This has been a year of joy and sorrow, of new beginnings and goodbyes, and as I read back through my posts from the past 12 months, I realize how much we have experienced as a family—and how much I have shared with you here.
Sarah at “Amongst Lovely Things” invited bloggers to share a few of their top posts from the year, so I’m linking up with her today.
So here we go!
Post with the most clicks
When I went to Teresa Bartlinski’s funeral, I had already written about her several times, and I wasn’t sure I had anything left to say about this child who has inspired so many. Afterward, however, I found myself thinking of how many of Teresa’s prayer warriors around the world were not able to be at St. Mark’s Church in Catonsville to say goodbye. So I wrote “Finding God’s grace at the funeral of a beloved child.”
Post with the most comments
Deciding to have our family fill a manger with straw during Advent wasn’t a brand-new idea, but I was happy to borrow it and introduce it in our home. Our boys loved it—and they don’t want to give it up now that Advent is over, even though Baby Jesus is already in the manger. They can see there’s still plenty of room for more straw.
Post with the best picture
Because I don’t include my children’s faces (or real names) on the blog, I have fun coming up with creative ways to include images of them here. My two favorite “bloggable” photos of our sons from this year are on my post answering the question “Are they really brothers?” My favorites are the picture of them wearing Halloween buckets on their heads and the one of them walking together under an umbrella. They have such a special friendship.
Post that was hardest to write
The most heartbreaking post to write was the one where I shared that our nephew and cousin Georgie had gone to heaven just weeks before we were expecting to meet him. When I look back, though, I realize that this post may not have been as difficult to write as the ones on other topics I wrote during that time. Everything else seemed pithy and meaningless, and yet I had to continue to write because life goes on.
Post that was my personal favorite
My favorite blogs are the ones that capture a bit of our sons’ personalities, such as this one as I was trying to interpret a phrase Daniel kept using and this one about taking Leo for kindergarten testing. Then there was my response when Daniel’s teachers asked for his baby photos, and I do love writing about adoption. Still, I think my favorite may be the one about school fundraising. In case you’re wondering, he didn’t win that remote control moth.
Other posts that were your favorites this year
Just for fun, here are a few of the other posts that were the best-read this year.
Guest post: 10 things a special-needs mom learned (the hard way) (Thank you, Laura!)
I’d love to hear from you whether your favorites made the list—or what you’d like to hear about more (or less) in 2014. I wish you all the best in the New Year!