Best of 2015

After an extensive break from blogging (call it maternity leave!), I dived back in headfirst in January of 2015, much the same way I began.  I lost some readers, connected with old friends, and met new people.  To all of you: I'm glad you're here.  I hope my blog gives you some happiness, as it has done for me.  I hope that I serve you in some way through writing.  I hope that your year was beautiful despite it's pains.

And, if you're interested, here's a look at the best-read and most-viewed blog posts of 2015.

Sapphires on Ash Wednesday

Things of great value require great sacrifice.  That's the very meaning of worth.

Let's talk about that Similac ad

Let's be honest about our personal, unique, and individual goals in parenting instead of shutting down communciation by fearing judgement.

This Child

Afon's autism journey, so far, the heartbreak and the triumphs.

5 Things that Have Made Me a Better Mama to My Children

Only now are they obvious!

Liking the Way You Look

I've worked too hard and too long to let anyone take that away from me.

Blogging and Transparency

#oversharing on the internet

That One Time I Handed My Baby to a Stranger in a Waiting Room

Babies unite us all with our common humanity.

Mental Health for Catholics

Always consult a doctor or a professional before making any major life changes.

Roan Reuel's Birth Story


#normalizebreastfeeding

In which I take a stand.


7 Affordable Ways to Make Your Week Beautiful


He's my husband.  Not my partner.

Because marriage is an entirely different animal from a partnership.

∆∆∆

What was your favorite post or topic in 2015?  What would you like to hear about or more of in the coming year?

Best wishes for 2016!

Little Stories: 2015

On the Feast of the Holy Family, Part I

All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged, fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. 

In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea. . .

-- Dylan Thomas, A Child's Christmas in Wales

When I read this passage to John about the abundance of snow in an idyllic childhood paradise, he asked "Where in Wales did Dylan Thomas grow up?  It snows here, like, one day a year."

Hiraeth, John, hiraeth.  ;)

It did, however, shed perpetual rain upon us like the end times on both Christmas and Boxing Day.  The two days there are no public transport.  We went nearly feral with stir-craziness.  Thank goodness things cleared up enough on Sunday to pack up quick as could be and shuttle off to Bangor.  I took Afon out for an extended walk over the straits to Anglesey and Church Island.

It didn't seem longer or farther than our custom of walking into Colwyn Bay from Old Colwyn, but it's taken me two days to recover.  My muscles are sore and my joints are aching and I've slept and slept almost incessantly since then.

These are all the photos I've developed for now.

52/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Roan: helping Mama with Christmas preparations by relishing a cracker and not-watching Jingle All the Way.

Yesterday evening, I noticed the tell-tale blisters on the soles of his feet and his palms.  Oh, dear.  Another case of HFMD, so soon?

Liturgical Lifestyle | Prepare the Way

1 & 2 // waiting for baby Jesus

3 // retro poster snagged at church, via Knights of Saint Columba

4 // the stockings were hung by the (chimney?) with care

5 // snowy scene

6 // Christmas clementines laid out for drying

7 // gift-wrapping

8 // there was plenty on the tree already, then I saw this red tinsel reminiscent of my childhood. . .

9 // the clay star Afon made in school functions as the Star of Bethlehem for our little creche

10 // embellished with a stick of cinnamon

11 // greenery

12 // almost full!

13 & 14 // cheeky!

And for those who are interested, my Christmas Eve dinner menu:

Chinese takeout.

Be merry, ya'll!  Nadolig llawen!  (That's "Happy Christmas" in two languages!)  ;)

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter.