New Beginnings and New Life – Bloom Beryl 2021 Year in Review

​It’s been quite the year.
 
Coming into 2021, many of us were just hoping that this year would feel more “normal” than last year and that it would make up for everything we missed out on in 2020. For some, 2021 was a year full of amazing life events, blessings, and growth. For others, 2021 was a year of challenges and tragedy. For others still, it was somewhere in between.
 
2021 might not have necessarily been the year we were all expecting it to be but a lot of beautiful things happened this year and God revealed so much through it all.
 
At this time exactly a year ago, I had just found out that I was pregnant.
And now a year later, my bouncing baby boy is 4 months old and giggling with a face identical to mine. With all that’s happened this year, Isaac’s presence in my life is the highlight.
2021 was a year of new beginnings and new life for me.
 
Aside from his arrival into this world, there have been many other significant life events and lessons throughout 2021 for me. Here’s what I learned all while blooming through 2021.

January/February – Good news brings with it such joy.
I found out I was pregnant with baby #2. This was such a beautiful time of celebrating the upcoming new addition to my family and all the joy this new baby would one day bring. The excitement was mingled with anticipation as well as the early symptoms of pregnancy such as fatigue and nausea. In this season, I tried to shift my focus from the difficulties of being newly pregnant to the excitement of the bundle of joy to come.
 
March/April – God is truly in the details.
God began to reveal the details of some the things that would be taking place shortly. We found out that the baby inside me was a boy and where we would be moving later in the year. I was happy to have a healthy baby, but coming from a family of girls and having just had a girl, a baby boy was significant. I became very excited for all the “boy things” to come AND for our mother-son relationship. Also, after months of a tedious, challenging, and at times, discouraging job search, my husband landed his dream position right in the great state of Texas. I could see God’s hand in all the little details of my life.

May/June – Transitions are difficult but needed.
I finished up my time in Ohio and started the process of moving my entire life across the country back to Texas. Packing and moving while pregnant and with a toddler isn’t easy but I guess I’m a professional because I’ve moved across the country while pregnant TWICE now. Lol.
 
It was very hard to say goodbye to the life that we had made for ourselves in Ohio and the community we had built, but somehow, we said all our goodbye’s and flew/drove down. It was truly the definition of bittersweet, but it was an opportunity to begin again.
 
July/August – New beginnings are needed.
Now came the part where you unpack everything and settle in. How do I check my mail? Where’s the closest grocery store? Actually, more importantly – where’s the nearest Target? What church should I attend? Where’s a decent Thai place? Who can we hang out with?
 
Anyone who’s moved lately can identify with the feeling of starting over from scratch. I moved to a city I had visited years ago with only a few contacts there. But over these first few months living in San Antonio, I’ve already begun to love the city, the culture, the vibe and began to build a small community. I soon realized that I would love calling this place home for however long God keeps us here. I could’ve never anticipated the way this place would grow on me.

September/October – New life is a gift.
Isaac came into the world at the very end of August and changed everything. His name means “laughter” and we were all laughing in the delivery room because of how he arrived so quickly and easily. His arrival began an era of poopy diapers, sleepless nights, a unique breastfeeding journey, and everything in between. My two-year-old daughter became a big sister and stepped into this role beautifully. Together, she and her brother have filled our home with so much joy. My journey as a new mom of two has been challenging in so many ways physically and mentally and yet also so beautiful. I’m excited to raise them and all the fun days ahead.
 
November/December – What’s next?
As we look to a new year, I’m looking forward to the next chapter. My kids are growing older, my career is restarting, and my faith is being tested in many ways and growing.
 
So what’s next? What does 2022 have to offer? What will be the highlight reel of the year? Month by month, how will we see the hand of God writing our stories?
 
I know there will be challenges.
There will be hard days and moments and tests.
But there will also be joy, exciting transitions, new beginnings.
There will be growth.
There will be blooming.
 
If you’re reading this, thank you so much for always coming along for the journey and supporting this blog. It means a lot and I hope that when you come here, you always leave blooming and blessed. So as we start 2022, I wish you all the best and Happy New Year!
 
<3 Beryl