It's the last day of 2021 - woohoo! It's been a while since I looked forward to the new year with anticipation, so I'm not taking this good feeling about the year's end for granted. I used to faithfully record the highlights of the year here, complete with pictures, but I've long since quit. However, I'm going to try to do it again because I love looking back at all the great memories!
January
I started the year by joining my aunt in the 30-Day Shred Bible reading challenge. It was totally intense, but incredibly worth it! I got an amazing, albeit dizzying, overview of the entire Bible, and made connections that I hadn't made before due to covering so much material so quickly. Looking forward to doing this again soon!
February
I was thrilled to finally find a volunteer symphony to join! It isn't very close to me, but the long drives and rehearsals give me a much-needed break from the house, and all my mom duties. ;) It's also minutes from Andy's Frozen Custard and Target! My first concert with them was chamber strings, so I had to get un-rusty really quickly!
The kids and I enjoyed a trip up to IL for Valentine's Day.
March
On the 4th, I randomly searched YouTube for a low-impact cardio workout, and Team Body Project came up. The first video I tried, I was shocked to realize I had smiled through the entire thing, and it was so fun, I couldn't wait to do it again! I decided to just keep doing the same workout video until I formed the habit once again of working out every day. After trying several of their free YT workouts and loving each one, I got the go-ahead to purchase the year-long membership. I have since completed several of their programs, lost 17 lbs., and, more importantly, have started speaking much more kindly to myself in my head. It can get very dark in there, and I realized I would never speak to someone else how I had been speaking to myself, so the trainer Daniel's motivational pep talks at the end of the videos slowly changed my thinking process. This has changed many areas of my life, not just fitness! Here's a pic of me in my "goal dress" that I never thought I'd fit into a year ago!
I attended my second homeschool convention, and while it was much smaller thanks to covid, it was still fun, and as usual, I came home with a million more ideas.
April
My in-laws came down from SD, and it was WONDERFUL to have such a big crowd together for Easter! We did a massive egg hunt for my nieces and nephews. It was their first, and it was a blast seeing them enjoy it so much!
May
We took a big trip to FL for my 28th birthday. We stayed in an airbnb owned by a photographer I've followed for years on Insta, and it was a only a short drive from the most perfect beach spot ever. We spent every day hunting crabs, swimming, and eating ice cream. :) We were only an hour or so south of where my grandma lives, so we got to see her several times, too. What a great trip!
June
My mom and Charlotte came down for Matthew's 2nd birthday. While they were here, all of us took a 2-day trip to GA where we saw Van Gogh Live at the historic Pullman Yards, and visited the Georgia Aquarium (finally!!!!). We had such a great time together.
July
Once again, we went up to IL for some family time.
August
I had been wanting to show my family Sanibel Island, FL, for years, and we finally made it happen. We stayed on the Captiva end of the island this time, and loved finding shells, fishing, watching TV, and looking for manatees.
September
Chris turned 34, and we celebrated our 9th anniversary! We're old, drat it.
God provided an amazing Christian homeschool group for us to join, right here in our town! We meet roughly once a week, and it's been a great way for Peter and I to practice meeting new people and socializing.
We went up to IL again, since Chris camped out on a 6-week job in NC. Crazy. We were excited to find out that Mike and Jordan's baby is a GIRL!
October
While Chris was still finishing up the NC job, the boys and I got brave and went to our church's picnic by ourselves. Peter and I participated in our first bean-spitting contest. lol
Peter turned 7 and had a Mario birthday party.
I finally got to see the beautiful musical, Anastasia, with an IL friend who recently moved down.
December
I loved playing the Christmas Pops concert with my symphony, and having so many friends in the audience!
We got to experience our first live nativity! The gospel was clearly presented, and we were blessed by the ministry of so many volunteers.
I don't pick a word for the new year or anything like that, and I haven't jotted down any goals yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing where our family goes in the new year. I am trying to continually remind myself that God is sovereign, and He has a non-linear view of time. He knows all, and if I can trust Him with my eternal life, it's kinda foolish to freak out about the details of today, tomorrow, or even a few years from now. I just have to do the next right thing. Little steps at a time. It's not a shame to strive to be faithful in small things, because they add up eventually. ;) If He's called me and placed me where I am, and I'm working hard as unto Him, that's what He's looking for. Looking at it that way, I can only see next year as being full of opportunities!
