Goodbye 2014, You Were A Good Year

It is crazy windy outside and everyone is asleep. The dishwasher is humming, the washing machine is turning, and a few candles are burning on the mantle. In other words, I really should be sleeping. But what I want to do is write a quick blog post to say hello and thank you and Happy New Year!

So … with the tired brain of a mom with a newborn (and 5 kids … wait, FIVE?) I will post a few blog highlights from 2014.

JANUARY

A funeral is not the best way to start off the year. But we did get to hug our friend Rachel and her two precious kids after they lost their husband and dad, Kevin, who had cancer. You can read Rachel’s blog here if you would like to hear their story and send her some love. I wrote this post after his funeral. It was a tough holiday season last year. I can’t believe it’s already been a year. Rest in peace, Kevin.

I was getting ready to publish my first ebook, a novel based on a true story, including how my husband Andy and I met and fell in love. In this post I shared an excerpt from the book that was about how my husband lost his front teeth when he was in 4th grade.

FEBRUARY

And in February I included a post that shared a love letter Andy wrote to me before we were even dating–-also an excerpt from my novel. 

MARCH

In March, someone turned 9 years old and had a sock monkey party! We made some cute decorations. And I taught myself how to make a sock monkey.

APRIL

Oh, this was the year! I actually did it. I chose a book cover and published my first novel in April. So exciting!

MAY

We finally announced to the world that we were pregnant with number 5 in May. I was not happy about being pregnant because I was trying so hard to publish my book, and I get really sick when I am pregnant. Thank God, everything worked out and I was able to achieve some of my goals, even if I couldn’t do everything I’d hoped to do.

JUNE

Not only had I received emails and messages from girls who loved my novel, but in June I also found out I had some great reviews, which was a dream come true.

JULY

It took  awhile, but I made a tutorial for how to make a sock monkey, and I opened an Etsy shop in July.

AUGUST

In August I wrote about how i used to struggle with depression.

I finally made it to the beach in August, and it was so worth it. We live so close to the beach. Why don’t we go more often?

The belly continued to grow.

SEPTEMBER

We started another school year, but this time I was home schooling two children instead of one.

OCTOBER

This was the month of the 31 Day Writing Challenge, and my topic was pregnancy, including stories about natural childbirth and how I lose baby weight. I wrote most days, but not all.  

Another post was about how I thought I would never have kids.

 I made this cat craft for my kids and posted a free template.

NOVEMBER

Basically I spent all of November waiting. We waited for the baby to come on her own …

DECEMBER

She finally decided to come … on Andy’s birthday!

Gosh, just four weeks ago. But have four weeks already passed? Sheesh, I am so tired. But I am ready for a new year, a new start, a chance to set some goals and live the way I truly desire to live.

Thank you so much for staying in touch! Thank you for your friendship, no matter how far away you are. Thank you for your prayers.

Ok, seriously, enough about me. What is one of your highlights from 2014? Please share!

xo, Chelsea