10 Photos that Shaped My Year // 2018

Find a photo from the year's greatest adventure - big or small.

We traveled to Williamsburg, VA + D.C. in November during my birthday week!

Find a photo of a significant moment.

I staged this photo last year {with the Clearblue ovulation tests I'd been using} for a blog post about things to do before you're expecting.  The next month I found out for the first time that I had PCOS {polycystic ovarian syndrome}.  We don't say this flippantly or as a cliche, but we still have hope & trust in Christ about all our hopes & dreams.

What photo makes you feel most alive?

There's nothing like those salty waves!  In February we took our 1st weekend getaway to the beach!

Pick your favorite photo of you & the people you love.

On this day in 2018 we turned 2 years married!

Search for a photo of a morning you want to remember.

It was January 17, 2018 when I woke up to the first epic snow day I've ever experienced way down here in Georgia.

Find a photo that represents joy.

Happiness is a swing set just waiting for you!

Locate a photo of the people who shaped your year.

This guy + me + Jesus {& ice cream}.

Find a photo of you trying something new.

I applied for a pre-k teacher position on a whim in late July & surprisingly got it!  Having taught mostly the upper elementary grades before this, pre-k has definitely been a learning process + major adjustment.  It wears me out on the regular, but my kids {for the most part} are sweet!

Identify an image of something you are proud of.

In September we participated in a relationship building {super fun} competition held annually in our city called "The Amazing Marriage Chase."  While we didn't win, we successfully found & completed all the challenges before the allotted time - & our backsides landed in the paper!  That's us in the front far left.

What is a photo you'll want to pass down to future generations?

'Cause love.

View last years' 10 here!

New Year's Day at Callaway

Our New Year's day was a wet & gray one, but that didn't stop us from getting out & adventuring.  We headed to one of my favorite places - the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Coming here has become a January tradition for us, but this was the first time we came on New Year's day.

I say this a lot, but isn't God the best artist ever?!

It was the perfect day for rubber boots!

There's something about the butterfly & its miraculous metamorphosis that seems perfect paired with the unfurling of a brand new year.  Change can bring beauty & refreshing & new life.  Just think what it did for the caterpillar.  I want 2019 to be my butterfly year.

We spied a spot on the map we hadn't explored before & decided to give it a try.  Visiting this little chapel tucked away in the woods was actually my unexpected favorite part of the day.

We didn't know if it would even be open, but it was.  Inside we found a man who played this fantastic fancy organ.  He asked if we had any requests.  We did & had our own private concert in this special space as he played "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" & "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."  It was truly stirring.  The musician shared some of his story, telling us how he had grown up playing music & in his younger life played rock & roll, & yet always felt God reeling him back in to use his talents for Him in worship.  The man said he still played rock & roll now & again, but that he had found something more meaningful in using what he could do for Christ.  This brother-in-Christ's music & words ended up in my thankfulness journal that night.

The blessing of being in this quaint little place of worship was a beautiful ending to our day at Callaway & the perfect start to 2019!

Outfit Details: dress - Topshop {thrifted} ● over-the-knee socks {I scrunched down to mid-calf} -  Richer Poorer ● rubber boots {these are actually from the garden department, but I use 'em as rain boots mostly} - Target

Monthly Goals // January 2019

I've always been one to make resolutions & bask in all the New-Year's-y revelries of the freshness of a new January beginning.  Because of this love, I'm gonna start sharing my monthly goals with you.  Most are simple, even chore-like to-do-list-y {I'm adding a lot of y's to a bunch of non y ending words today}, but some are bigger than that.  Either way it's really mostly for me, so I can track & remember - & just maybe putting them up on the internet for any & all to see will magically help in getting them all done each month.  If only.  Okay, I'm done explaining now.  Here's January 2019's monthly goals...

Have a yard sale {weather permitting}.

Clean out my car {inside & out}.

Read at least one book.

Leave a surprise "just 'cause I love you & you are amazing" card for Dan.

Find a new dentist.

Take at least 3 walks a week. {Tracking this in my planner.}

Drink at least 4 glasses of water daily. {Ditto to the planner.}

Write in my thankfulness journal each night.

A Word for 2019...

Restore.  That's my word this year.  Last year I wasn't so into doing the whole "word for the year" thing, but this 2019 I'm praying this word sticks down like super glue into my very being.  I need restoration & all its sweet re- synonyms... renew, refresh, rejuvenate, renovate.  I've been feeling it for a long while now - the dark depression that has settled over my heart & felt like quicksand to my bones.  This 2019 I want to be restored - inside & out, upside down & over - by the only one who can do it, my Savior & Lord, Jesus.

Lord, I pray You'd restore my heart & soul.  I pray You would restore my hope & my love for You, & forgive me for all the moments I fell into sin & despair.  Please restore my marriage, my joy, my strength, my body, my faith.  Lord, please restore my soul.  Thank you, dear Father, for hearing my cry.  I wait in expectation upon You and all that You have planned for me this year.  Your will be done in my heart and in my life this 2019.  

In Jesus' Name, Amen.