2014, The Year of...

Happy New Year!

How can it possibly be 2015? 

As I celebrate the new year (and I am celebrating...I was ready for 2014 to be OVER), I can't help but reflect a bit.

What was 2014 to me?

It was...

The year of snow and some of the coldest temperatures we have ever had.  That led to a freezing house (2-3 weeks of no heat), lots of snow days, and ultimately, the shortest summer break ever.

 Why no heat? It was also The Year of the Remodel.  We had many people ask us why we started in January.  Well, in a typical year, January is cold but not freezing cold.  Of course, who knew this wouldn't be a typical year?

 It was also The Year of the Supermoon. I had never in my life heard of a supermoon until 2014.  I still don't exactly know why we have supermoons (and we had more than one this year) but it was fun to photograph.

 It was The Year of the Tumor.  This picture was taken when we were trying to distract our hearts and minds from the anxiety of NO news (about a 2 week period), waiting to find out what kind of tumor Mark had behind his eye.  This time period was one of the hardest times in my whole life.  Not only were we dealing with uncertainty, my paternal grandmother passed away (fairly unexpectedly) and my mom had surgery.  The whole time period is like a blur to me and still makes me cry when I reflect on it.  (I guess that this coming year is The Year of Surgery; it is tentatively scheduled for March.)

 It was The Year of Milestone Birthdays for 3 out of 4 children.  Lauren turned 13, Maria turned 10, and Hunter (at the end of the year) turned 16.

 It was The Year of Colorado. We spend almost two weeks in Colorado. One of those weeks was our first "joint" vacation with my sister and her family.  I could write a whole blog posts on "The Year of..." just based on our vacation (year of snow in June, year of hiking to a glacial lake, year of ziplining and whitewater rafting, etc.).

 It was also The Year of Reconnecting. I was able to reconnect with a couple of dear friends this year, one being Audrey (pictured below), a dear friend from college.  I also later was able to reconnect with my dear friend Brandi as we watched volleyball games together.

 It was The Year of the Mouse. Eek!  If you know me at all, you know that mice strike fear in my heart. And for whatever reason, we had three of these critters (all caught and released away from our house) in our house. 

 It was The Year of Chauffeuring.  At one point, Maria was playing volleyball...

 Hunter was running cross country...

 Lauren was playing volleyball...

 and Hunter was also playing soccer. 

Of course, there was also school (3 different schools), church, and other activities.  Our days were rather busy. My head is still spinning.

It was (sadly) The Year I Did Not Go to the Beach.  It was NOT for lack of trying.

The Year of Challenges.

The Year of Jigsaw Puzzles.

The Year of Working Out.

The Year of 1000 Miles.  (Walked or run according to my Fitbit)

The Year of Change.

The Year of a Blogging Rest.  I never really intended for it to be. It just kind of happened. I guess because all of the above happened.

But (thankfully) 2014 is gone.

And the new year is upon us.

I don't have "resolutions" necessarily. But I have goals.

And blogging again is one of them.

So check back soon!  (I will likely update my personal blog more than this one; just ask for an invite if you would like one)

And happy New Year to you!

Reba