is incredibly cathartic.

I think I stopped posting these at a certain point because they felt self-centered and I wasn’t sure anyone but me cared about them. But even if that were true, that wouldn’t make the joy of reading it years later any less valuable to me. Year-in-review posts are as much (or more) about writing them as they are about reading them. So here goes, because I don’t really care if this makes anyone happy besides myself, though of course if you’re reading it, I hope you share a smile with me.

Last year I…

… learned how to make Russian blini (crepes)…

… actually met my goal of writing more regularly…

… bought a zoo membership…

… wrote a million letters of recommendation for the fabulous high schoolers I coached during my stint with College Possible (that number being only a slight exaggeration)…

… learned how to crack the ACT…

… brought two new kitty boys into our home to torment our first baby, Pippin…

… was hired to work as a college campus minister with Christian Student Fellowship…

… moved out of a tiny, malodorous apartment into an actual house…

… finally gave in to the cat-lady instinct and started an instagram account just for my feline family members…

… swam in a river on the fourth of July…

… spent a lovely, very humid few days in Branson Missouri over the week of my birthday…

… where I kicked Zac’s butt in our unofficial minigolf championship, despite his uncanny ability to score holes-in-one under the most desperate of circumstances…

… turned 23…

… was very surprised when my sister and friends orchestrated a surprise birthday celebration for me…

… celebrated a year of marriage with the best husband and friend ever…

… made Zac a birthday cake with crispy-fruity-rice bark topping…

… took Zac to Nebraska Furniture Mart for his first time (if that sounds boring I have two words for you: spinny chairs)…

… made my first pot roast…

… bought a full-size Christmas tree and many other delightfully festive things…

… learned how to let go when my rambunctious cats got into said Christmas tree…

… incubated and gave birth to our precious baby boy, Salem…

… marathoned the entire director’s cut trilogy of the Lord of the Rings with my husband and our newborn son (teach ’em young)…

… received the gift of a beautiful gold-plated rose from Zac for Christmas…

… and a bunch of other little things that made last year truly the best year ever.

So many things about 2020 were ridiculously hard, and I’m not just talking about the things that came standard to all of us last year, like lockdowns and elections and just being a person. At times life felt deeply painful for me and for my family as we wrestled with each other, with ourselves, with God–but it would be shortsighted to say that the hard things were bad.

If anything, the difficulties of 2020 only made me more confident in the God who never wastes a single moment, a single tear, whether they be painful or happy. And more often than not it’s the hard labors that produce the best gifts.

Cheers to 2021; may it be a year of challenging truth, persistent prayer, determined love, and foolhardy courage.