I was supposed to send this out in January and somehow the time is going by so quickly. Here we are mid February and I am so behind! I am sorry! Life is busy and I feel like I can barely stay on top of it all. This little blog definitely gets pushed to the side. But here is the update I wrote last month!
Time Flies
I don’t know about you, but I feel like last year went by so fast. I love to look back at my photos and remember all of the wonderful things we did the past year. It was full of hard work on the property, new house construction, exploring a little bit more of our new state, and starting homeschool. It was definitely a year full of unexpected happenings.
New Year’s Tradition
One of our favorite new traditions that we started just last year is the New Year’s Bistro. Last year we did this fun 12 course dinner on New Year’s Day itself. This year, we were traveling and weren’t able to do it so we just did it on a different Sunday during the month of January. My kids specifically asked that I repeat the dinner so I knew that it was a success. While it’s always fun to eat foods you like, it was especially fun to look back over the year and reminisce. It truly is amazing how much happens in twelve short months. You can read more specifics about what we did here!
Cold Weather
It has been really cold here. Today I woke up to -9 degree Fahrenheit. The poor heater has been having a hard time keeping up with such bitter cold temperatures at night. We snuggle up with blankets, wear slippers, and do jumping jacks to warm up. I am grateful that we are able to continue with our schooling despite the weather. The local schools around here have canceled many times already this month due to snow, ice, and the cold.
Dog Discussions
The kids have been bugging us for several months now about getting a dog. We used to have a beautiful golden retriever named Timber. She passed away three years ago and we haven’t jumped back into being dog owners since then. I think the kids don’t remember how much work comes with having a dog. Feeding, brushing, bathing, vacuuming the house, taking to the vet, finding a dog sitter for when you are gone, cleaning up dog messes… They all say that they will help. And that is definitely more possible with them being home all day. But I’m definitely feeling hesitant about it. Besides, how could we ever narrow down what kind of breed to get? Lily wants an Australian shepherd, Ethan a border collie, Sadie a dachshund. I have no idea what I would prefer. But stay tuned, we may have a dog in the near future 🙂
Enjoying the New House
Lastly, we have really been loving being in the new house. I am so grateful to have the kids out of the trailer and in their own rooms. Especially since it has gotten so cold. They each have a fun loft area for their toys and books. I like that it is out of sight and out of the way so that the inevitable mess remains separate from their sleeping and school areas. Charlie has been enjoying his new office tucked away at the front side of the house. He is able to do all of his meetings without us being too noisy for him. The exercise room is so much nicer than the dark garage and gets used on a daily basis. The movie/game room is a work in progress, but we got a big tv and have had fun watching movies and playing Nintendo games together already. We just have some chairs in there for now. We’ll move the couch over when we start the next project.
We have been slowly unpacking boxes and trying to find new homes for kids toys, bathroom essentials, movies, games, and decorations. It is a slow process and since we are still planning on remodeling the other part of the house, I can’t completely unpack. It’s been strange living out of boxes for so long. We just keep hoping that the next part won’t take too long.
Looking Forward to a Fun Year
We have lots of fun plans for 2025! We are excited to hopefully finish the house, get a dog, get chickens, plant some more trees around the property, try again with the garden, and continue with homeschool. We have a few fun trips in the talk-about stage so we’ll see what we end up doing. We are grateful for the experiences we had in 2024 and look forward to another year full of work, growth, adventure, and fun! Happy New Year!
~ Rachel
