For posterity, mostly…
January
Tim installed our new dishwasher. Holly came to visit. Upward started.
February
Caedmon turned 10! We went to an indoor waterpark (and Johnny Rockets…simple things sometimes make the biggest impressions with these kids). A trip to Toys R’ Us, where each kid got $20 to spend on whatever they wanted. Basketball games.
March
We got our Excursion, and in the process had a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. which lasted less than a day, but allowed us to quickly run through the Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum, plus get falafel and hot dogs from a food truck (a big deal for my foodie-in-the-making kids). More basketball! My biggest girl turned 8, I turned 35 (one of these occasions was more celebrated than the other…). We got chickens :).
April
Hmm. I don’t remember April very well. There was Easter…which I’m sure was exciting and memorable for the kids (obviously, not as much for me??). Oh! We turned our unfinished “utility room” in the back of the house into a mostly functional guest room.
May
Beautiful, smiley, precious Isabelle was born. Lots of baseball. I like watching my kids’ baseball games. The fourteen year mark of being married to the best guy. Celebrating his 36th birthday.
June
Bethany got baptized…I don’t have words for how wonderful and special this is. More baseball. The start of summer break. Elijah learned to ride his bike! Tons of strawberries from the garden…or about 20 quarts, I think? Sugar snap peas and asparagus – yum! Plus the start of our summer CSA share.
July
Swimming lessons – and the three oldest kids learning to swim despite temperatures that, more often than not, were below 70 degrees…they did such a great job! My parents and a few of my siblings came for a visit. Then Holly came and introduced us to [her now fiance] Chad. I started going for walks…short, but really a blessing for me that I could get out of the house for a little bit most mornings. Our first eggs from our chickens, I think?
August
Nathanael turned 7, and we went to the Watertown zoo to celebrate. Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, squash, kale, broccoli. Ummmm, was there more to this month??
September
Ava turned 2, and we went to the local playground to celebrate :). Bethany started gymnastics lessons (during which Tim took ALL the rest of the kids to do miscellaneous shopping each week, so that I could just watch Bethany and read books). Speaking of books, I read two that I really liked…The Family – God’s Weapon for Victory, and The Pursuit of God…probably should have read them before now, but better late than never, right?
October
More gymnastics. More walks, and some running, too. The start of Friday school…and Elijah got to go this year – so exciting for him! We hiked Azure Mountain together (which, though a great experience, made me feel more embarrassed by how out of shape I am than anything else ever has). The Hallelujah Party – it’s just a given that the kids will have a blast.
November
A trip to Wisconsin for Tim’s grandma’s 90th birthday party, and a chance to see his family (and mine, on the way back through MI).
December
Cookie baking, house decorating, gift buying. Caedmon and Bethany singing in the Christmas cantata, which I really enjoyed. Playing my clarinet in the holiday orchestra…maybe someday I will make time the other 11 months of the year to practice. The kids’ CFA Christmas concert. Nathanael reading at the Christmas Eve service. A quiet, peaceful Christmas day at home. Elijah’s fifth birthday, and his request for Happy Meals as his birthday meal. A fun New Year’s Eve with snacks for dinner and a family tournament of Fitivities…a new favorite “board” game that, with a little tweaking to make it slightly more competitive, was so much fun, and pretty good exercise. Staying up past midnight with Tim, just us, talking and completely missing the turn of the hour, day, month, year.