A Look Back at 2019

What a year it has been!⁠
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As we look back over the past twelve months, I’m truly overcome with emotion realizing how far we’ve come. Sometimes, as the saying goes, it can be hard to see the forest through all the trees. The same is true for having a go at a fixer upper.

I’ve already shared about the challenges and obstacles we experienced when we first bought our home, but those hiccups and snags definitely don’t cease to exist once your name is on the mailbox. In fact, home ownership (and maybe particularly so with a fixer upper) means setting your mind and heart on facing those struggles with fierce faith in the potential of what can be.

What this experience has reinforced for me is that making anything in your life better or more beautiful requires you to call upon that same faith and persistence.

When I started writing about our home, it was really just meant to be an online journal about all of the various projects we were working on in the course of turning our fixer upper farmhouse into our dream home. It was a sort of record-keeping. At the time, I certainly had no idea how much more it would become, but the truth is—at the core—it is still that: a chronicle of our journey. ⁠
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Simply put, and unequivocally, tackling a fixer upper isn’t easy. Some days, it feels like we lose ground, and the project list just keeps growing. Some days, we question why we ever thought this was a good idea. Some days, we go to bed at night feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, stressed, or even scared by what we’ve taken on.⁠
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But when I look back at the photos and entries from 2019, I can truly see how much we’ve accomplished over the past year. ⁠

Today, I’m feeling so incredibly grateful that I started recording all of these events and experiences because it’s as though I’m writing the story of our home and family…one day at a time…one project at a time. This simple creative exercise has become a diary about our real life—the triumphs and accomplishments, as well as the struggle and striving.⁠

Sometimes, looking back is the thing that helps to take the next steps forward. Realizing how far you’ve come can make what’s ahead seem all that more possible.

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My promise to you has always been to tell our story with wholehearted honesty, and although it isn’t always easy, these are the moments that make it worthwhile–when we can step back, look at the whole year, and see the big picture. ⁠
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This is a story about love and devotion, learning and growth, grit and grace.

With great anticipation, we are looking forward to turning the page and writing new chapters of this story in 2020. Thank you so much for walking alongside us. It means more than you will ever know.⁠