How did it get so late so soon?

Though I'm working to practice presence in 2015, I love looking back and thinking about how time has shaped our family and brought us to this moment. Here are a few of my favorites from 2014:

^^Mindy got married! My beautiful cousin married an amazing man in March. It was such fun to celebrate with the two of them and our entire family. Yay for Love!^^

^^In March the entire Klipsch family went to Mexico. It was such a wonderful week! I love my in-laws and am so blessed that these amazing people are not only family but best friends. A week on the beach laughing, relaxing, watching our kids play...perfection!^^

^^It was an amazing year for travel. Jake and I got to celebrate my aunt's 50th birthday in Vegas in February, the whole family traveled to Mexico in March, the boys and I got to visit good friends in Atlanta in June, and I attended a great conference in Nashville in August. But the big trips actually happened in July: Sintayehu and I visited Kait in NYC and hung out with my mom in Chicago. Jake, my step-dad, and our boys spent two weeks in Tanzania—a trip of a lifetime! Clearly, travel is a huge priority for us and the trips we were able to take this year will impact our lives forever! Such joy!!^^

^^The Water Party is always a highlight. I love the madness that takes over in October and November. I have always loved working with Tesi on this project, and this year I got to plan with Emily as well. Again, you can't choose your in-laws, but somehow I got incredibly lucky. And the women in this community?! We had so much amazing help and every last person on our team was incredible. Oh my goodness. I'm beginning to think this community is the very best in the world. ^^

^^We got a cat!! After years of saying we'd never get an animal and then years of thinking about getting an animal, we finally got a cat! Zuri Opal Nightwalker Michael Jackson Klipsch (we tend to call her just Zuri or Zoo-zi) came to us just after Easter and it's been a total love affair since.^^

^^In August, my good friend Sara and I hosted a poetry reading at our church. It was such a wonderful night! We paired contemporary poems with age-old psalms and asked almost 20 people to read. (This included 10-year-old Oliver, who read On Turning Ten by Billy Collins. My heart!!) My mom played flute and another friend played cello in the prayer garden on a lovely summer evening. It was such a fun experience.^^

^^After a fab weekend in Chicago where Jake and I got to enjoy a beautiful downtown wedding with his lovely extended family, we came back to Eastern Iowa to meet my parents who had taken the kids camping for the weekend. We spent the afternoon watching them fish, playing, and picnic-ing. It was a really fun weekend that stands out as one that makes me happy. I love spending time with my husband. I love being a mom. I love being silly. (Here we are jumping off swings!)^^

^^I've continued to freelance as a writer and editor and love writing for Radish, Gold Book, Yoga Iowa consistently. I got to dip my toe in more marketing copy this year, appeared frequently on Paula Sands Live, and enjoyed speaking at the Inspire Motherhood Conference. I was sad to lose my copy editing gig at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in October. I loved spending 10 hours each week reading fascinating, cutting-edge doctoral dissertations, but I continue to teach at The Chicago School. The book...well, I'm still working hard. I have gotten some wonderful endorsements, which I am so thankful for. I've also made progress on my "platform." (Thank you for "liking" my FB page! Publishers love numbers!) My agent continues to shop the book. I'm hoping this is my year!^^

(The title of this post is a quote from Dr. Suess. It's a question that gets truer with every passing year.)