Merry Christmas 2018 (part 2)/New Year (Ready or not, here it comes!)

The year 2018 was full one!  I feel like it was more than one year shoved into one.  We made some treasured memories and certainly had our share of emotional ups and downs.  I think I've been avoiding writing about it...which is probably why I wrote part 1 of our Christmas post a little differently than in past years.  This part is nothing fancy though - just a simple year in review!

January - we added a member to our family!  I'm a sucker for dogs and for years would show Dave puppies or dogs on rescue sites and he'd say, "Get it."  I was the one who listed the reasons why we shouldn't get a dog.  Finally I found one that was PERFECT for us, I actually applied and we were approved, they drove her up here from Memphis and ta-da!  We're dog owners!
February - Gymnastics was in full swing for Moses and Bert but Moses also tried something new this month.  Forensics!  For those of you not familiar w/it, it's basically a public speaking competition.  Most of my 7 readers probably knew me and already knew that though - I was in Forensics growing up.  Moses did a group category and joined some girls in putting on a short skit.  They traveled to other schools for competition and at the end of the season, performed for friends and family.
March - this month brought another first for Moses.  He joined the wrestling team!  And - get this - my loud mouth cheering style wasn't out of place in the stands!!  I have always been the girl who enjoyed football, hockey, basketball...now we're all learning about wrestling.  It was a tough season, being his first, but his face when he won his first match was PRICELESS.  He knows that winning isn't what makes us proud, but the fact that he exhibited signs of progress and persevered at something he found difficult.  We also were very proud of him for cheering on his teammates and being encouraging to all.  In fact, one of the other parents commented on how much they thought highly of our son for that.  Considering that we are still relatively new here, that's a pretty good impression to be making!
April - the weather started to turn this month and we began again towards Dave's goal of hiking all segments of the Ice Age Trail.  This time w/a dog!  She is a great hiker and explorer, super friendly to anyone we meet on the trail and LOVES sniffing every darn thing.  We are making progress and hope to continue this year.
May - as I'm typing this, I realize there were a lot of firsts this past year.  For the first time since I can remember, this was the first year we didn't really plan a big summer road trip.  Why am I mentioning that in May, you are thinking...?  Because May is when baseball started.  I have 3 boys.  All on different teams.  Which means 3 diff. practice schedules, 3 diff. game schedules, 3 diff. uniforms to wash...but also 3 super excited boys!!  It rained a lot in the beginning, so a number of things were canceled.  After a particularly wet week, we got the notice that the fields were finally dry and games were ON.  I relayed the message to my boys and they huddled up, dancing, singing, cheering!!  I caught it on camera and they love watching that video!!  Another first in May was that my sweet girl Colleen had her middle school intro night.  We checked out her classes, practiced opening a locker and tested out band instruments.  She tried a euphonium/tuba, a trombone and a trumpet, choosing the trumpet!!
June - we had a visit from Nana and Dave's sister's family.  It's such a joy to see how the cousins are best buddies - it reminds me of growing up w/my cousins.  It's a real blessing when your family is made up of some people you would choose as friends anyway =)  June brought more baseball, of course, but all 3 boys gained more confidence and understanding of the game too.  We also met up w/some special family at Titletown for some fun and games!  WOWEE ZOWEE is that a neat place!!
July -  We finally got to some good camping and boating in our great state and the boys competed in my hometown's Dirty Ninja Mud Run again.  It officially felt like summer and we did our best to enjoy every minute of it!
August - Back in the day...Dave and I used to rent little cottages on a lake and vacation that way...before campers, before kids...it was nice to have a kitchen and nothing to set up.  He suggested that kind of vacation again, since the camper floor was needing repair and 4 kids - need we say more?  I worried about the price but he found a little lake house nearby.  It was an excellent choice!!  The kids loved the paddle boat, kayak, stand up paddle boards, etc...We spent a lot of time on the water!!  My fishergirl sat on a paddle board while her brothers paddled her around...the dog hung out on the deck (she's still scared of water!) and even got rides on the kayak once in a while.  We boated out to swim and played games on the deck while watching the sun set.  As we were there, I stumbled on someone w/barn cats (we were in the market since Peyton cat had disappeared months after moving in w/us) and it turned out the woman lived near the lake house!!  We packed up and picked up a kitten on the way home.  (I think we are the only goofballs who do stuff like this, maybe I'm wrong, but oh the stories my kids can tell!)  After much discussion, the new kitty was named Bucky due to the stripes on his head and our loyalty to the state in which we live.  Homer cat didn't quite take to Bucky at first but the two are fun playmates now!  And the best part is that Bucky and the dog are growing up together, so they are definitely buddies too!  A second trip to Titletown was made in August as we attended family night hosted by THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM IN THE WORLD.  If you live here, there's a line in your baby book that says '1st visit to Lambeau Field'.  Now all my children have that line filled in =)
September - I stood up in my cousin's wedding.  She is one of my best friends and I have never seen this girl so happy!! It was a beautiful day and a the location was gorgeous.  There were lots of fancy good looking people getting their photos taken at sunset and lots of laughs later w/family and friends.  Speaking of photos - we had family photos taken by a friend!  I haven't shared them yet - we're waiting on another big event to do so, but there's one w/a chicken, cat and dog in it!  That's how we roll!
October - another great month to go hiking on the IAT.  Not too cold, not too hot...lots of leaves to admire.  We started talking about spring break and the possibility of a big trip.  Usually by the end of summer, we start getting the itch to plan future travel, so this was a little late for us.  I found tickets for $102 to our destination of choice but hesitated to but them.  I wanted to sleep on it and be SURE that was a commitment we were ready to make.  I'm guessing you know the end of this story - they were much higher next time!  So we had lots of alternate plans we cooked up...which meant some late nights talking about vacations =)  Our favorite topic!
November - One of the best parts of November is of course Thanksgiving but also participating in the Christmas parade w/church!  This year the kids got to ride on the trailer!  They took their job pretty seriously.  Last year Bert was not a fan of the dark but this year he knew what to expect and enjoyed it a lot more.
December - This is always a chaotic month but this year the weather was very unusual.  It was warmer and there was barely any snow!  For a snow lover like me, that's unfortunate.  We did get a chance to go west to visit family who had but it wasn't the same.  Still, we made gingerbread houses, painted a Christmas village, ate good food and watched various Christmas programs.  The dog got a bath!  First bath ever!  She has been dumped in the lake and what not in the past, but never officially washed.  She did pretty good, considering she hates water!  We had to wait until Jan 1 to go on our annual Christmas walk in the woods, but it was worth it.  We started the new year in the best way...

Now we're two months into 2019 and it's been a heavy year already.  When I started writing this post, my Dad was suffering from the effects of amyloidosis.  His heart was struggling and mine was breaking.  I tried to write some of this post while visiting him in hospice, but when I went back and read it, I realized my brain was on auto pilot.  He has since passed, and I have returned to edit this post.  To be honest, right now I feel a strong dislike for this year - I can't even imagine writing the next Christmas post...I love my Dad and I've always been Daddy's girl.  None of this is easy.  And to be honest, I wasn't sure I was even going to put anything in the Christmas posts about this b/c I thought it would drag everyone down.  I don't like that.  I like throwing humor around and getting people to lighten up.  But this is our real life, and not every Christmas letter is 100% cheer-filled with rainbows and anecdotes about our perfect family.   On the flip side, the joy of being with my kids and the hope of things to come keep me afloat.  We've recently celebrated another wedding, there's 2 babies on the way, spring break is a̶l̶l̶  *mostly* planned and we have 1 step left before adoption day!  The fact that I have all these good things from the past year to reflect on and then some tough stuff too is an accurate depiction of our world right now. Friends, I pray this next year includes hope and joy for you!  I am sure your life is not w/o struggles but please know that you are not on this road alone.  Let me know if you want to chat - we can share our joys and struggles!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
PS - I'm sorry that this year's post didn't include many photos.  I don't feel like chasing them down...I had every intention of tossing in a couple, but w/my Dad's passing, I don't think that will happen for a while.  I have some modest goals for my blog this year...beginning w/posting more often!  I already have 3 posts this year which means I have tied the number of times I posted last year - winning!  It's  only the end of Feb and I've already made great progress on achieving my goal!