January.

It’s been a long time since I played with words.

The last year was really, really hard. Today though, I sit on the other side of that all-consuming year and breathe in the goodness of what we built.

I’m tucked in my armchair in a bright, warm corner of our bedroom — my favorite nook in the house.

The sun is shining, which is not remarkable, unless it is. And it is remarkable after so many months of rain and gray.

The sky is a shade of blue that seems rather special to New England — azure, bright and clear.

The kids have the day off school and were lured outside by the enchanting sky, cold as it may be. “It just looks warm,” they tell me, and can’t help but play in the dazzling light.

I don’t blame them. I could sit here all day long watching the light dance and play across the room.

I have a simple goal for writing this year — to share one post at the end of each month with thoughts and photos of the month gone by.

For us, January was a month of rest and settling in.

Though we moved into our home in November, it took me until January to really feel settled. The boxes are unpacked and thrown away at last (after three different moves over the last year!).

Right after the new year, we filled our house with friends for the first time. Starting over in a new place is hard. Making friends as an adult is hard too. But God has been good in building community around us here in Connecticut.

We’ve had to show up and plant the seeds, but God has grown good fruit from our labor.

I sat on my living room floor that night with friends wrapped all around the room and ten children bouncing and booming all through the house. The conversation, noise, and laughter made it feel like home. A house is just a house, but a home is something entirely different. And that cold January night, we were home.

We spent a lot of time this month hanging photos on the walls. Darren and I have been married for 15 years, and parents for almost 10.

Looking through photos and deciding which ones to display was a sweet reminder of all the years we’ve shared and the life we’ve built together along the way.

January was a month of quiet and creativity.

I’ve allowed myself to take a step back this month and rest as much as possible. We pushed so hard for so long and reached a place of deep burnout by the time we were able to stop.

That works for a season — but only if you rest and recover afterword. So, as hard as it might be sometimes to make it happen, we’re working at being still and enjoying simply being home.

My husband came home with a little black kitten one night.

We are all rather smitten, our son especially so. Meet Panther 🙂

I’m always happy when January is over. Winter is long and I look forward to brighter, warmer days. But I have no complaints about this January; it was a good, rich month of rest and renewal.

I hope you’ve had a good and merciful start to your year as well. Until next month <3