This series has become one of my favorites. Looking back on the past year and reminiscing on the moments that feel fleeting now is simply life-giving. To remember Jack's baby cheeks that he's now grown out of. Seeing Peter's personality blossom with each passing month. Gratitude just wells up within me, and this post is like a spill over of all the warm memories that'd made the year special.
January was slow and simple. The first snow called for our family to pull out the winter gear and play. Hot chocolate mustaches and mounds of marshmallows ensued the snow day fun. This month I allowed space to work through my dreams for 2021. I landed on the word "present" for the year, and goodness did it serve as the best reminder to love well and embrace stillness in my heart.
This month has become one of my favorites. Is it because I have kids? Give me a reason to throw love someone's way and I'm on board. Jack and I have a 2 year running tradition of making valentines for our friends. Peter endured his first sledding hill and loved it. Our sweet friends had a baby girl and my heart became a puddle seeing the way they embraced her.
Our main bathroom got an uplift of color and character (and most importantly privacy thanks to the shutters). We experienced some sun and warmth!!! My soul rejoices when we can get outside and not freeze. We took a trip to the zoo and drove home with some worn out boys.
Easter kicked off the month of April and the warmth continued to come our way. The boys woke up and had an Easter egg hunt in their PJs (of course). We finished the bathroom! And my mom, sister and I took an afternoon bike ride at a local state park.
May wrapped up Jack's first soccer season with Mark as his coach. The boys and I took walks around the neighborhood. Jack would scooter and Peter just liked wearing a helmet in the wagon ;) My flower seeds took a promising start, until they suddenly keeled over and I gave in and bought flower seedlings.
The month of sweet summertime. And boy was it sweet. Mark and I traveled to Utah with our friends and hiked Zion and Bryce canyon national park. So many belly laughter memories. Jack became brave and jumped off the diving board for the first time!
Camping, road trips and birthdays! 4th of July was spent at my family's newly renovated cabin. Mark and I rung in our birthdays and Peter celebrated turning 2. We took our first family camping trip with friends. My small group took a weekend up north. Good convo's and fellowship was such a gift. And we may have jumped into freezing cold Lake Michigan with our clothes on. #memories
August was the month of bountiful flower bouquets. My little gardener was a happy helper (and very cute). The boys became fearless swimmers by the end of the summer. Peter jumping into a pool is a sight to see and I hope I never forget it. I rang in my wedding anniversary at cheer camp, and gave mark a little shout out from the team. This month marked 2 years of blogging! And the cherry on top is when I received sweet encouragement from author, Maria Goff.
To properly celebrate our wedding anni we went to a fun date night at The Grey Ghost in Detroit. The drinks and food were so unique! The boys celebrated their Nina's birthday featuring baby shark birthday hats. My not-so-little boy started preschool. Our fam of 4 went to a Michigan game and "Seven Nation Army" became the theme song of our fall season.
Fall, oh fall. I love you. Spent as much time as we could outside soaking up the sun and eating dinners on the patio. My mom and I took a long weekend to visit my sister. During our stay we hiked Rocky Mountain national park and rode horses through the trails. We celebrated our annual friend's fall day together. We're definitely going to be outnumbered by kids this year. To wrap up October we trick-or-treated Mario style. Peter had a belly insert and we would belly bump per his request. Goodness, his little humor is the best.
Continuing our love for Super Mario we had a Mario themed birthday party for Jack's 5th birthday. Fake mustaches were included in the goodie bags. Game number 2 at the Big House was a blast! Jack's preschool hosted a Thanksgiving lunch that the kids helped make. We spent a slow morning watching the Thanksgiving parade with the glow of our Christmas tree.
December was a dream. Honestly pinch me because I can't believe all the fun we had. Michigan played their hearts out and we "pumped it up" (iykyk) with all we had in the stands. Christmas time was magical as ever with the boys at such a fun age!! We got pictures taken of our family on our friend's tree farm and there was a dusting of snow... dreamy! And the grand finale of it all... a Mexico vacay with some of our best friends. There's a whole post coming for this unforgettable trip. Stay tuned!
See our past year here:
Cheers to a fresh year, and may this winter bring some snow if it's going to be so darn cold. Amen? Amen. ;)
Pump up the jams people. October, November and December were a pleasant surprise.
Two out of the three books did not get read because they were not available for rent (I'm all about that library life), so instead I replaced them with a Christmas advent and a friend's recommendation which did not disappoint! The book from my list that I did read is one I am still telling everyone about!! In my humble opinion this book needs to be read by anyone and everyone who call themselves a human being.
Oi, cant wait. Let's get to it.
Redeeming Love. You may have heard of this one since it's an older book (publish in 1991) and it is about to hit theaters this January! This book mirrors the story from the book of Hosea in the bible, except that this story is set during the California gold rush. I'm here for all the grit and realness of life in this book. It is a backdrop of darkness for the main character as she sells her body to make a living. But one God-loving man, Michael Hosea, makes a choice to pursue her as a bride and the beauty of redemption starts to implode her life. Spoiler alert: her inner demons are no match for God's relentless pursuit. This book is beautiful. I am so excited to see these pages come alive on a screen.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is the book I'd like to have multiple copies of so I can pass them out freely. The words in this book were a balm to my hurry sick soul. "Hurry sickness" is real. I am more aware of it now than ever and I'm so excited to reshape my life/my family's so that we're operating out of rest. I love that he points out hurry is not a characteristic of God. Hurry and Love cannot coexist. Jesus was the most present person ever, he was available to all people. If you want to reshape your perspective on living out of rest this is for you.
The Greatest Gift was a gift itself. If you've heard of Ann Voskamp, the author, you know that her writing is unique and almost lyrical. She has a way with words that makes you see things beautifully. The book is written for each day in December leading up to Christmas. She starts by following Jesus lineage from Jesse and pointing to him all the way through. This book helped me to pause during the season of Christmas and have clear eyes for how insanely wild God's love for us is.
With that said my top 3 books for 2021 are.....
1. Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
2. Redeeming Love
I clearly have a book type... but I'm not ashamed. I love books that point me to Jesus and linger in my thoughts long after I've read them. That said I am READY for my 2022 line up!!
Nowicki Booknook 2022
This year I will not be assigning books each month since library rentals are a hit or miss on availability. ;) However, I will continue to share what I read quarterly! Tell me: what books are on your list this year? Do share if we're reading anything similar!
We are soaking in the moments here, friends! It's Christmas week and what better way to celebrate than to have our hearts and eyes peeled towards the magic of this season. The twinkle of lights adorning a tree. The boys singing (their own lyrics) to carols in the back of the car. The crinkles of lines forming around our eyes as we laugh together. Looking back on this year I am floored by the power in presence. Ironically that was my word for this year, and I really believe God moved in that to show me that His presence is what I cant live without. His presence is where I find my joy. And there's no better present we can give to anyone than His presence, His love spilling over, from being with Him.
Because of you, I know the path of life,
as I taste the fullness of joy in your presence.
At your right side I experience divine pleasures forevermore!
as I taste the fullness of joy in your presence.
At your right side I experience divine pleasures forevermore!
Psalm 16:11
This is the last post of the year! Come January we'll be diving into the Q4 book review, 2022 goals, and a year in review!!! In the meantime, I will be dreaming up fun things for next year in the Mexican sunshine (vacay here we come!!!).
Merry Christmas from my fam to you and yours. And... let's go blue!!!!!
XO, the Nowicki's
I'm dreaming of a white...
....fluffy peppermint marshmallow. ;)
Peppermint Marshmallows
1½ cups water, divided
4 packets unflavored gelatin (each envelope is ¼ oz.)
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ¼ cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop peppermint essential oil (or 1 tsp peppermint extract)
Few drops of red food coloring
½ cup powdered sugar
1) Grease a 9 x 13-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment and grease parchment.
2) In a stand-mixer bowl, add ¾ cup water. Sprinkle the gelatin on water and let sit for a few minutes to soften.
3) In a medium saucepan, combine the rest of the water, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to boil over high heat. Once boiling, use a candy thermometer and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. Remove it from heat.
4) Using a mixer on low speed and using the whisk attachment, mix the gelatin mixture. With the mixer on, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture. Pour down the side of the bowl to avoid splashes. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer to high and beat the mixture until stiff peaks form about 10-12 minutes. Add in vanilla and peppermint oil. Mix for an additional minute. The mixture should be cool, white and fluffy.
5) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan using a spatula. Smooth the top with a clean spatula. Add a few drops of red food coloring and using a butter knife, swirl the coloring on top. Let cool and firm up at room temperature, uncovered, overnight.
6) When ready to cut up, sift the confectioner’s sugar onto a working space. Turn over the marshmallow onto the sugar. Using a greased sharp knife, cut the marshmallows into squares. Roll again in powdered sugar.
** Can store marshmallows in a container for up to 1 week
Add marshmallows to warm beverage and "voila" an instant upgrade to a "cup-of-cheer"!
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