Today is Boxing Day at our home, but I realized I never got a chance to share our ornaments for this year. And I never sent out Christmas cards, so here goes…
This year was a year of growth for our family. And with growth, there is always growing pains. We had the usual character growing pains, the added activities which were stretching, spiritual growth and discipline that lent itself to growth in other ways.
Here’s a bit about our family this year and a description of each ornament:
Mid July, Jackson lost his front permanent tooth in a freak accident at the park trying to climb up a wet slide. This challenged Jackson in many ways. He not only had to be strong and brave, but he had to have patience while waiting for it to heal. A challenge for our rambunctious almost 9 year old. I have seen so much growth from him this year in controlling emotions, being flexible, and being willing to join in the mundane of life. He is so passionate. He loves drawing, Nintendo, science, and writing.
Joanna joined gymnastics in March and boy has she blossomed. She went from a naturally talented but untrained gymnast, to now learning a back handspring and mastering her back walk over. She is excelling and it is so fun to watch her. She has had to learn discipline in so many different ways. The process of practicing has taught her to keep trying over and over again, even when you fail. Eventually you will have the strength to master that trick. A life lesson for all of us. I have also seen her grow in competence in the everyday life tasks. She is helpful, capable, and a joy to be around.
Jenelle has always been our independent player. She has loved playing by herself, having mom or dad to herself, or a toy to herself. A true third born, craving independence in a house full of people. This year, we have seen her come so far in including others. She’s not perfect, as if any of us are, but she has come so far. She loves playing with the neighbors, her cousins, and her siblings. She still loves her independence, but I love watching her grow and stretch in this area. She is such a sweet heart and so spunky.
And little jakey! Conquered so many new things this year. Potty training, a big boy bed, swings, riding his balance bike, building magnatiles and not just knocking them down, loving his siblings well, and so much more. Three might be my favorite age, which is weird to say since three was my hardest with my first two kids. Jakey is a goofball. He loves all sports and cars/trucks. He has especially taken to golf, like dad.
Eric has been challenged at work this year. The economy was not his friend. He had to pivot and try all kinds of new things to drum up sales, but ultimately he pulled through and we are on our way to an all expense paid trip to Cabo in the spring because of his hard work.
He has also grown spiritually, joining a discipleship group with other men in our home group. I have seen him grow leaps in bounds in fighting sin and growing in his likeness to Christ. With that said, he has almost 3 years sober. I never thought I’d be able to write those words. Praise God for His work in Eric’s life!
And me, I spent the first 8 months so disciplined. And then we got a puppy in September and my hard work went out the window. I stopped waking early, being consistent in time in scripture, walking, or eating how I had really wanted.
But, I decided not to wait until January 1st to get back on the bus. I spent the week before we went on our trip waking early again, starting a laundry routine, getting into the word. And we returned from our trip with the stomach bug and now a cold. I got about two good days in working on getting back into the swing of things, then ended up with a cold. Still trying to accomplish something once a day, but it’s not been easy while not feeling 100%.
Homeschooling has been such a blessing this year. We dropped out of Classical Conversations after last fall, which provided the extra margin to really dive into homeschool and find a love for it again. 2022-23 school year was not enjoyable for any of us. We lacked the ability to have a routine and didn’t love the curriculum we were using.
This year we all have loved different aspects of the school year. We have been able to have a routine. Joanna loved math the most, using the good and the beautiful curriculum. Jackson loved language arts the most, using curriculum from the Institute of Excellence in Writing. I loved our history and science curriculum, reading through the Brambly hedge and the Vikings – using beautiful feet book bundles. Getting to implement water color and nature.
I have seen each of them excel. It’s been so encouraging after the last year of being very discouraged. If you’re feeling discouraged in your homeschool/schooling journey, don’t be afraid to switch things up. The worst that can happen is you have to go back to what you were doing. No harm, no foul.
Our homeschool group has grown so much this year. We had 70+ people come to our field trip in October. Riverside Homeschoolers has gone on all kinds of field trips and had so many fun celebrations and get togethers. We have loved playing at the park week after week, exploring the surrounding areas of the park, painting and watercoloring, and my favorite, hanging with other moms who are walking through the same journey as we are. Let me know if you’d be interested in joining us on any given week!
We have loved 2023. It’s been a year full of blessings and love. Lots of togetherness. We have enjoyed camping together for the first time, lots of outside time playing, gardening, and swimming. Lots of home projects and changes around the house. Lots of activities – soccer, baseball, gymnastics, and piano. Lots of church fellowship – weekly services, Bible study’s, book clubs, discipleship groups, and homegroup. Homegroup this year has been so sweet! We are so grateful for these things/people which have grown us and shaped us. We have so much to be grateful for! Here’s to a joy-filled 2024 full of God’s blessings!
Our Christmas ornaments of remembrance this year:
sarahecooley.com 