Miss Dwija is hosting a link-up that looks fun and a little challenging. Twelve pictures for the whole year. Ok… here goes.
Soup? Seriously… I'm going to start this look back at the year 2014 with soup. Why, you ask? Because when I see this picture, it reminds me of so many things. My husband got laid off at the beginning of January 2014 and while he wasn't unemployed for very long, it was still a scary time filled with uncertainty and worry for us. I made this soup for him when he was locked in our room one day typing his fingers to the bone trying to find another job fast. I wish I could have done more to take the burden off his shoulders but I figured my job was to nourish him and keep him feeling strong when those moments of stress hit. So many times that month we thought that 2014 was shaping up to be a year we'd want to forget.
This picture also reminds me of the heartache of knowing that my brother was suffering even more than we were having to watch his wife spend her last days on earth and there wasn't any way to make it better for him. For us, having to find a new job turned out to be a blessing in disguise as my husband is very happy where he is now but my brother is still dealing with the emotional fallout of the devastating loss of his beautiful bride. Please offer a prayer for him if you can. Thank you.
February… one of my favorite things about February is seeing the silly Valentines cards that my kids make for each other. I hope it's something they continue as they grow and make their way in the world. Rain's cards are always a favorite amongst everyone. Last February also saw a lot of stitching. I finally opened an Etsy shop after years of people saying that I should and kind of found an embroidery groove. Unfortunately, I also burned myself out and haven't been back in that groove since then.
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| Easter pic outtake… I have no idea what was going on over there. |
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| A collage counts as one picture, right? |
May was super duper busy what with two birthdays back to back, piano recitals, blog facelifts and stirring up trouble on the internet about "cutesy nicknames"… whew… I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Playtime and parks, books and butterflies, and finding out what it feels like to host a party that nobody shows up to. Humility… that's the name of this blogging game.
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| It's a Zelda thing... |
In July… I hosted a Legends of Zelda themed graduation party for my niece, we puppy-sat our neighbor's ginormous, hairy dog and spent all day at a sweet friend's house while her daughter helped Sunshine sew a dress... and blogged none of it because I took a break. It was restful and a little reinvigorating but I can't lie… this blog is living on the back burner and I'm OK with that.
In August, we shared our trip to Austin to film Rachel and the Treeschoolers, my grandmother's birthday, Sunshine's sweater for Cupcake and some thoughts on what homeschooling is like with kids of all ages.
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| I love this picture of my knitting ninja. This will keep the boys from stealing her away too soon. |
In October we hosted a Doctor Who party for some friends and little feast day celebrations for ourselves.
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| Please ignore the messy background. All I see is my sweet girl's beaming face. |
We took a vacation to Branson, MO (our first real family vacation ever!) that I never blogged because as soon as we got home, we all spent the rest of November in varying degrees of flu-ness. But we did rally enough to celebrate my beautiful girl's birthday London style!
For December, we escaped from Mr. Lemoncello's library and jumped full into Jane Austen's world, costumes and all. We also celebrated Advent with our favorite saints and traditions.
I have to break the rules with this last picture though (Sorry Dweej!) because these Christmas pic outtakes are too good not to post…
That's a wrap. Tomorrow night we will make our way to the book store early, as is our tradition, and then come home, make some pizza and puppy chow and watch a movie. Low key is how we like our New Year's Eve.
Merry Christmas to you all and I hope you have a wonderful new year!
