2014


Last year at this time there was a cloud hanging over almost everything we did. The cloud that in a little over a month Devin was moving to Chicago for 9 (potentially 12) weeks. There were so many unknowns about that time. How would it go? Was it the right decision? Was it even what Devin wanted to do with his life? How was I going to do parenting on my own? Now it's such a distant memory (thankfully).

The year started out in full force. Quitting my job, that I loved, but just couldn't give 100% to anymore. A very unplanned pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage a few days later on Henrik's first birthday. And suddenly I was a stay-at-home-mom and Devin was living in a different state with a totally different life. Thankfully, those nine weeks went much smoother than either of us could have hoped for. We both gained so much confidence during that time from doing something hard.

Devin did amazingly well and "graduated" from DBC. We agreed he would quit his current job that he disliked despite not having a new one and then we packed up to take a much-anticipated trip to California just the two of us. The night before we left on our trip, Devin was offered a job as a web developer at a great local company and we knew God had been guiding us and had been gracious to us. We went to Sonoma and drank wine and talked about the rest of our year, which included the happiness of not living apart and maybe even a sibling for Henrik.

About a month and a half later we were pregnant and the rest of the summer was blur of spending my days trying to entertain a 1.5 year old boy when all I wanted to do was sleep (at least that's how I look back on it now). I can't say it was a great summer. The days were long and I was constantly wondering if I should have quit my job and if I was cut out to stay home with kids. Not to mention, readjusting to having Devin around wasn't as easy as I thought and I had to learn to become less independent and shift back into marriage mode.

In the Fall I started to feel more settled at home and Devin was doing well at his new career. Henrik was super fun and fairly predictable. He still wasn't playing well by himself, which made for some long days for me (this is still the case), but we had gotten into a pretty good routine. I decided to start BSF in addition to the group I was in through church because really, life wasn't overly full and I knew that wouldn't always be the case.

November and December were a flurry of family events and holidays. Lots of ear infections for poor Henrik and sinus infections for me (my body sucks at fighting off anything when I'm pregnant) and then influenza (Devin escaped due to the flu shot he got at work). Those weeks of being home with sickness took their toll on me emotionally more than I could have imagined.

And now here we are, on the brink of a new year and all the plans and unknowns that it entails. I'd be lying if I said 2014 was one of our best years. It had so many good times, but lots of hard and stressful times and lots of opportunities for growth. I'm so thankful to have spent another year with my favorite people and sustained by the God of the universe.

Happy New Year!

Some of my favorite pictures from our 2014...





























7 comments:

Linda said...

This was so fun to read and I love all the pictures! It's good to reflect on the year and see how God provided through it all.

leah said...

great recap! excited to see what the next year will bring!

Ashley Neuen said...

Fun recap! Hope 2015 can be better for you!

Christen Leigh said...

Fun post and great pictures! :) Bring on 2015!

Daveana said...

So Fun! I can get over how adorable your short hair was! Happy New Year!

Daveana said...

*can't

sarah.flyingkites said...

great recap!! #cutefamilyaward :)