2021 Recap & 2022 Word of the Year

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I cannot believe we’re already almost 1 month into 2022. So far 2022 has been a great year, although I feel like I’ve been really behind on things and am trying to get caught up. This post is weeks late, but it’s absolutely not too late to reflect and set goals, so here I am. 2021 was overall a great year but it brought many ups and downs (last years post here). Things are back to mostly normal for us and I’m so incredibly grateful for that. In 2020 we were basically isolated at home and last year we finally started to get out of the house and do things once all 3 of us got vaccinated. We have a weekly routine with activities and I’ve been much happier. Scarlett has thrived being around other kids too.

How fun is this store front?

2021 In review:

• I celebrated 4 years of blogging: (post here), I recently celebrated my 5th year of blogging this year (post here).
  I turned 30: So far 30 has been great! I turned 31 next week on February 1st.
• Jake started his LAST year of residency: He will graduate in June.
• Scarlett turned 1: I cannot believe she’ll be 2 in May. You can find her birthday blog post here.
• Scarlett got baptized: Blog post here.
• We finally got to travel again and Scarlett got to visit Texas and Oklahoma for the first time: Blog post here with advice on traveling with a little one.
• I ended my 14 month breastfeeding journey with Scarlett: I don’t have a blog post on this, but really need to write one.
• Scarlett took her first steps in August
• We traveled to the beach: Blog post here.
• We traveled to Asheville: Blog post here.
• We lost a beloved friend: Our sweet friend Chinwe went to be with the Lord after a second battle with cancer. She went to medical school with Jake, then also moved to Birmingham for residency when we did. We got to spend a decent bit of time together in Bham and she was such a good friend. I will never forget how excited she was when I told her I was pregnant. She was one of the first people I got to tell in person.  I was absolutely heartbroken when I found out she passed away. In midst of all of the heaviness, I had the neatest experience the next morning. I remember Jake’s great aunt loved cardinals and she always told us that “When a cardinal appears in your yard, it’s a visitor from heaven.” I always smile when I see one and think of his Aunt Judy. As Scarlett and I were hanging out on the patio that day I was extremely upset. I look up and saw the most beautiful bright red cardinal on the telephone pole looking at me. I cannot put into words the feeling I had, it stopped me in my tracks. It was the most peaceful presence and I know it was Chinwe. It gave me so much comfort knowing she is with the lord. I think about her all of the time and places we used to go together bring back memories.
• We lost our precious kitty in September: I had never been a cat person before her, but she became such a special part of my life.
• Jake matched at Duke for a pain management fellowship.: We will move to Raleigh/Durham, NC this summer to start Jake’s last (!!!!) year of training.

My word:

My 2021 word was “faith” because of the scripture, “Faith can move mountains,” from Matthew 17:20. This verse reminds me that God has a plan for us and that I need to have faith and trust his plan. My word ended up being very great as we waited for Jake’s fellowship match. If you were following along when Jake was going through residency match, I was a nervous wreck. This time along I had a lot more peace thinking about this scripture and that we would end up where we were meant to be.

With our big move coming up this summer, I  knew I wanted a word related to being content, so I actually did this survey and “fulfilled” came up as my word. I thought it was amazing how close it is to what I had in mind. While I am very excited about our move, I keep finding myself getting stressed over the “stuff” and thinking I just want to skip this chapter of moving and be settled in our permanent home. I’m trying to remind myself that in Christ you have everything you need and to really embrace this season even if I feel unsettled.

Goals:I shared my blogging goals here.

• Organize: I really need to get on a schedule where I do certain things on certain days because I’m feeling very overwhelmed with everything.
• Buy less, but be more purposeful:  I am trying to currently plan what I’ll buy for spring in hopes to not buy things I don’t need. I hope to create somewhat of a capsule wardrobe.
• Purging: I have been doing a lot of this, but hope to really continue to purge before our move.
• Eat Healthier: I started last week and can already tell a difference in how I look/feel. I am meal prepping and mostly giving up bread type foods because they make me bloated.

About my outfit:

When I saw this dress, I knew I had to have it for my birthday. It’s from Buddy Love and I got it while it was on sale. I got the size small and it fits true to size.  It’s a wrap dress, so you do have to be careful when you bend over. I plan to wear it to Nashville soon with some white cowboy boots. I’ll probably wear a slip under it, so I don’t have to worry as much about bending since Scarlett will be with us.

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