2017: Year in Review

2017: Year in Review

2017 has been a rough year. It has not been my favorite by any means. It has stretched us...almost to the breaking point...but it has also, hopefully, made us kinder, wiser, more filled with love for one another, and for those around us. That said, I would never under any circumstances ever want to repeat 2017!!

 I found it interesting that on the Instagram Best of Nine...all the pictures that were generated were from the last three months of the year which was also the hardest time of our lives. It was good to be reminded that there was beauty and joy there too.

Here are the highlights and lowlights of 2017:

-We redid Bryn's bedroom...new paint, new furniture, and new decor.

-Kameron got his first job!! He still has it and is a super hard worker and one of their most valuable employees. He works as a waiter at an assisted living facility. It has been so fun to watch him take this job seriously and to develop an amazing work ethic and to come to care about the residents there.

-Tyler turned 46!

-My brother Kirk got married. So happy about this! We love Meki!!

-Kameron had his first formal date/dance. Exciting!!

-I was a vendor at the Rebel Junk Vintage Market. This was the first show that Stacey and I did without our Mom.

-Bryn turned eight! A very special and momentous birthday!!

-We took the kids on an awesome spring break trip to the Oregon Coast. We had an absolute blast!!

-We repainted our living room. So needed!

-Bryn participated in a talent show. She did great!

-I had my first cardiology appointment. I had a weird bunch of tachycardia symptoms and ended up with a heart monitor for 24 hours. Glad to report that all was okay.

-Kameron got his DRIVERS LICENSE!!

-I got the results of my Ancestry DNA test. It was the most exciting thing ever!! I still need to blog about this.

-Reilly got stitches for the first time.

-Tyler's sister Lori came to visit!! We loved having her here and we had a ball!!

-Tyler and I saw a huge meteorite streak through the sky one night when we were going to the gym. So cool!!

-My Nana passed away on Easter morning.

-Bryn ran and did swimming for her spring sports.

-Tyler and I celebrated 22 years of marriage!!

-Grandma Judie and Grandpa Joel (Tyler's mom and stepdad) came to visit.

-Bryn got baptized!! Very momentous!!

-Reilly came to visit and was here for Bryn's baptism and Mother's Day. We loved it!!

-My Grandma Ellersick passed away. The end of an era. She was my last living grandparent.

-My extended family imploded...and everything about our extended family changed. Sad.

-Kameron went on a fun school trip to San Francisco.

-I was a curator at the amazingly awesome Farm Chicks Show!!

-I turned 45!

-Kameron went on the Pioneer Trek and loved every minute. He had such an incredible experience.

-Ailey turned 13! She's now an official teenager!!

-Ailey went to her second year of Girls Camp and had a fabulous time.

-Reilly came home for another visit. Her third in a few short months.

-Reilly made the decision to move back to Spokane. We were all super happy about that!

-My good friend Jayni who lives in Utah came to visit!

-Kelley and Elle moved.

-My mom made the decision to purchase my grandparents lake house and she moved to the lake.

-We watched the solar eclipse. It was awesome.

-We did a ton of paddleboarding and kayaking.

-Stacey and I were vendors at the Funky Junk Antiques show.

-Kameron started school as a JUNIOR. Time is going by too quickly!!

-Ailey started school as an 8th grader.

-Ailey was nominated to be a WEB leader on Student Council. Awesome!

-Bryn started school as a third grader. She got Mr. Osborne as a teacher. Reilly had him in 5th grade and so Bryn was extra excited to have him as a teacher.

-I got a break from driving to early morning Seminary!! Kam drives himself to seminary and to school.  Hallelujah!

-Bryn started her second year of piano.

-Reilly moved back!!

-Bryn ran double cross country and had a spectacular year.

-Tyler spent A LOT of time this year doing onsite hydrodam inspections in multiple states.

-We bought a new-to-us Suburban. We love it! We are a Suburban family. When we bought the new Suburban we kept our old one too. They are the best! Tyler drives our old Suburban and I drive our new(er) Suburban and Kameron drives our Honda.

-Tyler was called as the Secretary of the High Priests Quorum at church.

-Someone broke into our garage and destroyed our garage door. Jerks.

-The Pacific Northwest burned. It was devastating. I have never seen it so horribly smokey. The air quality was absolutely terrible. Sports were cancelled. Kids couldn't go out for recess. People didn't go outside and if they did many wore masks.

-One of our high schools here in Spokane had a shooting and a student was killed. This hit very close to home as kids from our ward and stake attend school there. So sad.

-Bryn rode a camel!!

-Bryn qualified for the All-City XC finals!! She had a killer XC season this year.

-I was a vendor at the Mad Hatter Vintage Flea Market all by myself. (Tyler and the kids helped me.) It was an incredible show for me in so many ways.

-Reilly had unexpected gallbladder surgery.

-Bryn started tennis.

-Tyler had a brain hemorrhage.  Our world was rocked to the core and we are forever changed. Just writing that gives me a pit in my stomach and brings tears to my eyes. It was such a difficult and scary time.

-Tyler recovered. THE BIGGEST BLESSING OF OUR ENTIRE LIVES!! Miracles exist.

-Reilly turned 21!! How is that possible?

-Kameron turned 17!!

-I joined a book club. I haven't been in a book club for several years now and I am so happy to be in one again. Reading is such a gift in my life.

-Tyler and I got to hear the author Wiley Cash speak. It was awesome!

-We had an amazing and unforgettable Thanksgiving.

-I lost 20 lbs. Yay!!

-I was a vendor at the Pickin' Christmas show. It was also a great experience.

-I did two vintage shows by myself this year and I have grown a lot. Stacey and I did several shows without my mom as well. It has been an interesting year for Sisters Creed.

-Our family did Light the World! It was an incredible experience.

-Ailey tried out to be a drill team captain and she made it!!

-Kameron went to his first official rock concert. The Foo Fighters... with his dad!

-We had a wonderful Christmas!

-I made SIGNIFICANTLY more money with my Sisters Creed business than the year before. I set a big goal for myself in this area and not only accomplished it but exceeded it by a good amount. 2017 was my very best year, financially, with Sisters Creed.

-We survived 2017. A feat in itself.

-We rang in 2018!!


I read 40 books in 2017. Here are my top five favorites:

1.) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Ann Bronte

2.) Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon

3.) The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

4.) Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker

5.) The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O' Farrell

My reading for 2017 was fairly disappointing. I didn't read anything that really knocked my socks off. I wish that I would've found a big sweeping novel that would've been all engrossing and that could've made my all time favorites list. But that didn't happen. I read many good books, more okay books, and several duds. In 2017 I read a lot of memoirs. Almost half of my books were memoirs or nonfiction. I also read a lot of classics and my old standby historical fiction. I don't know why but contemporary fiction wasn't cutting it for me this year. I could not find a book in that genre that I loved.

Worst Book of 2017:

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Goals Review:

This year I feel like I kicked butt in my goals. I am a HUGE goal setter and goal tracker. I make A LOT of goals at the first of the year and I track my progress daily. This year I was determined to really make a big dent in some of my goals that are consistently on my list year after year. I am happy to report that I did. It really helped me to stay on track with my goals by dividing the year up into quarters and then that was especially great motivation for me as I saw the fourth quarter approaching.

If you follow Gretchen Rubin or have read her book The Four Tendencies which is absolutely life changing then it won't surprise you to find out that I am an UPHOLDER. I need to do a whole blog post about this book because it has totally changed the way that I see things and has helped me so much with my marriage and children. The idea is that people fit into one of four tendencies: upholder, obliger, questioner, and rebel in how they respond to expectations. Upholders meet outer expectations and inner expectations. We are goal setters and goal keepers...even if no one knows what they are except for us. Upholders don't need outer motivation. We motivate ourselves. This can drive my family crazy but it is how I am. I am an EXTREMELY motivated and driven person...in all areas of my life. Learning about the four tendencies and learning which tendencies each of my kids are and Tyler too has helped me to relax and chill out in my expectations for them and has also helped me to get over many of my frustrations with them. This has been HUGE! For all of us.

All of that should help to explain my goals for 2017... I set 183. Yes... 183. Some were big goals, some were HUGE goals, some were small goals, and some were baby step goals. My rule for goal setting is that they have to be "trackable". It can't just be "I want to be a better person" which isn't trackable. So if that was my goal I would break it down into smaller trackable parts and then track and monitor my progress all year. Or if my goals aren't trackable they have to be something that once I have done it... it can be crossed off my list. This year I accomplished 131 goals out of my 183. So I accomplished 71% of my goals for 2017. That was exciting because I set 48 more goals for 2017 than I did for 2016 and I accomplished 52 more goals than I did in 2016. I know... Tyler thinks I'm crazy too...but I love it. It is just how I am wired. And yes...I was super excited to set my goals for 2018. Don't ask how many goals are on my list this year. But I am already tracking away! Ha ha.

And that does it for 2017!!