It’s a new year with a same view: my kid’s faces, a home I love, a husband I love and call BFF, and a God who never changes. I’d say things are… lookin’ pretty good (still). Perfect? By no means. But truly wonderful. We learned a lot in 2023, grew, and laughed a whole bunch. And for that I am thankful. To highlight and remember my year, I wanted to just do a list of favorite things. Products, things my kids said, and everything I can think of. I believe a heart of gratitude is where the Lord can take residence best. And so, I say thank you Lord over and over.
Favorite Purchase of 2023: Well, listen. This could go a few directions. Are we talking for me? The kids? The home? I have a few things come to mind.
Shark Vacuum | Lilac athleisure dress (seen here) | Tartan dress (seen here)
My favorite moment: Celebrating two years of Cadence. Theres a lot of high moments I could say here. My kids’ birthdays were all so fun, we had a couple sweet staycations. But celebrating the milestone of two years was a really big deal for us. We were told Frisco was a graveyard and nobody was lasting past two years as a church plant. But we did it by the grace of God, slowly but surely. We love our church so very much and it’s such a joy to pour into it for the rest of our lives!
Favorite”new thing”: I officially went nontoxic with my make up products and turns out I love them more than any other makeup brand I have ever used to begin with. In an effort to keep pursuing overall health and wellness in my body, mind, and spirit after four pregnancies in 6 years, I went all in on nontoxic products for my skin/face and started seeing a chiropractor. Both things have brought me very evident results.
If you’re wanting to take the journey of getting products out of your home (that are literally banned in other countries…), it is a pretty steep financial endeavor that took us a long time to do in the full capacity I aimed for longterm. But starting with make up is a great place to begin! You can check out the brand I use here! If you have $50 to start, it’s the foundation without a doubt. Start there!
Favorite book(s): I can’t pick just one. This year I went through quite a few, thanks to Audible. But, I think the most life changing book has been Hard Is Not The Same Thing As Bad for motherhood. For fun, I read Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. And they both just really filled my cup. Nothing beats the classics!
Biggest growth moment: Getting better at regulating my emotions with my children. Listen, I am the first to raise her hand and say I never thought I would be an impatient or angry mom. But overstimulation and postpartum emotions are real, y’all. It’s just part of it. So I have been reading books and trying to equip myself better to control my tongue for my children. It’s been work but I have seen the fruit of it.
Favorite thing Rory says “honky donkey” = Donkey Kong
Favorite thing Knox says “the constructions” = instructions
Favorite Chloe says “dog dog” for doggies (or any animal with four legs)
Happy *over a week into it…* new year hehe. I am signed off on social media for the next week, at least. I encourage you to do the same every now and then!
xoxo, Hannah
