Goodbye 2016, Welcome 2017!
Phew... 2016 was a LONG year!
We started out 2016 living in our travel trailer @ the Jamieson's house and shortly moved into our current house in Arlington. We had planned on moving in October, but the Lord had other plans! We got the floors re-finished and peeled off a bunch of wallpaper before moving in. Since that time we've been slowly but steadily re-modeling our house/property and getting ourselves settled in.
In this last year we've learned a lot about animal management in Snohomish County. It's definitely much different than what we were used to in Skagit.
We had fun moments---like enlarging the goat pen, delivering 2 sets of triplet baby goats, setting up an electric wire, several clutches of baby geese/chickens and new pets like hermit crabs and turkeys.
We had very sad and challenging moments--- a pig dying, a tough kidding season, several raccoon/coyote attacks and rat infestations. I can't say it's been an easy process but I know the Lord is working everything out for our good. :)
We got to taste the benefits of our hard work--- (quite literally!) we tried meat from our healthy pig, tasted goose meat and of course ate the yearly batch of roosters... And when our hard work proved to be fruitless we felt the sting, and found the courage to push on even harder--- Baby chicks that failed to thrive, 6 baby goats that died from coccidiosis and persistent, farm-wide de-worming issues causing weight problems. All this to say-it's been a huge adventure, filled with both smooth and bumpy rides!
In our family, 2016 saw Elijah turn 6, Kiana turn 11, Lydia turn Sweet 16 , both the boys turn 17, me turn a scary 20 yrs old, and Mom & Dad turn their *undisclosed, mysterious* ages. ;) Mom and Dad celebrated their Anniversary in October too.
Nana came to live with us towards the end of the year. Mom and her rode on a train all the way from AZ to do that! It has definitely been a challenge, but we are blessed with the opportunity to serve her & share the gospel with her for the remainder of her life. I moved into the manufactured home with Nana and gained some experience with care-giving since then.We all caught (and re-caught!) Influenza A in late December. Nana fell and fractured 4 ribs & dislocated her shoulder, we found out that grandma has a weird mass in her left lung and are praying that it's not lung cancer.
I got my first car and had a fun trip with my Dad driving it back to WA. We Visited Aunt Michelle's house and visited with Her, Wyatt and Uncle Terry. We also stopped in Cali and saw Uncle Lynn, Aunt Lisa and Lindsay & Logan along the way.
We had visits from family too. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit earlier in the year & Aunt Michelle and Grandma came to visit right before Christmas.
We've had typical family drama, but also tons of fun and time to build an even greater love for one another that far surpasses the negatives we face. Us four oldest children have enjoyed close discipleship from godly people and their faithful teaching of the Word, and we've all grown so much closer to the Lord individually, and as a family over this past year. "He who began a good work in you WILL see it through to completion..." and I can really see that in all of us. :)
In March, Mom and I participated in a 6 week Crossfit Ladies challenge and loved it so much that our whole family started doing it. We had tons of fun at CrossFit Marysville and CrossFit Lake Stevens. We changed our diet and cut out sugar and most grains. We all felt amazingly good and I lost a total of 40 pounds! It's amazing to see such change. It's empowering and I hope we will continue it! We went on a temporary hiatus when Dad hurt his back trying to deadlift too much weight. Thankfully no permanent damage!
We've enjoyed adventures with friends and built friendships with many. We celebrated Easter with friends and Thanksgiving twice-with both friends and family. We had fun-in choir, playing volleyball, game nights, long talks, wrestling matches, water fights, graduations, lazer tag, delivering baby goats, riding ferry's, snapchatting, rollerskating, and exploring forts. Looking forward to more adventures with our awesome friends!
Looking forward to everything 2017 has in store for us!
We started out 2016 living in our travel trailer @ the Jamieson's house and shortly moved into our current house in Arlington. We had planned on moving in October, but the Lord had other plans! We got the floors re-finished and peeled off a bunch of wallpaper before moving in. Since that time we've been slowly but steadily re-modeling our house/property and getting ourselves settled in.
In this last year we've learned a lot about animal management in Snohomish County. It's definitely much different than what we were used to in Skagit.
We had very sad and challenging moments--- a pig dying, a tough kidding season, several raccoon/coyote attacks and rat infestations. I can't say it's been an easy process but I know the Lord is working everything out for our good. :)
We got to taste the benefits of our hard work--- (quite literally!) we tried meat from our healthy pig, tasted goose meat and of course ate the yearly batch of roosters... And when our hard work proved to be fruitless we felt the sting, and found the courage to push on even harder--- Baby chicks that failed to thrive, 6 baby goats that died from coccidiosis and persistent, farm-wide de-worming issues causing weight problems. All this to say-it's been a huge adventure, filled with both smooth and bumpy rides!
In our family, 2016 saw Elijah turn 6, Kiana turn 11, Lydia turn Sweet 16 , both the boys turn 17, me turn a scary 20 yrs old, and Mom & Dad turn their *undisclosed, mysterious* ages. ;) Mom and Dad celebrated their Anniversary in October too.
Nana came to live with us towards the end of the year. Mom and her rode on a train all the way from AZ to do that! It has definitely been a challenge, but we are blessed with the opportunity to serve her & share the gospel with her for the remainder of her life. I moved into the manufactured home with Nana and gained some experience with care-giving since then.We all caught (and re-caught!) Influenza A in late December. Nana fell and fractured 4 ribs & dislocated her shoulder, we found out that grandma has a weird mass in her left lung and are praying that it's not lung cancer.
I got my first car and had a fun trip with my Dad driving it back to WA. We Visited Aunt Michelle's house and visited with Her, Wyatt and Uncle Terry. We also stopped in Cali and saw Uncle Lynn, Aunt Lisa and Lindsay & Logan along the way.
We had visits from family too. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit earlier in the year & Aunt Michelle and Grandma came to visit right before Christmas.
We've had typical family drama, but also tons of fun and time to build an even greater love for one another that far surpasses the negatives we face. Us four oldest children have enjoyed close discipleship from godly people and their faithful teaching of the Word, and we've all grown so much closer to the Lord individually, and as a family over this past year. "He who began a good work in you WILL see it through to completion..." and I can really see that in all of us. :)
In March, Mom and I participated in a 6 week Crossfit Ladies challenge and loved it so much that our whole family started doing it. We had tons of fun at CrossFit Marysville and CrossFit Lake Stevens. We changed our diet and cut out sugar and most grains. We all felt amazingly good and I lost a total of 40 pounds! It's amazing to see such change. It's empowering and I hope we will continue it! We went on a temporary hiatus when Dad hurt his back trying to deadlift too much weight. Thankfully no permanent damage!
We've enjoyed adventures with friends and built friendships with many. We celebrated Easter with friends and Thanksgiving twice-with both friends and family. We had fun-in choir, playing volleyball, game nights, long talks, wrestling matches, water fights, graduations, lazer tag, delivering baby goats, riding ferry's, snapchatting, rollerskating, and exploring forts. Looking forward to more adventures with our awesome friends!
Looking forward to everything 2017 has in store for us!
Wow! Just a great description of both your farm and personal/family life. I enjoy your writing. You should do more!
ReplyDelete