At the beginning of every year, I chose a word and let that word cultivate myself and cultivate in my life for the year.
My word for 2018 was Grow. Looking back that was a dangerous word choice truthfully, I think this at the end of every year and maybe not necessarily my word but maybe our family word for the year.
It wasn’t a season of easy growth for sure. We had hard seasons of being in dark soil, seasons of abundant growth which were painful, seasons of reaping the hard work.
I was reviewing my 2018 Vision Board on Pinterest and I see a lot of themes that have completely new meanings now than they did in January. Like this one, stars have always had a special meaning for me but this one, in particular, is extra special.
We’ve had our share of darkness in 2018, or the way I look at it, plenty of opportunities to shine. I didn’t always, plenty of times that I felt lost in that darkness.
I started 2018 with a new job at our church, and although I’ve been there nearly a year now, each week is a new adventure. I’m grateful for our wonderful, diverse thinking community and my wonderful co-workers with an abundant amount of patience for me as I continue to learn.
In March, my mom & sister came to visit for a weekend, at the end of their visit I flew home to Texas with them. Then in April, we had some major health scares. Travis is continuing to heal and I dare say is better than he has been in a while. Grateful for my jobs, while he heals and continues with therapy. In May, we went to Omaha Nebraska for a weekend to squeeze in this year’s U2 concert.
In June we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary.
In July, we spent a week in the mountains with my parents and my sister with her husband. It’s the first time we’ve been together in a while. We had a great time, staying up late playing cards, listening to music on the wrap around patio, and playing tourists.
In September, Travis’ parents came for a whirlwind trip through Denver and Ft Collins. We saw a Rockies game, went to two Red Rocks Concerts, and visited the Denver Zoo before we got rained on. I then spent 3 days in Philadelphia working with the girls from wearwell. (I love my family but this might have been the highlight of 2018)
In October we walked in our first march to raise awareness for human trafficking, I’ve wanted for so long to participate and was overjoyed at the chance.
December was my 5th year participating in Dressember and wearing 31 days of dresses! I focused not only on the style challenge this year but also raising funds for Dressember. I set a goal of $500 to celebrate my 5th year. My friends and family have been amazing in their moral support, sharing, and willing to listen to me ask for money for 3 months and tolerate my endless posts. I’m sharing a recap from Dressember later this week, here on the blog!
Stylishly Shelby 