It's so hard to believe that this is the last post of 2018!
It's been such a fun year, full of surprises and excitement and new beginnings all around.
In 2018, I shared 54 posts with y'all and took a lot of time off because of pregnancy and then having a new little one around the house.
Let's take a look at some of my favorite personal moments & then the top ten posts that I shared on Southern & Style for 2018.
Last Winter was one for the books when it came to weather!
We had a big snow in December of 2017 and then another smaller (but still lots of!) snow in the first few weeks of January '18.
I'm a snow girl & love, love, love it even though it does make farm life a little more difficult. It was a beautiful way to kick off a big year.
In January, my oldest sister & I went spent a weekend in Atlanta going to see our favorite podcast's live show-My Favorite Murder! We had a blast and it's definitely something I would love to do again in 2019!
One of the biggest moment's of 2018 was revealing both on my personal social media & on the blog that we were expecting Charlie!
Another fun moment was from February, where we attended our state's Young Farmer's conference and were chosen as one of the top three finalists for Outstanding Young Farm Family.
In April, we had our gender reveal party-so fun!
Even though there hasn't been a girl Upchurch in over seventy years...so we were pretty sure we were having a boy 😉
In May, we took a quick trip to Panama City/the 30A area of Florida for a "baby-moon" and a three-year anniversary celebration.
It was just what we needed & we had the best time just relaxing and having a good time on our last vacay as a kid-less couple!
We already cannot wait to take Charlie to our favorite vacation spots.
In June, we spent a lot of time with our niece and nephew taking them to do some fun things.
One of these was a quick trip to a waterfall and hiking trail-it was the first time we had ever taken Forrest as well so it was so fun!
Another thing to add to the list of things we cannot wait to take Charlie to do one day.
July was spent on the lake with some of our friends, we always have the best time!
I know I just keep repeating myself & I'm sorry for that, but I just love that on the next Fourth, we'll have Charlie down by the water in a little smocked outfit to watch fireworks and enjoy a boat ride.
For our June birthdays (my middle sister, my mom, and I) we were given a cooking class at Sur La Table by my oldest sister.
We had done this once before and it was so fun & the orange crepes we made were so yummy!
At the end of July, we had our first baby shower for our sweet boy & it was just perfect.
We were so excited to welcome him into the world!
The beginning of August brought so much excitement into our lives-we were chosen to be Alabama's 2018 Outstanding Young Farm Family, a dream that Chris & I both have had for many, many years (before we were even together!)
Such an honor-truly.
Being chosen as OYFF has led to a lot of fun things, like being asked to come speak at other counties.
We got to meet one of our state representatives and it's always such a pleasure to take part in the political process and speak to our leaders.
The end of August brought our first annual Cattlemen's rodeo.
It was an amazing weekend & a huge success that Chris & I were both so proud to be a part of.
It's such a small town thing, but I couldn't have enjoyed it more!
On Charlie's due date, September 8th we went on our last little outing as a family of two, Chris' cousin Haley was married & it was such a beautiful day.
Then, the most exciting happening of all in 2018. . .
On September 13th, our sweet Charles Levi was born and we were 100% immediately in love with him.
We have loved spending time with him and getting to him, seeing him change every single day has been the most fun.
The best part is taking him to the farm though, we can't wait to raise him there.
Another big moment of 2018 was dealing with our Forrest.
When we brought Charlie home, we knew that he might be a little jealous-we just didn't know that meant he was going to fake an injury to get our attention 😂
He suddenly couldn't walk up the stairs in our split level home, so after a month of rest and living solo downstairs we ended up taking him to Auburn (their vet school is world renowned) and having them do a thorough check.
As it turns out, he was faking the injury-there was nothing preventing him from going upstairs except a little jealously. But what they did discover was a cancerous lump behind his knee. That was removed & he received a clean bill of health, so I guess we should be thankful for his fake injury!
Last Winter was one for the books when it came to weather!
We had a big snow in December of 2017 and then another smaller (but still lots of!) snow in the first few weeks of January '18.
I'm a snow girl & love, love, love it even though it does make farm life a little more difficult. It was a beautiful way to kick off a big year.
In January, my oldest sister & I went spent a weekend in Atlanta going to see our favorite podcast's live show-My Favorite Murder! We had a blast and it's definitely something I would love to do again in 2019!
One of the biggest moment's of 2018 was revealing both on my personal social media & on the blog that we were expecting Charlie!
Another fun moment was from February, where we attended our state's Young Farmer's conference and were chosen as one of the top three finalists for Outstanding Young Farm Family.
In April, we had our gender reveal party-so fun!Even though there hasn't been a girl Upchurch in over seventy years...so we were pretty sure we were having a boy 😉
In May, we took a quick trip to Panama City/the 30A area of Florida for a "baby-moon" and a three-year anniversary celebration.
It was just what we needed & we had the best time just relaxing and having a good time on our last vacay as a kid-less couple!
We already cannot wait to take Charlie to our favorite vacation spots.
In June, we spent a lot of time with our niece and nephew taking them to do some fun things.
One of these was a quick trip to a waterfall and hiking trail-it was the first time we had ever taken Forrest as well so it was so fun!
Another thing to add to the list of things we cannot wait to take Charlie to do one day.
July was spent on the lake with some of our friends, we always have the best time!
I know I just keep repeating myself & I'm sorry for that, but I just love that on the next Fourth, we'll have Charlie down by the water in a little smocked outfit to watch fireworks and enjoy a boat ride.
For our June birthdays (my middle sister, my mom, and I) we were given a cooking class at Sur La Table by my oldest sister.
We had done this once before and it was so fun & the orange crepes we made were so yummy!
At the end of July, we had our first baby shower for our sweet boy & it was just perfect.
We were so excited to welcome him into the world!
The beginning of August brought so much excitement into our lives-we were chosen to be Alabama's 2018 Outstanding Young Farm Family, a dream that Chris & I both have had for many, many years (before we were even together!)Such an honor-truly.
Being chosen as OYFF has led to a lot of fun things, like being asked to come speak at other counties.We got to meet one of our state representatives and it's always such a pleasure to take part in the political process and speak to our leaders.
The end of August brought our first annual Cattlemen's rodeo.
It was an amazing weekend & a huge success that Chris & I were both so proud to be a part of.
It's such a small town thing, but I couldn't have enjoyed it more!
On Charlie's due date, September 8th we went on our last little outing as a family of two, Chris' cousin Haley was married & it was such a beautiful day.
Then, the most exciting happening of all in 2018. . .
On September 13th, our sweet Charles Levi was born and we were 100% immediately in love with him.
We have loved spending time with him and getting to him, seeing him change every single day has been the most fun.
The best part is taking him to the farm though, we can't wait to raise him there.
Another big moment of 2018 was dealing with our Forrest.
When we brought Charlie home, we knew that he might be a little jealous-we just didn't know that meant he was going to fake an injury to get our attention 😂
He suddenly couldn't walk up the stairs in our split level home, so after a month of rest and living solo downstairs we ended up taking him to Auburn (their vet school is world renowned) and having them do a thorough check.
As it turns out, he was faking the injury-there was nothing preventing him from going upstairs except a little jealously. But what they did discover was a cancerous lump behind his knee. That was removed & he received a clean bill of health, so I guess we should be thankful for his fake injury!
P.S. now he loves his little brother ;)
I had intended on him being a chicken, but neither costume worked out, so he went as a cowboy-the cutest one I ever did see!
Chris and I got out one of my horses, Willow, and we held Charlie so he could have his picture made.
Now he can say he grew up on horseback, something I hope he grows to love.
We also had his first Thanksgiving and it was so special-he loves getting to spend time with all of his family, but I bet he'll love the food the best next year 😉
We attended the 2018 Alabama Farmer's Federation Annual Meeting to receive our prizes for being the Outstanding Young Farm Family and it was just such a special honor we will forever be grateful for. Even without the prizes, just being recognized for something that we try our hardest to be successful at is so special to us.
We bought him in June of 2014 and he was really the horse that helped me through losing my precious Paint (my horse that I had since I was a little girl). He gave me my confidence back, taught me so much about riding, and gave me so many good times with Christopher. He was there when we got engaged and he was there for our engagement pictures. I will always hold a special place in my heart for my Wrangler boy.
We woke up early and had a fun, big breakfast with both my parents (and my middle sister) and Chris' parents. Then we had a short time during the day where the four of us (Chris, Charlie, Forrest, and I) just hung out and enjoyed each other-then that evening Chris' family and my family came back and we had beef ribs fresh of the smoker for dinner. It was a fun-filled day and I hope the tradition will continue next year!
2018 had some hard, trying times, but it also was the best year both as a family and professionally on our farm. We truly hope that life will just get sweeter and sweeter now as the years go by.
And now for 2018's top ten posts!
In this post, just a few days after Charlie's birth, I shared his birth announcement on the blog and social media. This was a short little post, but one that I was most excited to put out because I wanted everyone to know of his arrival!
This was such an exciting post to share on the blog because we had been keeping it from social media for a few weeks by then!
I answered some fun questions & shared lots of cute pregnancy reveal pictures in this post.
Y'all, this post is just the best & I'm so glad that I did this yearly roundup so I had a good reason to go back and re-read it. Reliving those moments through my post is one of the reasons I started this blog!
This post shares all the little details of Charlie's birth & one that I will forever go back and re-read.
Out of all the things I wore while I was pregnant, this maxi was one of my favorites!
It's from the website Pink Blush, which also sells regular clothes for women as well as maternity and plus sizes.
I only did two pregnancy update posts during my whole time carrying Charlie, mostly because I didn't think anyone else would find them interesting, haha!
I talk a lot about my anxiety about bringing him into the world & honestly, that's totally a real thing.
If you're expecting a baby or thinking about having a baby in the future, know that it's fine to worry!
But also know that once he gets here, things have a way of working themselves out and that you'll get through whatever comes your way.
I love, love, love that y'all enjoy my home tours!
I didn't decorate for Fall so there was no home tour on that front this year, but y'all truly enjoyed this years Christmas decor.
I kept it really simple and easily attainable (I think), and I also love the addition of Charlie's little tree.
Since we found out we were expecting a little boy, I had this room envisioned in my mind.
It took a lot of searching & hunting to make it come together (on a budget!) but it did and we love spending time in there. Charlie and Forrest love to play on his cowhide rug, I love to rock and read to him in his chair, and he's just recently started napping in his crib during the day-it's just a happy place.
I was so, so antsy waiting on Charlie's arrival that I did each and every one of these things...some of them I did more than once!
Waiting on your sweet baby to be born is such a unique time in your life, but one that should be cherished. I love looking back on how I was at that time in my life, now that he's here.
I have always enjoyed reading other "mom-bloggers" monthly update posts of their babies.
It's so interesting to see how they grow!
It's even more fun to do them for your own child 😉
Charlie's monthly posts are seriously my favorite to write (although getting the photos is a little bit of a challenge that I'm sure is only going to get worse 😂!)
This was so fun, y'all!
I also put up a video of us doing the reveal and it was hilarious because our box was taped too tightly and so when we pulled our strings they didn't come out-thankfully my husband was tall enough just to pull it loose 😂
Love, love, love this style post I shared from over the summer & I love that y'all enjoyed reading it!
Lilly is my favorite designer and this dress is one of the most simple that I own-but the beauty of it is that it's so easy for tossing on and dressing up or down.
Seeing these popular posts really help me tailor what I write about to make sure it's what y'all like to see-apparently you like fashion & CHARLIE most of all 😉
Good to know 😂
In all serious-ness, I wish each and every one of you the happiest new year yet!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for visiting my little corner of the internet and choosing to welcome me into your home, if only for a little while.
I hope 2019 finds you back here to visit this little blog of mine!
Until then. . .
xoxo,
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