2019 is coming to a close, so it’s time for our annual year in review post! Granted, this is only the second time we’ve done one of these posts. But hopefully it will continue long into the future!

When we think about 2019, we think about Hudson being born, battling some sickness every month, knowing that God would provide for us (but not always knowing how), and trying to faithfully take the next step that He put before us to take.

Our five most popular posts this year were:

• A recap of Allen’s hospital visit during our trip to Togo in May
• The link to our site visit video…
• And the third post recapping our trip
• A random post about getting to know me better
• And the story of how Allen and I met

We had over 11,500 website views from 52 countries.

But my favorite stat/fun fact from this year? Someone found our blog by searching for the phrase “my braces blog husband.” Maybe they were looking for this post? Not sure. Either way, those search terms cracked me up.

Other highlights from the year:

Hudson!!! Our sweet boy was born in January 2019. He is generally happy, loves food, enjoys playing with cars, likes to say “Mom!”, and doesn’t sleep well at night (yet).

In May, Allen, Hudson, and I traveled to Togo for our site visit. It was an insightful, fun, and encouraging visit and we are so thankful for everyone who hosted our family and drove us places (especially Jane and Joan, the Wards, and the Afolabis).

Ruth started preschool at a local church this fall and seems to be thriving in that environment. Her teachers are so so sweet and we are thankful for how they love our girl. Below, she was very excited about pajama day before Christmas break.

God continued to build our partnership team and we are about three-quarters of the way to being fully funded!

And finally, when I asked Allen what one of his highlights was from the year, he exclaimed, “We got a minivan! We joined the minivan fan club!”

We started teaching Sunday School. We began reading through the Psalms with our kiddos at bedtime. We started waking up early to have a devotion together. We grew in faith as we repeatedly saw God work in situations that seemed impossible.

We are thankful for this crazy, wild ride of a year… and so thankful for you, Friends, walking it out with us.

Happy New Year!