Sarah's 2024 CHRISTmas Letter

Happy Christmas! I like to use the British greeting sometimes because I like British things :) 2024 was a very exciting year for me and also a very difficult one. I'm starting to wonder if there is anything like an "average" year. You know, where a few good things and few hard things happen but nothing too extreme. I'm not sure that exists, at least in my life :)

 If you don't want to read a long post, here is the TLDR version for my business and personal life:

• Trips - 8 (I went somewhere every month for the first half of the year!)
  
• Sessions - 9
  
• Edited galleries - 29
  
• Summer bucket list items - 3 of 4 completed
  

I'm pretty pleased with those numbers! Now, to dive into the details. Buckle up, because this could get long :)

January

I started out the year by spending a week with some dear friends while their parents were out of town. It was quite the experience; very different from any other babysitting jobs I've done. I got to navigate an emergency vet visit, had to deal with a major disciplinary issue, and really was more of a mom for a week than a babysitter. I'm very thankful for the opportunity and all the things I learned.

We got enough snow that my brother and I could make Grammy one last snowman at her old house AND I got to go play in the snow with my cousin. We hooked up a sled to her mini horse and tried to get him to pull her around. It only worked when I led him :)

February

Sarah's Big Adventure!! This was my California trip with my cousins. I did not enjoy the travel but I did enjoy the time in Santa Barbara with them. We've never had time just the three of us and I'm so glad that I pushed myself to go. We ate yummy food, saw amazing plants and animals, got to visit locations that are meaningful from movies we like, and spent lots of quality time together.

I also hosted my second Galentine's party, celebrated my birthday, and got to celebrate life milestones with friends!

March

Back to Hocking Hills for waterfalls! This park is beautiful anytime, but the waterfalls definitely add to it. One of my favorites was a place we didn't go the first time - Cascade Falls. I could have sat there for a long time. It was also fun to go letterboxing on this trip.

This was also a month where I got to spend a LOT of good quality time with friends. There was a stretch of four days in a row where I was with at least one different friend!

April

We got to experience the total solar eclipse with family in Indiana! It was so cool and surprisingly different from the 2017 total experience we had in Tennessee. That was interesting because I would have thought that a total eclipse would be a total eclipse but clearly it's not.

Lots of friend time again (walks, movie nights, and work dates, just to name a few), my friend had her baby, and we saw Unsung Hero, which is great and you should see. Also, my dad retired from Ford after 30 years!!!!

May

I went back to the west side of Michigan to do the things I didn't have time to do last year on my excursions. These day trips are so refreshing for me. I love walking around the shops, sitting on the beach reading, and eating yummy food :) I eat one meal out and pack food for the other meal. And I have decided that ice cream and Captain Joe's in Holland is a must!

My friend from Nebraska came to visit because her husband was interviewing for a job here!!!!! I got to meet her youngest and we had a grand old time!

We also had a retirement party for my dad and I went to my friends' last dance recital. They did so well!

June

I kept my travel streak alive by driving to Kentucky on the 30th of this month on the way to Tennessee to get our dogs.

After two years of photographing VBS, I asked to lead a preschool group because all of my little friends were coming for the first time! I loved spending the week with them and we had so much fun!

We also had a few grad parties and apparently I didn't get any photos! So June was really nice but I have no photos for you.

July

We got dogs and barn cats! Our dogs were from Tennessee so I got to see my friend who I haven't spent one-on-one time with in YEARS!

Other highlights were paddleboarding, a baby shower, hymn night, and my FRIEND MOVING BACK TO MICHIGAN!

Oh, and I attended a three-day virtual conference and discovered another avenue of education and community for photography! It was pretty great.

August

The first weekend was so much fun! Not that the rest of the month wasn't fun, but this was extra special. I had a picnic with some friends, stayed the night with another friend, and had a tea party with Bible study! It was the best!

On a totally different note, my mom and I did MAJOR cleaning and organizing in our basement and it looks and feels so much better now! Although things are creepy back out again so I need to get things back where they belong.

Saw The Forge. Great movie! Definitely worth seeing.

September

I got to start experiencing what life is like having my "nieces and nephews" living here. Two came and spent the night one weekend and we went to the zoo with the three youngest. I went to Grand Rapids to visit my friend Jenna. It was nice to spend time together again.

October

I am coaching Bible quizzing again this year, but this time, I'm the only one! It's been interesting but what really amazes me is that this experience is the fulfillment of a dream and I didn't even see it at first! I will be writing a blog post about that at some point, but that's not the only thing that happened this year that God gave me and I thought I'd never see!

Another stay in Frankenmuth, just a few days this time, the annual banquet for the pregnancy center my family supports, and attended my friend's wedding.

November

We got to spend a lovely Thanksgiving with family and I got to have the three youngest of my nieces and nephews spend a few days with me. That was an experience :) They are 4, 3, and 1, so it was tiring for sure, but I got to take them to the library and we took them to play several different places.

This was another month that I didn't take any photos. Oh well. I did do fun things though, like make gingerbread and watch Barbie Nutcracker with a friend and her daughters, meet a friend for coffee, & hang out with some of the Bible study crew at Culver's.

Other Things Of Note

This year, my family got to experience reconciliation in a relationship that we never thought would be healed this side of heaven. Apologies were offered and accepted, forgiveness was granted, and the first steps to rebuild this relationship were taken. God did what we all thought was impossible.

A few years back, I went to counseling for about a year. I had come to the end of what I could work through on my own and it was really good for me. I experienced a lot of healing and growth. New circumstances started last year and have built that have led me to realize that I need to go back to counseling. These circumstances affect my life but I have no control over them and right now, I feel like I don't have any control over my reactions and emotions so, counseling! I haven't started yet and at this point, it will probably be the new year, but I'm ready. It's funny how I have to get to a point before I make things happen for myself.

The Tigers!!!!! I can't talk about my year without mentioning the season my Tigers had. Until the last six to eight weeks, it looked like another year with incremental growth and then... we went on the most incredible run to close out a season! Not only did we have the first winning season in years, we made it into the playoffs and lost in Game 5 of the second round. No one expected any of that! And our ace pitcher won the American League Pitching Triple Crown and the American League Cy Young Award. It was so much fun! (And also a little nerve-wracking, if I'm being honest :)



Whew! I told you there would be a lot! I hope you enjoyed this recap of my year and I love to hear about your year! What will you remember about 2024? Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!