Although I’m usually into the new year before I write my yearly “a year in review” post (see 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), this is the latest I’ve ever clocked in. And for very good reasons that you will see revealed in October. I just couldn’t let this year go by with adding to one of my favorite series on the blog.
2024: A Year in Review
It is so hard to summarize each month with only one or two photos. As with anything in life, a lot goes on behind the scenes that doesn’t get shared for one reason or another. I always try to keep this annual post to the highlights as a sort of flyover of our year, not without challenges (sickness, intense work schedules, disappointment and heartache) but overall, a very full and happy year.
January:
Our yearly family getaway was to the Cayman Islands. Josh surprised me by planning the whole trip and wrapping it up to put under our Christmas tree. I was truly shocked! We hadn’t been back since our honeymoon and it we loved coming back as a family this time to relax and celebrate Hugo’s birthday. More of our trip here and our stay at Botanica Cayman.
February:
Josh & I went to NYC for a movie premiere and had the best quick trip! It was my first time in NYC and while it was a pretty glamorous turn, I fell in love with the city and soaked up every minute that we had. Our favorite moment was waking up early, walking to get lox and bagels, coffee from Maman and then jumping in a taxi that took us to Central Park for a long walk. Our first stop was the Balto stautue and Josh might have cried a little. It was cold and had just snowed, school was out for President’s Day and we felt like main characters in our own movie, the city was somehow quiet and felt like ours. Pure magic.
March:
In March we began to kick into high gear with events to market Unsung Hero’s release. We traveled to Los Angeles for the MovieGuide Awards and won our category with Jesus Revolution! Movies have such long lives, you end up working on them for years and we often attend events for projects that we worked on years before. Easter was very early that year and our friends threw an Easter disco party which was the most fun thing ever! I hosted an Egg hunt in our backyard for friends and neighbors.
April:
April was GO Time for Unsung Hero! For King + Country hosted a fan weekend in Nashville that was a blast to attend with hundreds of new friends. Then our premiere was the largest we’d ever had, also in Nashville. After that, we flew directly to Los Angeles for a special screening with the studio and lots of press. Unsung Hero was such an adventure, from a little independent film about an Australian mum and her family to a nationwide release through a studio and a successful run in theaters.
May:
This was a bit of down time for us and we needed it after the past few months of promoting a movie. Unsung Hero was now in theaters and we had some downtime together as a family.
June:
Josh and I were reading through several scripts and praying about our next project. We had the opportunity to go to Pennsylvania to scout for a project. It was the perfect time of year to travel to Lancaster County and we loved our time there (I wrote a full blog post here)
From PA, we flew to Wisconsin to visit my family for a few days and drop Hugo off with his grandparents so that Josh and I could fly to London for our first international premiere! We spent a few days in the Cotswolds, just the two of us and it was absolutely perfect. From there we met up with our team back in London for the premiere and a few days of sightseeing.
July:
Hugo started golf lessons and it was my favorite thing ever (his too!) We also spent a serious amount of time in the pool. Just living our best summer life!
August:
We went back to Wisconsin, this time for a family friend’s wedding (I’m never happier than when wedding cake is on the menu!) and then back to Pennsylvania for a few more meetings. Quick trips as we wrapped up the our summer.
September:
Hugo started 2nd grade. We attended a dear friend’s wedding in Texas and since we were already on the road, we combined several trips into one. Josh had a meeting in Chicago, we were looking at a rental property in Wisconsin (last year we put in offers on several different homes and they all fell through, my airbnb dreams have yet to realize) and For King + Country kicked off their fall tour in Milwaukee.
For my birthday Josh surprised me with tickets to see The Beach Boys at the Ryman. It was amazing! I am such a fan and we were one of the youngest couples in the room. What a time to be alive!
Our last trip of the month was to Colorado with For King + Country as they performed at Red Rocks. This was a major bucket list item for me and we had the most glorious day. The weather in Denver was stunning as we drove up the mountain and I never dreamed of actually going behind the scenes to see ALL of Red Rocks. Hugo got to sign his name in the tunnel and it was a perfect night with one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
October:
We started out with the Dove Awards and a nomination for Unsung Hero. We won! And had yet another night to celebrate with our team and thank God for this special project that He brought to us.
I found out a few days later that we were expecting a baby! Josh was traveling and I wanted to tell him in person, it was an agonizing 16 hours wait until he walked in the door and opened a note and the tiny baby sweater that I had picked out. We are still over the moon to have this new little life join us.
I had nine normal days between taking a pregnancy test and before Hyperemesis Gravidrum hit me full force. This is something I have had for both of my pregnancies and has been a brutal part of the process for me. I would spend the next six months mostly in bed, sick as a dog. As I write this, we are about eight weeks from delivery and I’m still not feeling well, but nothing will ever be as rough as the dark fog and sickness of those first six months.
November:
Josh’s grandmother “Nanny” passed away at the age of 92. We announced our pregnancy very early to our families since we would be traveling to New York City for her funeral and there was no hiding how ill I was. In spite of Nanny’s passing, we had a really wonderful time as Josh’s family gathered together. We took Hugo to NYC for a few days after to show him the sights and he loved it!
I traveled to Charleston, SC with my mom and sister to see Martha Stewart on her book tour. We are the biggest Martha fans! When we saw that Martha was only doing four book tour dates (a rarity for her), we knew we had to go. I had no idea I’d be so sick several months later and almost backed out of the trip several times, but somehow, made it to Charleston and back with vomit bags and an emergency snack stash.
We spent Thanksgiving in Orange Beach, AL with the Walsh side and stayed at one of our favorite hotels, The Lodge at Gulf State Park. There was no way I was getting near a kitchen to cook a turkey (or three!) so we had a huge family dinner at the Lodge restaurant. As much as I missed the cooking and baking, we had a fabulous time and I didn’t have to worry about running out of anything. Our nephews especially were happy with the all you can eat situation!
December:
Over the entire year, Josh has been quietly producing Drummer Boy Live, the For King + Country christmas show. It went to theaters in December and was quite the hit! We had a few events for that and then our schedule was clear for the holidays. Thankfully so because we were needed in Wisconsin for a family medical emergency. We ended up spending about three weeks with my family, just providing extra support and then celebrating Christmas together. It was a lot of time spent in hospitals and driving back and forth, and there were a few times where I wondered if I should admit myself for HG (only half joking here.)
We closed out the year with a huge bash to celebrate a big milestone birthday for my mom. We had been planning it for about six months and it was so sweet to see how many people came from far and near to be with us.
And there you have it, a wrap on 2024.
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