Wow. I know the phrase “where has the time gone” is incredibly overused at the start of every new year, but really, WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?! The current year is 2022 and that. Is. Just. Wild.
My last year in review post was actually two years ago, on January 1st, 2020 and WOW, I did not see THAT year coming. I had spent that New Year in the ER with my then two year old with what we thought was a broken arm (it was fine, thank the Lord!) Just about two months after that the world shut down, we moved, my husband started medical school, I got pregnant, and then we moved again. It was A YEAR.
2021 seems like such a blur, if I’m being honest. Remembering what happened in the winter and early spring is almost as difficult to try to remember what I learned in high school algebra. I know my daughter celebrated her second birthday and we had a historical snow storm that kept our part of the world completely shut down for an entire week. This is truly unheard of in the south, y’all. Oh yeah, We added yet another baby to our family! Having three babies in four years just kinds of makes time move at lightning speed I think, so that’s probably what’s to blame for my foggy memory.
On April first, after a solid week of prodromal labor, our second son, John Elias, was born. His birth was absolutely magical (I’m a birth nut, sorry not sorry) and it was more than I ever could have dreamed of. The recovery for this pregnancy and birth was by far the easiest yet and let me tell you, I am SO happy to not be pregnant anymore. While the recovery was a dream, the pregnancy itself was hard. I was blessed with a third uncomplicated, healthy pregnancy, but it was SO tiring. 10/10 do not recommend being pregnant with two toddlers. That was by far harder than the unmediated birth, let me tell you!
With all of the challenges that come with adding a new baby to the family and my husband starting his second year of medical school, we took our summer incredibly slowly. We only had a short four week break and with three small children and a student budget, we couldn’t do too much but we did manage to take a small vacation to to Texas, where we visited St. Peraskevi’s Women’s Monastery and Galveston, Texas. Watching our children experience the ocean for the first time was truly such a joy. I didn’t take many photos on this vacation, because I was so wrapped up in truly living in the moment capturing actual mental memories, and not digital ones.
When autumn rolled around, we were in the thick of it with school schedules and life. I started to really pick up on my quilting hobby and started a business! I opened an Etsy shop, Vivi K Quilts, on my 28th birthday in November and have been steadily working on custom quilts and fabric orders ever since. Do I suggest trying to start a business with three small children at the busiest time of the year? Probably not. But I am SO glad that I took this leap of faith to take this craft that I love so much and turn it in to a business.
I’ve got so many goals for 2022 that I don’t even know where to begin. I want to continue to build and grow my quilting business, actually blog without six month breaks between posts, keep up with my new found love for CrossFit, become healthier both mentally and physically, and all the other hopes, dreams, and goals that just about everyone has with the start of the new year. I know people like to hate on this time of year because of all the cliches it can bring, but I just love it so much!
Every new year comes with the growth of the years previous, and the chance to learn new things and build on top of what you’ve already started. That doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily stick with your goals or resolutions, because honestly, life happens and things get in the way. (Especially when you’re a mom of three small kids) There are always detours that have to be taken. My productivity and stamina for keeping up with my goals always dwindle out as the year runs its course, but that’s no reason not to envision a bright future!
To quote one of my favorite parts from Oh The Places You’ll Go “You’ll get mixed up of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact and remember that life’s a great balancing act.” Will you continue with the same effort through the middle and end of the year as you did at the beginning? Probably not. You’ll get mixed up and lost along the way, just like what happens in the book. And that is 100% okay! Because with every new year, new month, and new day, you’re moving forward and learning something new. And with that, you will succeed. 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed!
I pray that your 2022 is filled with all of God’s blessings! See you soon!
Your quilts are so beautiful! It sounds like an eventful year for sure!
Thank you, Sadie! <3
Congratulations on the new baby. I can attest to the fact kids make time speed up. My twins were born on Christmas day of 2019 and then I barley slept and it is 2022.
Those quilts are beautiful! I love the New Year too, if not to focus on black and white goals to work towards little habit improvements and to see all the growth that has happened in the prior year (whether expected or not).