Wow. This past year of life was… a FULL one.

Full of so much growth. Scary moments. Beautiful moments. Plans that fell through and drastically changed. Mindsets that shifted to be so much better. Insanely happy memories. Insanely difficult conversations. So many ways I surprised myself or had life surprise me. It kept me on my toes and taught me to say yes a little bit more while also reminding me that I can use NO as a complete sentence.

This has been the year of trying to learn this lesson: I need to accept that we have no idea what’s next instead of dwelling on the anxiety around that… and it seems the best way to approach that is trying to re-center around what matters most and the time I do have. It is certainly not the first time I’ve worked on this particular lesson, but it is the most consistently I’ve been confronted with this theme so far.

A year ago I wrote a post focusing on events and accomplishment from the past year that made me happy. And I could certainly have done that again. Incredible things happened in the past year of life and I saw so much beauty… But the year since that last birthday post, I’ve been spending more time working on how to be happy with myself and just being me- whether that is me in the height of my productive mode or me completely exhausted and desperately wanting to melt into the couch or just spend a few hours doing nothing but laughing with those I love. I’m not sure what’s next or what kind of post I’ll be writing a year from now, but I know I’ll be thankful for any chance to think on another year of memories and time spent with those I love or doing what I love (or both!).

Going back to one of my favorite themes, I’m just trying my best to notice life- every, every minute. And we’ll see what the next year brings… but I can’t help but share just a few more picture of moments I loved during my past year of life … and since I’m not posting pictures with the kids just know that these aren’t even all the best parts!