2019, what a year. It was a busy year but overall, a great one. I took some time off blogging and it was the step back I needed. Now I’m back and feeling better than ever.

January: a new year

We blew into 2019 and hit the ground running. We had a pretty low key January and nothing particularly interesting happened…but it was still a great month.

February: NCSU gymnastics

We took our tiny gymnast to see the NCSU gymnastics team compete against the UNC gymnastics team in historical Reynolds Coliseum. It was a blast and we loved it.

March: Mr. Lumber’s birthday

See that handsome devil with the tape measure? That’s my handsome devil and he turned 39 this year. He’s gonna get me for posting that, too. Oh well.

March was a pretty quiet month and we didn’t do a lot. I did attempt to raise awareness of colon cancer by sharing my dad’s story.

April: my birthday and the Tarheel Ten Miler

In April I turned 34 and ran in the Tarheel Ten Miler for the first time ever. It wasn’t my best time but I finished and got this beautiful piece of hardware.

I was also at my heaviest weight back then.

May: last day of school

This little sweetie finished her second grade year and got started on a super busy summer break.

I celebrated Mother’s Day with my sweet mama and my girls.

June: better choices and a better me

With the help of my personal trainer, better diet choices and adding strength training to my endurance runs, I lost almost fifty pounds. I am amazed at how much better I look and feel.

This little lady also turned 8.

July: beach vacation

We took a family vacation to Wrightsville Beach for the first time in ages and had a blast.

August: back to school!

We went back to school and Emorie began third grade. Aubrey has a year and a half left until she starts school. I began my 12th year of teaching.

We posted this end of summer recap.

September: adjusting to being back in school

We began the very tedious process of redecorating our back porch. We are still not done.

We didn’t do much in September, as we were adjusting to being back in school.

October: Halloween, farm visits and day trippin’

This little flapper and little Anna made their way through our town and brought back a giant haul of sweets. They didn’t wanna share. Too bad.

We had some work done in our yard and we cleared out some overgrowth. We have plans to remove this flower bed altogether but I’m not sure what we will put in its place.

We built this fireplace and even though it was hard and a pain in the neck, I am pleased with the result.

We visited two local farms and had a blast.

November: Thanksgiving, family, and dance

This little hot mess turned four.

This little lady had her first dance competition and she brought home her first crown! We are heading to regionals in March and nationals in June.

Then, we ate four Thanksgiving dinners til I thought I’d pop.

December: the busiest and most rushed Christmas ever

On a sad note, we lost our sweet yellow lab mix in December. We miss this big guy so much but we are so glad for 13 years he got to be our dog. Until we see you again, big guy.

Thanksgiving was late this year and that made Christmas seem early. I also didn’t get off work until the 20th, which meant I rushed to get my decorating up and my shopping done. And it was rough!

I still managed to get these awesome pics of Santa in our living room.

And I think our kiddos had a great Christmas and they each got what they wanted 🙂

I hope your 2019 was a good year and I hope your 2020 will bring blessings and peace. See you next year! Tune in on January 3 for our word of the year.