Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past. ~Henry Ward Beecher

In 2011, I gained an unknown amount of baby weight.

I lost most, if not all, of said baby weight.

I stopped painting (not on purpose, but it's hard to do with a baby. I hope to get that back up soon!)

I started sewing, and opened Sewing for Samuel.

I was hugely satisfied by becoming a mother. Motherhood is more than I ever thought it would be - more wonderful, more difficult, more exhausting, more rewarding, more exciting, more emotional, more precious.

And frustrated by my short nursing experience.

I am so embarrassed that I lost a very large amount of my hair 3 months postpartum.

Once again, I was blessed and encouraged by the Lord's continued faithfulness in our lives. When I am weak, He is strong - He has proven that over and over again!

Once again, I did not become a fantastic exercise diva (as planned).

The biggest physical difference between me last December and this December is I am not pregnant! This week, Adrian is 42 weeks old, which means I have been not-pregnant as long as I was pregnant!

I loved spending time with my husband and son as a family, with our close friends here in NC that are like a precious family to us, with our family at different times in the year, with our new friends we made at Kellum Baptist Church. Also, blogging, of course.

I should have spent more time organizing the house before Adrian was born. I felt ready, but I really wasn't that prepared for what was really important.

I regret buying a billion nursing clothes. I barely used them.

I will never regret buying our video baby monitor for $80 at Walmart even though with that money I could have bought diapers, formula, baby clothes, etc.

I stress out way too much.

I didn’t seek peace in the Lord enough. This is a lesson I always need to re-learn.

The North Carolina summer heat drove me crazy.

The best thing someone did for me was providing for us when we were financially hurting. We are blessed with THE best friends and family. Again, thank you, thank you.

The one thing I’d like to do again, but do it better, is pregnancy, and the newborn stage. I learned that not everything is as big a deal as I was making it.