Here are my top posts from 2015. Some were my most popular posts, some were my personal favorites.

In no particular order, here was my year.

1. May I Have This Dance? If you link to no other post I wrote this year, please read this one. I wrote it about my grandparents. About their strength. Their love. Their perseverance.

"My grandma turned to me and advised that having dates with your spouse is important. She added that dancing forces you to be close--emotionally and physically. It makes you accept missteps. They happen, but you keep moving."

2. If my grandparent post was my personal favorite, this was a close second. Mainly because On Being Older Than My Dad was a post that came directly from the heart. Filled with sadness over what was lost yet happiness for what was given with a dose of uncertainty as I journey down a road my father never traveled. 

"Today is my dad's birthday and I realized: I am officially older than my dad ever was."

3. Aging and confidence was a popular topic I covered a few times. Especially in The Size of My Heels, The Size of My Confidence where I wrote about the problems with holding on to parts of a former self that we just don't fit into anymore. How it serves as a reminder to what was and doesn't allow us to grow.

"Heels had become more than just heels. They were me trying to be something I simply wasn't any longer." 

4. In my birthday post, Claiming Another Year, I wrote about owning my age. I'm no longer hiding behind the 30-something title or pretending to be younger than I am. And all for a very important reason: my daughter.

"I'll embrace every gray hair (a sign of wisdom, right?), every bit of extra tummy flab (a couple of kiddos were housed in there for a few months) and every new line that draws itself deeper into my face over time (the lines of laughter)."

5. Along the same theme as confidence (or, really, a lack of confidence), I wrote about the little green-eyed monster also known as jealousy in Jelly.

"Jealousy is not a welcoming, warm spot to dwell. It's isolating and damaging--to your soul, to your spirit."

6. A big journey for me this year was minimalism. I wrote a lot about this topic (and you can see all those posts here) but it all started with Minimalism: The Beginning.

"Minimalism is more than decluttering a house. It's wanting less. It's decluttering your mind, your time. Minimalism is finding peace: peace of mind, peace in your space, peace of time."

7. Another new frontier for me was cooking. I'm not a big cook, but The Courage to Cook documented my (slow) realization that the kitchen is not a room to be scared of--and I can use it for more than just the place I go to refill my coffee mug. 

"It's not just me conquering the kitchen. So are my kids."

8. Ok. Shocker: I wrote about my kids a few times. But I have two posts that were by far my favorite and also touched more people than my previous #momblog posts. The first was a post I wrote in the summer. The summer before our lives changed and both my kids headed off to school (my son: preschool, my daughter: KINDERGARTEN). The Place Between Baby and School-Age was all about embracing every moment without looking back or forward and wishing for what was or what will be.

"I found I forget to enjoy the moment. To appreciate exactly were we are--crazy threenager and all. Enjoy wherever you are in your journey and grab those small moments and cherish them. You never know when they'll end."

9. Then, Letting Her Go, was on the eve of my daughter beginning her new journey and the things I hoped I had taught her in preparation for kindergarten...and life.

"I want my daughter to NOT be a mean girl. I want her to be inclusive and loving. I want her motto to be 'Do you want to sit with us?' and not 'You can't sit here.' "

10. Finally, upon realizing we had spent ten years in our home, I wrote a love letter to our abode. To The Home We Built was reminding myself about all the things I love about my little house instead of focusing on the things I want to change.

"We bought a house ten years ago. We've been building a home ever since."

HONORABLE MENTION: I loved the three dads that volunteered their time and words to share their experiences on fatherhood. From the straight-talking father of elementary aged boys to the step-dad that stepped into the life of two teen girls and the best dad of all, my husband, you can find those posts starting here.

"Now it's my turn to be the best guide I can be; a voice (funny or otherwise) for E and B to hear and know will always be there."

2015 was good, but I can't wait to make 2016 even better. Thanks for reading my words for another year--I appreciate you all tremendously! 

xo Sara