The year 2012 was an eventful year for us but you would never know it from my pictures or blogs. Maybe I was living "in the moment" and didn't take the time to capture much on film or maybe I was overwhelmed with the moments or maybe it was a combination of both. I am hoping to do better in 2013 but before we get to resolutions, lets talk about things that were accomplished.
A NEW HOUSE!!! We finally have a beautiful new house. I still can't believe it's ours. It fits us so very well and it's everything I wanted and more. We hosted my dad's family Christmas and we had 36 people here and it was great! Yes, it was crowded at times - mostly in the kitchen - but the kids had a great time playing and the adults had a great time visiting and we are already planning on hosting it next year and hopefully more will be able to come.
Training for a marathon! I can't say I have ran a marathon - but I did train for one and I am proud of that. I ran 20 miles!
Homeschooling! I now have 4 students - a 7th grader, a 5th grader, and 2 kindergartners. Teaching kindergartners is not my specialty - I'd much rather teach pre-algebra. Most days they have lots of play with a short reading lesson and I'm okay with that. Sometimes Brendan and Tori are the "teachers" and do worksheet pages with them. And on Wednesdays, they get to go to our homeschool co-op and enjoy some truly talented teachers, Mrs. Fannin and Mrs. McGee. They do art projects and unit studies and all the things that I think sound fabulous but never get around to doing.
Tori takes art, music, Latin, creative writing, science, and U.S. Geography at Pioneers. I teach math, grammar and spelling here and then help her with work from Pioneers. Brendan takes creative writing, science, history, art and workshop at Pioneers and I teach him pre-algebra and grammar here. It is a good balance for us - we're only gone one day a week but the kids get a chance to learn from other teachers and it helps lessen my responsibilities. And the teachers at Pioneers do a great job and have a passion for their subject. We all love our day at Pioneers and also love being able to get up late the next day. This year I am working in the accounting office instead of in the classrooms and I absolutely love it. I love working in an office setting and keeping track of money coming in and going out. {And yes, I did use the word love a lot in that paragraph. Feel free to leave me a comment with other words I could use. :)}
Brendan played baseball this year and is now playing basketball for the homeschool team. He isn't sure which one is his favorite. It seems to be whatever one he's currently playing. Tori started taking jazz and tap this year and decided to take a year off from horseback riding. Rachel started ballet this year and seems to really enjoy that. Owen thought about flag football but didn't like playing in the games - he'd rather play in the yard with Josh and Brendan. Maybe in a year or two he'll be ready. He's still drumming and sounds great. He seems to be getting more into music, too. He's always the one asking me to turn up the volume in the van and asking the names of songs.
The first month of teaching all 4 kids was a little rough. It was hard to not think about how much easier it would be or how much I could get done if all were in school. But after we got into the swing of things and we all adjusted our expectations, I found that I still really enjoy having them home and being in charge of their learning. This is definitely what God has called us to do. And until He lets me know otherwise, we'll keep on doing it.
I didn't intend to write a Christmas letter but there you go. You're welcome. And now that you have this rosy version of our perfect life, next time I'll write about a real day.
