Finishing out 2017

With minutes to spare, here is our family newsletter for the year:

Things that didn't make the cut:
-The mice, still
-School pickup. (side note: It has been so cold and I am dreading it so much now even though I don't even have to do it every day.)
-The names of all the places Kevin went, because it would have been a long and boring list. Long Island, New Orleans, Chicago, New York City a few times, somewhere in Massachusetts, Urbana Champaign, Tel-a-viv, Rockville Maryland, and New Orleans again.
-Every song my kids have been obsessed with
-All of our car misadventures
-All the great pictures I was intending to put in. Turns out Google Docs is not the best place to throw together a Christmas card. Haha!

Here are a few of the favorite things I read:
-Essays by E. B. White. I loved it so much I kept returning it to the library and renewing it (because you can only renew twice) and Kevin just decided to buy it for me for Christmas. White is such an incredible writer. So funny, so insightful, so eloquent, so friendly. Someday I want to write like him.
-Leading LDS -- I kind of roll my eyes at the name, but there are some really valuable interviews here that have helped me a lot in several areas of my life.
-Deep Work --aka the ultimate guilt trip of my life since I can get distracted easily.
-David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism -- I actually think I finished this at the end of 2016 rather than during 2017, but we'll count it here. It was hard to read about church leaders being humans, but it was also incredibly comforting (since turns out I'm human and I work with lots of humans). The minute I read it I knew that, boy or girl, McKay would be part of my next child's name. And it is.
-The Book of Mormon. I have been reading it at a snail's pace, but I'm reading it. I remarked to Kevin that I probably don't have true anxiety if it can just be fixed by reading the Book of Mormon. But man, there have been days where I have just been so worried about everything (just ask my mom), and then the minute I open it up I am filled with peace.
-Luke 2. This is always a wonderful chapter, but it's really special now because our family memorized a lot of it this month. I loved seeing my kids perk up whenever someone quoted it in church.

- Siblings Without Rivalry -- It has reminded me to see my kids for their whole selves, not just how they might differ from each other. Lots of good reminders in there.

It's been a good, hard, growing year. I had a goal of gratitude for the year, and looking back I really have had a lot to be grateful for. Looking forward to 2018!