Can you believe we are in the final month of the year?! Today I’m wrapping up a few of the themes from this year and in January I’ll be introducing my themes for the new year… 2020, here we come… but first a look back at 2019:

One of my focuses for this year was on being Frugal. I truly had no idea how important this theme would become, but now that we have another baby on the way we’ve had to use those frugal skills like never before. Aside from the additional medical and care costs of our upcoming labor and delivery, we’ve also had to save like crazy for a car that will fit our growing family and for my husband to be able to take more than a day or two of parental leave. These challenges helped me grow this year into being more resourceful, putting an end to hoarding gift cards, and cultivating a deeper love for the library. I’ve reflected on clothing and hand me downs and become an expert at finding free food and drink opportunities! We’ve continued to cook at home to use what is in our freezer and pantry. Most importantly, our family has had a lot more discussions about money all together to talk about how we can make our budget reflect what is most important to us.

Another theme was Favorites and I loved how diverse this theme became. I am hoping that some of my favorites were useful for others or became favorite for you too, be that helping you find a new book, a useful gardening tool, or brainstorming ways to spark conversations with kids after school. I’d also love to hear about any of your favorite moments from the year or any favorite posts you might have found useful!

Fun is the final theme we’re talking about in this first part of the yearly wrap up.  This has been one of the most powerful focuses for the year. If I hadn’t chosen PRESENT as my word of the year and felt that it was very useful the whole way through, I might have switched my word of the year to fun. Embracing more fun and everyday joy has changed my perspectives and help me taken a break in the hard times. It’s helped me be a better mom and be open to learning from my kids. It has helped me through prenatal anxiety moments when my impulse was to spiral my thoughts into all the doom and gloom and things that might go wrong. This focus was the nudge I needed to explore new places in my very one state be that Lake Pleasant, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, or even just fun new local trails. It has been a good reminder that taking time to reflect on or anticipate fun, either in my Powersheets or through documenting, is part of where I find the joy in experiences.

I’ll be finishing my 2019 wrap up right after Christmas and then… on to the new year!