I know I say this a lot: but here's the truth, I wanted to be good at journaling . . . all my life, it's been something I really wanted to do. The fact is, when things get busy or maybe a little out of control, I let it go. I don't even really think about it, and if I do, I just feel guilty, like I can never catch up so why try?
But it's important for me to try. There are so many moments that are going to slip by me and not be remembered if I don't make the effort. So here it is, I took a break for about a year. I made no effort to keep up with extraneous things as I adapted to life in a family of five and my daughter going to school for the first time. There were other reasons why I had little interest in keeping up with my blog, I may even go as far to say I shut down a little bit to even the idea of it, but the fact is I didn't do it.
It happened, but it's a new day, a new year even and I want to do better. I want to have something to look back on with fondness and say, "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that! That was great!"
So I'll do a quick year in review and go from there.
We had Nolan.
He's a happy, bouncy baby boy. Probably the most determined little squirt I've ever seen. He's taken baby proofing to a whole new level, multiple times! He took his first solo steps yesterday, the day before his first birthday but is still not what I would consider "walking" yet. Officially my latest walker if he doesn't take off today. But that's ok, that will probably just mean another level of baby proofing when he does! He was my latest teether, and then after his first two, he suddenly had 6 coming in all at once! His first word was dada and he says it no matter what you ask him to say. Say "mama" -- "DADA!" Say "bible" -- "DADA!" He thinks it's hilarious. He rolled very early (we're talking weeks old) and crawled around the same time as his brother. He's also our biggest baby by far! My little adorable chunky monkey and I love every single one of his rolls! :)
Gabriel
Well, it's been a year for Gabriel. He's three now and had a little bit hard adjustment to being without his sister all day, every day. He doesn't have peers his age at church, he's also had a little bit of an adjustment to playing with kids his age since we added Story Hour and Moms in Prayer to our agenda. We're working on it, and I'm sure it will come with a little practice and time, but for now, it's been a little bit of trial and error. Another unfortunate thing with Gabriel this year is he's started having allergic reactions to . . . something. We haven't been able to track down the cause yet, but we're working with an allergist and the treatments seem to be preventing the symptoms for the most part. Hoping we find out more soon! He took his first solo swim lessons this year and got really tall and skinny. He's a little ham, always saying something funny. He keeps me on my toes for sure, but he also makes me laugh every single day.
Callie
Callie started Kindergarten this year. She is as happy as a clam to be in school and with her friends, riding the bus and oh yeah, occasionally learning something along the way. She's taking advantage of her new found freedom of eating lunches outside of the home by basically not eating. Probably a combination of visiting too much, not having a lot of time, and peer pressure about what she "should" eat. We're working on it. She's pretty independent anymore and does most things without our help or intervention. Which is nice. She's a wonderful big sister, especially to Nolan, since he can't say he doesn't want to play something with her yet. She's tall for her age according to the doctor, but not tall in her class by far! They might have a good basketball and volleyball team in her age group!! Callie donated 11'' to Locks of Love for the second time in her little life. So proud of her sweet spirit! She's also started piano lessons and the 4H Cloverbuds this year. We'll see if she's interested in any sports when it comes time for those as well, but we're (fortunately) not quite there yet.
Philip
Oh yeah, there are actually parents in our home as well! ;) Philip completed his second half marathon, but has also decided to retire from running as his knees felt like they were going to give out on him around mile 10. He's going to try to pick up a lower impact exercise plan in lieu of his running. He also got a promotion at work and is happy that we are no longer a minivan family. I don't understand why that was important to him, but it was so we made the switch. Philip was made a deacon in our church this year. We took a little bit of a break from home improvement projects this year, so there's just been a couple "keeping up projects" for him for the most part. Not that those are really "getting done" either, but we like to think if we have them on a list, eventually they may get checked off! Philip also managed to squeeze in his first hospital experience this year with a frightening set of events on the way home from Christmas. Thank goodness it was not as serious as we first thought! He seems to be fully recovered from that trauma and we're hoping for a peaceful start to this new year.
Heather
Whew! Finally to me. Well, let's see. I have three kids. And there you go, that's my life! Just kidding. I'll expound a little bit.
We found a good rhythm for our family around the typical time (between 3-4 months) but the earlier months were filled with one thing after another it seemed. Nolan wasn't gaining weight around 2 months so we had to start supplementing (a first for me) and that entailed multiple doctor appointments. Right after that, Gabe started having these outbreaks, which meant more doctor's appointments. But we soon found our balance and a lot of the problems stopped and we worked nicely together. In August, I took my first vacation sans kids in 5 1/2 years! We took a girl's trip (my sisters-in-law and I) to Las Vegas where we mainly shopped and ate, relaxed and took in a show! The next week was Callie's first week of school . . . it felt like everything got chaotic again at that point and I'm hoping to soon have the balance to our family and our rhythm regained! It's definitely a new experience. Two weeks before Thanksgiving was the big event of the year, a tornado went through our area, and less than 1/2 mile from our home. It was truly overwhelming to see and feel the devastation to our corner of the world. Our church has set up a relief center through the national Churches of Christ Disaster Relief and our family is heavily involved in the work.
The holidays were crazy. Thanksgiving and Christmas were so close this year it felt like constant motion from the end of November on. I normally love Christmas time and all that goes with it, but I'll tell you, with school and everything else this year, I was beginning to see why so many people dread the holidays. I hosted 5 parties in December! 5! It was a little insane!
And then, to top of all the drama and excitement that was December, Christmas Eve I found out that we are once again expecting! So now, I'm preparing myself for my last pregnancy, last child, and last little baby phase. My closest two babies! Nolan turned just turned one today which means our last two munchkins are going to be a mere 20 months apart! Whew! What a way to start the year, am I right?
And with that, I think I've pretty much summed up 2013. Here's to keeping up with journaling and everything else that life throws our way.
We hope that you have seen God's blessings this past year and that you are excited about the future He has in store for you. We know we are! God bless you and yours!
But it's important for me to try. There are so many moments that are going to slip by me and not be remembered if I don't make the effort. So here it is, I took a break for about a year. I made no effort to keep up with extraneous things as I adapted to life in a family of five and my daughter going to school for the first time. There were other reasons why I had little interest in keeping up with my blog, I may even go as far to say I shut down a little bit to even the idea of it, but the fact is I didn't do it.
It happened, but it's a new day, a new year even and I want to do better. I want to have something to look back on with fondness and say, "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that! That was great!"
So I'll do a quick year in review and go from there.
We had Nolan.
Gabriel
Callie
Philip
Oh yeah, there are actually parents in our home as well! ;) Philip completed his second half marathon, but has also decided to retire from running as his knees felt like they were going to give out on him around mile 10. He's going to try to pick up a lower impact exercise plan in lieu of his running. He also got a promotion at work and is happy that we are no longer a minivan family. I don't understand why that was important to him, but it was so we made the switch. Philip was made a deacon in our church this year. We took a little bit of a break from home improvement projects this year, so there's just been a couple "keeping up projects" for him for the most part. Not that those are really "getting done" either, but we like to think if we have them on a list, eventually they may get checked off! Philip also managed to squeeze in his first hospital experience this year with a frightening set of events on the way home from Christmas. Thank goodness it was not as serious as we first thought! He seems to be fully recovered from that trauma and we're hoping for a peaceful start to this new year.
Heather
Whew! Finally to me. Well, let's see. I have three kids. And there you go, that's my life! Just kidding. I'll expound a little bit.
We found a good rhythm for our family around the typical time (between 3-4 months) but the earlier months were filled with one thing after another it seemed. Nolan wasn't gaining weight around 2 months so we had to start supplementing (a first for me) and that entailed multiple doctor appointments. Right after that, Gabe started having these outbreaks, which meant more doctor's appointments. But we soon found our balance and a lot of the problems stopped and we worked nicely together. In August, I took my first vacation sans kids in 5 1/2 years! We took a girl's trip (my sisters-in-law and I) to Las Vegas where we mainly shopped and ate, relaxed and took in a show! The next week was Callie's first week of school . . . it felt like everything got chaotic again at that point and I'm hoping to soon have the balance to our family and our rhythm regained! It's definitely a new experience. Two weeks before Thanksgiving was the big event of the year, a tornado went through our area, and less than 1/2 mile from our home. It was truly overwhelming to see and feel the devastation to our corner of the world. Our church has set up a relief center through the national Churches of Christ Disaster Relief and our family is heavily involved in the work.
The holidays were crazy. Thanksgiving and Christmas were so close this year it felt like constant motion from the end of November on. I normally love Christmas time and all that goes with it, but I'll tell you, with school and everything else this year, I was beginning to see why so many people dread the holidays. I hosted 5 parties in December! 5! It was a little insane!
And then, to top of all the drama and excitement that was December, Christmas Eve I found out that we are once again expecting! So now, I'm preparing myself for my last pregnancy, last child, and last little baby phase. My closest two babies! Nolan turned just turned one today which means our last two munchkins are going to be a mere 20 months apart! Whew! What a way to start the year, am I right?
And with that, I think I've pretty much summed up 2013. Here's to keeping up with journaling and everything else that life throws our way.
We hope that you have seen God's blessings this past year and that you are excited about the future He has in store for you. We know we are! God bless you and yours!
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