Our Life...'Better Together': A Look Back on 2019...

Well, the kids are back at it after a too short, much needed, and much loved Christmas break. So loved that both kids were in tears at bedtime last night! But this morning, the sun was out and we were back to our normal routine of an early morning spin class, a nice hot shower, and Mila's long and drawn out but adorably sweet goodbye in the drop-off lane at school. There are many smooches, her little kissing hand, and lots of look-back-and-wave moments as she hurled her backpack over her shoulder and walked with confidence (and a new set of earmuffs) into her kindergarten class. As for Cruz, I always applaud his patience with her. :)

And now here I am, sitting at my desk with a cup of tea, eager to do a little look-back-and-wave on this past year and all it brought us. I think I love the days that follow Christmas almost as much as Christmas itself. I smile at what it was, then pack it all up, spend a few days in the sweet abyss of pajamas all day, new toys and new books, Netflix and popcorn, cheese and chocolate, and completely losing track of any sort of to do list or knowing what day it is. And when the novelty of all that wears off (because a Type 3 enneagram can only handle so much rest time) I shift to a brand new year of so much possibility and intention. But not before one last look at the good, the bad, and all the in-between of the year that was.

Last year at Christmas, Beau gifted me a five-year journal set from my favorite Rifle Paper Co. Every day in 2019, I filled ten lines of thoughts on the paper, along with fun lists like movies watched, books read, places traveled, and people served in our home. I watched 24 movies (Bohemian Rhapsody and Toy Story 4 were my favorites), read 10 books (Daisy Jones and Crawdads were my favorites), spent time in 7 states (Hawaii, you were tough to beat), and served 282 people under our roof. But along with the fun statistics of my year, there are also pages to record the special things I wanted to remember, as well as the things I wanted to forget. More than often, this blog is a place to record all the good, but it turns out it was so therapeutic to recall the hard moments of our year, too. And looking back, it was a bit of a beast. On my very first entry of last year, I was sick and watched two really great movies on Netflix. Just a week later, our family life spun out of control when Beau's parents both got sick at the same time. The rest of our winter was clouded with the harsh reality of health scares, hard conversations, and many strains on family, work, and marriage. And then throw in eight snow days in two months and a Polar Vortex that shut down our town for nearly a week straight. I had a corneal ulcer on my eye for two weeks, a weird bump surgically removed from my tongue, a stress fracture and expensive boot to wear for a few weeks, and Beau met our maximum out of pocket by breaking his thumb while trout fishing in Decorah. Don't worry, I met the car deductible, twice, both times hitting stationary objects in parking lots. ;)

In many ways, 2019 felt like a bit of a beast. I remember sitting down for sushi with Beau on a night in early January, with Jennie Allen's dream guide in hand, ready to set some great intentions with my husband for our year. The very next night, Beau was at Mason City hospital. For the next two months, he had spent more time in his car, at his office, or in a hospital room than he had at home. And many of those days, it felt like we were on different planets. Unmet expectations, a lack of quality time and communication, and a myriad of emotions put a strain on the start of our year. But it's funny, as I sit here now, praising God that He saw us through that rough start and saved our parents, I also feel like it was maybe our best year as husband and wife. We somehow came out stronger, more on fire for each other, and on the same page as we head into a new decade together. I told Beau that I think he was my favorite part of 2019. He showed me a beautiful picture of the kind of father, husband, and son he is. I'm thankful for him and the wonderful parents who raised him.

So there it is. The big and small pains of a year passed. But oh, there was good, too. We celebrated Beau as the top selling PC agent in his company in February. We had a bucket list trip to Kauai, slept under the stars in a bungalow in the middle of nowhere and saw the amazing Na Pali Coast from a helicopter with no doors on it! I started a book club, hosted a Bible study in my basement, and met Jennie Allen herself, in Cedar Falls, with my IF Team and dear friend, Kate. Mila learned to ride a bike in about sixty seconds, grew a lot of teeth, and started Kindergarten. Cruz fell in love with football and celebrated turning nine by getting some star treatment at the UNI Dome. Beau and I celebrated 12 years of marriage sleeping in a canvas tent on a pizza farm. My parents celebrated 40 years of marriage and we had family pictures for the first time ever. We watched the Cubbies win at Wrigley, played in the picture perfect sand and sea in Destin, explored all things music in Nashville, and spent three different weekends in Decorah with friends. We cozied up in a cabin in Wisconsin and carved our names in a tree on a little lake we named Honeybee after my favorite album of the year and an unforgettable concert in Ames with the Shaws. 2019 included Daisy Jones and Lighthouse Lounge, a newfound love for an old fashioned, a dirty martini (extra dirty), and that Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It brought a 40 Before 40 bucket list, a 365-day wardrobe challenge, and an epic night with my little brother and his sweet wife. It brought us the Talbott Brothers, lots of grilled pizzas, and hysterical family game nights. It brought favorite family days - exploring Seaside, Florida, football and an afternoon fall fire outside Walnut Creek cabin, and a Christmas day walk on a frozen lake in our favorite woods. 2019 started with "A Love Bigger than a Hippopotamus" and ended with "Waiting for our Christmas to Come." We celebrated friends turning 40 and the realization that the finest things in life really do get better with age.

So before I jump into my 2020 vision (will that ever get old?!), a look back in pictures at some of my favorite things of this year...

An early morning Hawaii sunset with my guy...

And that magical place we called home for a few days...

Standing on what felt like the top of one great big world...

And seeing it from the exhilarating lens of an open-door helicopter ride...

A morning in the Gulf with the kids, singing Moana and getting stung by a jellyfish. Beau's pick for his favorite day of the year...

Seaside, Florida, the place I think I'd retire to...

Spending a few days introducing Cruz and Mila to lots of honky tonk "culture" in Nashville...

...Lots of great musical moments of 2019! A house concert in Cedar Falls, a Rolling Stones spread for this band we're hoping big things for, the Head and the Heart's Living Mirage, and that little lake Honeybee.

...He carried a knife in his pocket so he could carve our names in a tree.

New books and the rediscovered love of getting lost in a story. Especially ones that involve fictional bands that I pretend are real...

Full circle moments of hosting an IF:Gathering, sharing a piece of my story, then inviting women to my basement to dig into Jennie Allen's Restless, a book that kind of changed everything for me. And then welcoming Jennie Allen to Cedar Falls, with my best girl at my side. These two women have inspired so much growth in my life...