Farewell, 2022

I'd like to take a moment to ponder 2022.

For me, it started with a dry January, which quickly devolved into "damp" January. My friend renamed our challenge as we agreed that skipping the booze at restaurants was too high of a standard.

Also, we all had Covid...again.

By February, I was aggressively working my way out of our homeschooling situation. George and I had the sweetest semester, though we slugged through some really challenging days. Ultimately, with lots of prayer and hot chocolate from the Vintage Cafe, we prevailed! 

On Valentine's Day, I discovered I was pregnant with baby #5. And there began my love affair with breakfast sandwiches, which lasted the entire pregnancy. 

Early March, Stephen finished constructing what we now call the "middle room," a cozy office/sitting room. We painted it green and put a giant TV over that fireplace. I love it so much.

By Easter we knew that our bonus baby was a GIRL. This was thrilling news, even to the brothers. 

We surprised them by filling up a 5th Easter basket with PINK everything. 

In April, we officially gained a teenager! 13

Around this time I started showing. I'm 16 weeks along in this picture.

And speaking of 16, in May  - we celebrated our 16th anniversary. 

As soon as school let out, we ventured to Cape San Blas for a few days, stopping on our way to visit Stephen's grandmother. The kids loved seeing Muh and begged us to stop again on our way home.

We made this an activities trip, boating and fishing, lots of restaurants, etc, knowing that next year we would have an eight month old. 

In June, our 3 oldest went to camp for 3 1/2 weeks. While they were away Caroline spent time with both sets of grandparents. This was a glorious sabbatical for me. I was able to nest like my hair was on fire. I sorted, organized, cleaned, and rested. 

Late July, we began our back to school preparations. In a wave of frugality, I sharpened the used colored pencils instead of buying new ones. I also rounded up all the binders we already had. 

Early August was back to school. The first day felt monumental. I had officially hung up my homeschooling hat and bridged the gap between quitting school and restarting. I'm so proud of them.

And I'm pretty proud of myself, too.

Fall semester was packed with the end of pregnancy, lunches, snacks, after school activities, sports, homework, etc. 

Stephen and Laurie ran cross country and George played Y football. 

Here is my standard sports fan "uniform."

Very European chic in my dress and sneakers, don't you think? 

Remember, pregnant ladies wear dresses. 

I treasure this picture of Stephen and Laurie. They are so different, but share the same circles. It is sweet to see them together. Also, it makes me laugh because Stephen despises tank tops. 

George made a whole new group of friends on the football field, which now has turned into a neighborhood gang. The other day he informed me "the parents have no idea where we are or what we are doing." Ha.

In September my sister and best friends threw me the loveliest baby shower. It truly warmed my heart and encouraged me. They treated me like this was my first baby, reminding me that every baby is a miracle, a gift, and worthy of celebrating BIG. 

Early October Stephen "convinced" me to hire some cleaning ladies. Physically, I couldn't anymore. These women are angels on earth. They make toilet paper bows and arrange the kids' stuffed animals in cute and surprising ways. 

With a clean house, 4 kids in school, cross country and football season wrapping up, it was time for 

D-day. 

Look at that BABY!

Jill is like my grandchild, not that I'm too old to be her mom. It's a perspective change, the notion that she is not of any inconvenience. She is pure love and joy. With every feed, every diaper change, I think what a privilege. I have so much more patience and grace for myself than 26 year old new-mom-me.

Halloween rolled around so of course we took our traditional picture with mums and our newest pumpkin. 

November launched the holiday season with lots of good food, time with family, school performances, and parties.

For Thanksgiving we spent 4 days with Stephen's family. 

We went the park, watched football, made gingerbread houses, and had lots of conversations over coffee.

We came home and busted out our Christmas pj's, got our tree, and put on our game face for December, which was totally crazy as always.

Laurie + cousins in the school play. 

As December progressed and each activity fell off the calendar, things eventually got quieter. 

We road tripped to Jackson to visit family and see the Sound of Music at a local theatre. 

Caroline has not stopped singing Sound of Music songs since. She's a sucker for a musical. 

Finally, Christmas morning came and went. That afternoon I put on a movie and slept through the entire thing, relieved that I had actually survived -- the day and the season and the year.

2022,  like any other year, had its disappointments, temper tantrums, terrible days, and wasted time. But overall, we made progress. We grew literally as a family, but also in maturity and depth as people. We added more layers to our stories.

Earlier this week I pulled out a stack of old journals that spanned more than a decade. I couldn't believe how God had answered so many prayers. There were times we were stressed about money and career, babies, illnesses, interpersonal conflicts. It was amazing to see how many of our concerns were resolved and how we had changed in the process. I was reminded that there is a God and he hears our prayers! 

Cheers to 2023! I have 2 resolutions: 12 dates, 12 books.

I want to go on 12 dates with my husband and I want listen to 12 audiobooks, the only way I can read successfully these days.

What about you? How was '22? What ya got going for 2023?