2021 EOY Wrap Up

At the end of every year and the beginning of the next, I go into contemplative mode. I think about the past year. What happened? What changed in my life? What were the big things that I accomplished? What did I spend my time doing or thinking about? And then I think about the upcoming one as well. What do I want to see happen? What do I want to change in my life? What big things do I want to accomplish? What do I want to spend my time doing and thinking about? What things about last year do I really want to see change in the upcoming one?

2021 started off with the birth of our 3rd child. It doesn't get much better than that. He has been such a good baby all around. Also in January, my last remaining grandparent, Nanny, had some health problems and we began to see that she might not have as much time left with us as we would like. We were able to visit her in March. Also, Little Girl took her first vacation without us that same month during spring break. She went with my parents to Gatlinburg, TN. The last night of their stay they all got hit with the stomach virus from hades. And even though they stayed an extra couple of days, they still brought it home with them. And that kicked off our year of round and round of sicknesses. I actually had some kind of infection (sinuses or bronchitis) while they were gone. And we stayed sick off and on all year it seemed. In April we signed the contract to begin our major hoome renovation. Literally the week after we signed the contract, Husband quit his job. It wasn't expected, yet it wasn't exactly sudden either. He'd been unhappy for a while and things were not going in a direction with the company that he felt he could support. In May he interviewed for a new job and he got it. We moved in with my parents in June so that Husband could work full time remote. With the construction going on in our house, it wasn't an environment that he would be able to work in easily. The date our project was supposed to be finished came and went. (The first week of July actually.) I had no idea in my head that we would still be working on our house when the kids started back school in August. And truthfully I had to mourn our summer in the pool a little bit. Last year we spent every day in the pool and we were all sad to be unable to swim. In truth, being at my parent's house was such a huge help as we navigated the challenges of having 3 kids. My parents have helped us so much, and we wouldn't trade the experiences and time we've had with them. Over the summer, my mom began traveling to Mobile to spend every other weekend taking care of her mom to give her siblings a break. September came and we began contacting a lawyer over our renovation. One of our contractors had been in the hospital with COVID-19 for about 2 months. In October, we decided to deal with him only. And while we've been making forward progress since we excluded his partner, here it is January, and we're still nowhere close to being able to move back home. We were able to visit Nanny the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was such a good visit. The kids were so well behaved. Nanny was awake and coherent for most of our visit. She knew who we all were, and I'll treasure that being my last memory of her. It wasn't even two weeks later that when my mom went down for the weekend that she essentially slept the entire weekend she was there minus an hour awake here or there. On December 23rd she passed away about noon. Around 5 pm the same day, my niece gave birth to a healthy little girl. It has been an year of ups and downs, highs and lows, love and loss.

As for reading and blogging, I'm still doing the best I can. This was the first year I failed to meet not just one but multiple goals for 2021. I expected a decrease in available reading time due to having a new baby, but man this year was a challenge. Being out of our home and normal routines made blogging even more difficult. I often found myself completely forgetting about it. 2021 was definitely a struggle. Where I once would have had anxiety over not reaching my goals, this year I had grace for myself and my circusmtances. I'm reading when I get a chance and reviewing everything I can. I only DNF'd one book in 2021 because I'm doing a better job requesting books that are a better fit for me. I returned to audiobooks this year due to the significant amount of time I'm driving the kids back and forth to school. At first I didn't think 6 audiobooks was very many, but that's more than 10% of my books read for 2021. I hope to up my reading in 2022, but I don't know that I expect it.

EOM Wrap Up Posts for 2021

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Blogging Highlights from 2021

Holly and I successfully hosted the 2021 Series Enders Reading Challenge. This was our seventh year. We are returning for 2022 also.

I missed celebrating my 10th Blogoversary, but I plan to make up for it in 2022.

October was my 9th annual All Things Halloween event of Halloween-ish book reviews and such.

I didn't review any movies this year.

I listened to 6 audiobooks.

I didn't re-read any books this year.

I didn't complete my Goodreads books read challenge with only 46 out of 52 books read (not including children's books). This is the first year I've missed my yearly books goal since I started setting one.

I completed my Bible-in-a-year reading plan for the 10th year in a row.

I also missed my Series Enders goal of 5-10 books with only 4 series enders read for the first time since the challenge started seven years ago.

Books Read in 2021

*These qualify for the 2021 Series Enders Reading Challenge.
Layla by Colleen Hoover
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood & Ash, # 2) by Jennifer L Armentrout
Georgana's Secret by Arlem Hawks
Forever Phoebe by Chalon Linton
Isabelle and Alexander by Rebecca Anderson
Encouraging Word for Mothers: Morning Evening Daily Devotionals for a Mother's Soul by Michelle Medlock Adams
The Layover by Lacie Waldon
Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath, # 2) by Kristi Ann Hunter
A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, # 4) by Sarah J Maas
The Gentlemen's Spy (Serendipity & Secrets, # 2) by Erica Vetsch
*The Indebted Earl (Serendipity & Secrets, # 3) by Erica Vetsch
A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram, # 2) by Darynda Jones
#staymarried: A Couples Devotional: 30 Minute Weekly Devotions to Grow in Faith and Joy from I Do to Ever After by Michelle Peterson
The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood & Ash, # 3) by Jennifer L Armentrout
*Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, # 7) by Sarah J Maas
The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale
The Dating Plan (The Marriage Game, # 2) by Sarah Desai
Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff by Dana K White
*A Proper Scoundrel (Proper, # 3) by Esther Hatch
*The Prince of Spies (Hope & Glory, # 3) by Elizabeth Camden
Winning the Schoolmarm: Wyoming Legacy (Wind River Hearts, # 14) by Lacy Williams
An Engagement of Sorts by Alene Wecker
To Mary an Earl by Karen Thornell
Forever Wild (Wild, # 2.5) by KA Tucker
Beguiled (Betwixt & Between, # 3) by Darynda Jones
After by Amy Efaw
Hooked on You (Maple Falls, # 1) by Kathleen Fuller
Look Alive Twenty-Five (Stephanie Plum, # 25) by Janet Evanovich
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive by Daniel J Siegel (review coming soon)
The Heart of a Cowboy (Colorado Cowboys, # 2) by Jody Hedlund
Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson
Games in a Ballroom by Jentry Flint (review coming soon)
The Dating Playbook (The Boyfriend Project, # 2) by Farrah Rochon
Never Fall for Your Fiancee (The Merriwell Sisters, # 1) by Virginia Heath
A Warrior's Heart (Brides of Laurent, # 1) by Misty M Beller
An Alleged Rogue (Georgian Gentlemen, # 3) by Sian Ann Bessey
The Governess (Sisters of Woodside Mysteries, # 1) by Mary Kingswood (review coming soon)
The Siren of Sussex (Belles of London, # 1) by Mimi Matthews
The Chaperon (Sisters of Woodside Mysteries, # 2) by Mary Kingswood (review coming soon)
An Accidental Romance by Karen Tuft
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K White (review coming soon)
Sumemrhaven by Tiffany Odekirk (review coming soon)
Rage and Ruin (The Harbinger, # 2) by Jennifer L Armentrout (review coming soon)
Manor for Sale, Baron Included (Romance of Rank, # 1) by Esther Hatch (review coming soon)
Rescuing Lord Inglewood (Inglewood, # 1) by Sally Britton (review coming soon)

Books DNF'D

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon (DNF @ 20%)

How was your 2021? Are you exciting about moving on to 2022? Let me know!