2014 was quite the year.

a year marked by both seasons of opportunity and preparation.

a year of truly #livingalive.

we rung in 2014 in one of my most favorite places on earth – the cayman islands, on the beach.  I don’t know how a year could start any better than spending down time with your family on the water.

a few weeks later, I was surprised at our annual Noonday Ambassador conference with the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Rwanda with a group of incredible story tellers representing my beloved Noonday, and soon to be beloved IJM.  #styleforjustice 

camp + asher turned 2 and we celebrated micky + minnie style on a perfect surprise “spring” Valentines day.  such a sweet day to gather with our people.

after an amazing refreshing weekend at my adoptive moms [Created for Care] retreat outside Atlanta, I walked into another incredible opportunity to lead an excitingly talented group of 9 women to Jinja, Uganda on my very first “blogger” trip with Sole Hope. #bloghope 

almost immediately after getting my feet back on US soil, I road tripped to Dallas to share my “story of the unexpected” with a group of women at the first annual Hope Spoken conference.

if I wasn’t already completely exhausted enough,  I went straight into our first IVF cycle and spent a month tearing up I-35 between Waco and Austin away from home + my husband.

Easter Sunday ushered in a new decade for me, and also was the day we transferred and implanted one of our precious embryos.  I was certain just like Easter represents, that new life would be resurrected in my body and we would be celebrating new life in my womb.

my 30th birthday was sweet with surprises from my friends!  A surprise party pulled off by my Midland people, and an incredible video with messages from friends all over made my man.  I felt so loved and known.

a week or so after my birthday, we mourned the loss of what could have been with our IVF cycle.   no pregnancy meant no new life forming inside me.

like we do, we turned our disappointment into dreaming and spent one night over dinner planning my 3k mile road trip across the country we called #WACtour 

June meant Stephen went to Djubuti + Ethiopia and no week before an Africa trip would be complete without a family road trip across a few states to take kids to Disney for the first time.  After a family friend wedding in NC, we sent him on his way and me + kids started our tour of the south visiting friends in 5 states in 11 days. an truly incredible trip filled with connection.

July brought on my dream trip with IJM + Noonday to Rwanda.  I praised God that I still got to go on this trip [sans pregnancy] and ate up every bit of wisdom I could glean from the women I got to travel with.

two back to back trips to Africa made my entire year in itself.  

in Rwanda God started to impress on my heart that the time was now for ministering to women also going through the infertility struggle.  during a prayer session at IJM, I knew that we were to “carry” each others burdens.  and in August The Carry Camp was born!

September brought new excitement as we began to believe that God was indeed [like I thought 6 months prior] calling us to be apart of a new church forming in Bryan, Texas.  step by step we walked through the doors that lead us to visit 6 times from October-December to look for homes.

In October, I decided to write everyday for 31 days!  It was fun, exhausting, and a good challenge.  almost 31 days of voice memos in a series I called note to self.    #write31days

we wouldn’t be truly #livingalive if we didn’t book and plan a last minute trip to Disney with the kids the week before Thanksgiving.  it truly is the most magical place on earth.  we celebrated the financial freedom that 2014 brought.  #elderdisneydream

right before Christmas we closed on our dream house [built in 1941] in my most favorite neighborhood in Bryan.  charming and cozy, it’s the perfect place for our family.

I knew the fall would be quieter, and I was to stay home most weekends and skip on amazing opportunities to gather with women at conferences and retreats around the country and now I know why!  Our upcoming move from Midland is reason enough – this season God has us in, has been one of preparation.  and I don’t want to miss a single second of it.  I want to walk boldly and confidently into the next season of opportunity and obedience that He has for us.

I have no idea what he’s going to do in 2015 – I know He’s moving, and we are saying YES one step at a time. so now we just wait and trust.

 

Happy New Year everyone!