Top 10 Posts of 2013

We’ve had quite the learning curve year here at our little labor of love called Thriving Home. Rachel and I continued to chug from the blogosphere fire hydrant of information, learning more and more about photography, web-hosting, social media, partnering with advertisers and affiliates, and simply how to create quality content that readers are interested in. Somehow between potty training, newborns, picky eaters, messy houses, other part-time jobs, a husband in seminary, and selling and buying a house, we have managed to get some posts out there that people are liking and sharing. We thought it’d be fun to look at the year as a whole and share the Top 10 Posts that you were digging (i.e. got the most traffic).

Here is a countdown of Thriving Home’s top posts of 2013.

10. Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups

9. Baked Beef Ravioli: An Easy Fake-Out Lasagna

8. Homemade All-Natural Carpet Cleaner

7. Homemade Wheat Sandwich Bread

6. Chicken Parmesan Casserole

5. Fruit Pizza with Cream Cheese Frosting

4. Make Your Summer at Home with Kids Count

3. Cultivating a Heart that Obeys: Dealing with Whiny Insolent Child

2. Crock Pot Pumpkin Spice Latte

1. 60+ Healthy Freezer Meals

While these posts may have been the most popular in the search engines and on our Pinterest boards (Follow me here!), we have a few other personal favorites that we find are worth mentioning.

Posts that (we think) Deserve and Honorable Mention

Encouraging Bible Verses for Moms

In 2013 we created On the Job Meditations for Moms. We are so proud of these encouraging, printable Bible verses for moms. I’ve given tons away already and have been so encouraged by the feedback that we are getting on how moms are using these in their lives.

Helping the Homeless: On the Go Homeless Bags

After unintentionally having coffee with a homeless man, I was changed inside and out. I write about it this post and share a practical way to help the homeless in your community. A production company, Foreground Productions actually made a three minute video documenting my story.

Welcome to the World, Little Tyler

I of course have to mention that one of my favorite posts was announcing the birth of my son, Tyler. My birth experience of having a vbac birth (after having  c-section with my first kiddo) was one of the most memorable experiences for me. In this post I share it all!

Dresser Transformation

Since I pretty much was either pregnant or had a newborn most of the year, I didn’t get around to as many furniture makeovers or crafty projects as I would have liked. However, I did manage to get one big project done: I turned my grandma’s dresser into a changing table for my second kiddo. Check out the step by step process on how I did it!

Bread Machine Love

In 2013 I got my first bread machine. I have LOVED it. I’ve tried out all sorts of bread machine recipes and have shared my favorites over the year. Rather than listing them out, check them out in our recipe index yourself!

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing more of our readers’ favorite posts, broken down by topic. Keep an eye out for future countdowns!