2016

With the New Year fast approaching I've decided to try - once again - to keep my Blog updated on a more regular basis.  Good Luck to me, right??  Haha!

2016.  What a wild & crazy year it was for us!  Lots of change.  SO MUCH CHANGE!

Kyle turned 12, Isabella 7, Savannah 5 and Sebastian 2.  We bought a new-to-us house in a different town...a complete fixer-upper...& moved in a few months ago.  My hands are full. My heart even more so!

Of the 4 kids Sebastian takes the crown for being our *most difficult* child.  He's head strong like Isabella but he also has a temper & a wild streak in him like no other.  From a broken arm to multiple bumps & bruises he is constantly injuring himself, as his mind continues to convince him that he has SuperPowers.  It also doesn't help that he's very, very big for his young age.  He's so incredibly high-maintenance, requiring constant attention & supervision at all times.  But all of these little (big!) imperfections help to create one perfect little boy.  He's super smart, full of curiosity & quite the comedian.  There once was a time when I described Isabella as "fire & ice".  Well, Sebastian is ALL "fire".  A brightly burning flame that only dims when he's sleeping.

Adjusting to life in our new home has had its challenges but, for the most part, things have gone pretty smoothly.  We transferred to a new church & switched Boy/Girl Scout Troops.  Kyle has only attended 1 Boy Scout meeting so far, but we're hoping his new troop is a good fit.  I also joined the local homeschool group & was approved by the school system here to homeschool.

I still have a lot of organizing to do - every closet is full of random items that need to be sorted through and my kitchen cupboards need to be better organized - but right now I think both Jim & I are feeling a little burnt out!  There was a major sense of urgency to get some pretty big renovations done early on so that we could move in.  Now that Jim has completed those projects we're both enjoying a little break.  I think by Spring we should be completely organized.  There's so much space, which will help when I start sorting through things.

All in all we are very happy with the changes we've made.  Despite needing work, we are in love with our house & the land it sits on.  The kids have so much room to run around & play - both inside & outside!
Jim finally has a good sized garage to keep all of his tools & equipment.  He enjoys being able to work on his cars & projects without needing to worry about the weather!  I'm thrilled with the kitchen - I actually have space to prepare meals!

I'm excited to see what 2017 has in store for us!  I'm thinking it will be a more relaxing year for us, as we continue to settle into our new home & get to know the Smithfield community.