Happy New Year friends! We celebrated by toasting early and going to before midnight. I know, Families Gone Wild.
Last year I did a post on my favorite books of the year and then another one with my favorite posts of the year. Let's just combine our 2013 favorites into one fun post this year, shall we?
Favorite Books
Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
Stressed? Too busy? Having a hard time saying no to good things? Overcommitted? Running kids here, there, and everywhere? Buy this book. You can read it in a day. Which is good, because you're probably crazy busy.
Stressed? Too busy? Having a hard time saying no to good things? Overcommitted? Running kids here, there, and everywhere? Buy this book. You can read it in a day. Which is good, because you're probably crazy busy.
A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman
Do you desperately fear you have nothing to offer the world but secretly hope you're wrong? ...It's time to uncover the shape of your soul, turn down the voice of the inner critic, and move into the world with the courage to be who you most deeply are. {from the back cover}
Read how my personal story intersects with this book as well as my own personal review here. I love this book so much.
Do you desperately fear you have nothing to offer the world but secretly hope you're wrong? ...It's time to uncover the shape of your soul, turn down the voice of the inner critic, and move into the world with the courage to be who you most deeply are. {from the back cover}
Read how my personal story intersects with this book as well as my own personal review here. I love this book so much.
Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott
I'm a huge fan of Anne Lamott. As a mother of an almost teenage daughter, this novel uncovered so much of the hopes and fears and volatile emotions of the mother-daughter relationship. This story is not for the faint of heart. It is raw and there are moments that will wreck you. But it's hopeful and redemptive and beautifully written.
Want to know what else I read this year? Visit the "Booklists" tab at the top of the page.
I'm a huge fan of Anne Lamott. As a mother of an almost teenage daughter, this novel uncovered so much of the hopes and fears and volatile emotions of the mother-daughter relationship. This story is not for the faint of heart. It is raw and there are moments that will wreck you. But it's hopeful and redemptive and beautifully written.
Want to know what else I read this year? Visit the "Booklists" tab at the top of the page.
Favorite Home Projects
Favorite Gift
Favorite Shows
{I'm catching up on Netflix} Parenthood
Downtown Abbey
Luther
Favorite Movie
I never watch movies I want to watch anymore. It's just sad. And even though I'm not usually a fan of kid movies, I'm pretty sure I laughed louder than all of my kids at Despicable Me 2.
Favorite Purchase
My husband decided to do a juice fast several months ago. After the fast, he kept juicing and so did I. As it turns out, micro-nutrients give you more energy. We're believers. But our tiny little juicer we've had for years couldn't quite handle the load of fruits and veggies we threw at it day after day so after lots of research, we bought this one and it's awesome.
Our juicer has gotten plenty of rest during the holidays but we plan to crank it up again now that it's January. Also? I'm eating sausage balls for breakfast as I type this. We're finishing the holidays strong around here.
Favorite New Endeavor
Bible Study Fellowship. This year we're studying the book of Matthew. If you have a BSF group near you, the new year is a great time to jump in.
Favorite Costume Moment
If you know my kids, especially my youngest, you know that there's no shortage of pageantry around here on a daily basis. But on Halloween Eve, costume magic happened. My oldest was going as a Michigan football player. My youngest had planned to go as Batman Returns {because he was also Batman the year before.} And then I had a rare moment of brilliance and realized we had a Wolverine costume in the dress-up bin.
Michigan fans, you see where this is going.
Michigan fans, you see where this is going.
Michigan + Wolverine
And for the record, I painted that helmet myself. {Shameless bragging because this is one of my most heroic accomplishments.} In a noble attempt to not buy anything new, I thought it'd be quick and easy to repurpose a plastic orange helmet into an authentic-ish Michigan helmet. Four hours of priming and chalk-tracing and multiple layers of maize acrylic paint later, we had ourselves an inexpensive and not-at-all-easy-to-make Michigan helmet.
I hope my tombstone is engraved with, "Mom. She slaved over a homemade Michigan helmet in 2013."
I hope my tombstone is engraved with, "Mom. She slaved over a homemade Michigan helmet in 2013."
Favorite a la mode Posts
I narrowed it down to my favorite four.
And in case you're new around here or have some extra time to read over the holidays, I wrote two different blog series this year:
and
{living with freedom & margin in an overcommitted culture}
::
Whether you're a regular reader or this is your first visit, thanks for the time you spend at this online space. I have so enjoyed connecting with readers this year and I'm especially grateful for the way that the blog series resonated with so many of you. Your support and kind words are sweet gifts.
May your first days of 2014 be filled with rest, renewal, and a few more treats before the resolutions kick in. {For the record, we don't plan to rev up the juicer until next Monday.}
What are your favorite things from the year? I'm a sucker for new recommendations and a good favorite-things list. Let's dish in the comments.
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I've been following you for awhile now, and am so glad I found you since I'm pretty sure we think exactly alike:) thanks for writing and don't stop!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the favorite things lists. I've found so many good products, reads, movies, etc because of favorite things lists from my favorite bloggers. One of my favorite posts here at a la mode is "Finding God in the Waiting Room" (or something like that) about your sweet brother, sister in law and bundle of love Naomi, as she underwent heart surgery. It was so moving, and Psalms 34:18 was brought to life as a truth I can cling to in the midst of lamenting and sorrow. I have wondered often how Naomi is doing today? Also, I gotta say, the post "when coffee spills all over my sunday morning" was probably my most relatable post (this year.) Preaching the gospel to myself when I need it most can feel almost impossible in certain moments. I am so thankful for your gifts! You're generous to the a la mode community! I'm looking forward to your writing gifts continuing to flourish and be a fruitful aspect of your (and my) life in 2014. Grace and Peace!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the favorite things lists. I've found so many good products, reads, movies, etc because of favorite things lists from my favorite bloggers. One of my favorite posts here at a la mode is "Finding God in the Waiting Room" (or something like that) about your sweet brother, sister in law and bundle of love Naomi, as she underwent heart surgery. It was so moving, and Psalms 34:18 was brought to life as a truth I can cling to in the midst of lamenting and sorrow. I have wondered often how Naomi is doing today? Also, I gotta say, the post "when coffee spills all over my sunday morning" was probably my most relatable post (this year.) Preaching the gospel to myself when I need it most can feel almost impossible in certain moments. I am so thankful for your gifts! You're generous to the a la mode community! I'm looking forward to your writing gifts continuing to flourish and be a fruitful aspect of your (and my) life in 2014. Grace and Peace!
ReplyDelete