Friday, January 17, 2014

Catching up

I can't believe it has been an entire year (plus) since I updated this blog! Life really does go by in a whirlwind. It is all too easy to neglect to reflect and remember, not to mention savor the moments- the very reason I began a blog to begin with!!

I'll attempt to give the Cliff's Notes on the past year.

-I made and mostly accoplished my goals in 2013.
-We are sucessfully growing our business.
-We made our first trip to Disney World as a family and had an absolute blast! My children have only seen a small handful of Disney movies, but the trip was every bit as "magical" as I dreamed it would be. (even if we did drop like flies with a tummy virus during the trip!)The next trip is already being anticipated!
-We had a local famer's market. We all participated, and the older children sold their own produce.
-My dad died.
-About 2 weeks upon arriving back home from his funeral, we found out we were expecting our 7th child. Wow!
-I spent the next 4 months just surviving as I had crazy "morning" and motion sickness. (so bad, I couldn't even swim for the whole year- the water waves made me sick!)
-before I could blink, it was time to start school and I had high schoolers- whoa.

Still plenty of time to snuggle with my little boys.

-We joined our local homeschool co-op and met lots of new people.
-We grew a great deal more of our food this year than in year's past. Every year we get better and better!
-Daddy and the older boys had a mini vacation in Arkansas and visited the mines for a few days. They had a great time.

-Our oldest daughter sold her dairy cow that we gave her for her 14th birthday and she raised from birth

-We celebrated our first Christmas in 11 years. We worked hard to make it a very family focused holiday, and had a wonderful time!


Of course, there was lots more- games, gardening, and a whirlwind of activities. Lots of laughs and a few cries. A year of a lot of effort placed on family and relationships, and that time is never wasted and doesn't come back void. 2013 was a good year, and the fruits of our efforts are evident.

Truly, I look forward to 2014 and all the moments that are to come!