2014

Today is January 1st, 2014! 2013 is over. I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions for 2013. At this time last year Joel and Alyssa were just five and half months old and Kaitlyn was just under two and a half years old. I was mostly just trying to survive being up half the night with them and feeding them all day long. I guess my only real goal for 2013 was to keep the kids alive, and it seems I succeeded.

This last year was quite a roller coaster. There were a lot of good moments.....Joel and Alyssa's first birthday and Kaitlyn's 3rd birthday. Seeing them all dressed up as Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger for Halloween. Watching Joel and Alyssa learn to crawl and walk. Teaching Kaitlyn to spell her first words. Watching the kids begin to laugh and play together. Lots of hugs and cuddles and smiles. And there were a lot of difficult moments.... so much screaming. Dirty diapers times three. Fighting over toys and mommy's lap. So many doctor appointments and two surgeries. Lots of colds, fevers, throwing up, and grumpy days. Not enough sleep for mommy and daddy and hardly any time for a few minutes alone without the kids.

It's hard to imagine where we will be a year from now. Maybe we will have at least one kid potty trained, and everybody sleeping through the night? Maybe Paul will get a new job? Maybe it will be easier to get out of the house? Ha ha, well at least I can dream!

I have set some goals for 2014. Seven things that I hope to accomplish. I won't write all the specifics of the goals, but the general topics of the goals are: reading the Bible, writing in my journal, reading books about parenting and homeschooling issues, posting here on my blog, losing weight, catching up on my family yearbooks, and doing art and cooking projects with Kaitlyn. So far today I am doing good on my goals!