I have been an extremely bad blogger. I haven't posted since September which I think is officially y longest break from blogging. I tried to blog. Trust me, I wanted so badly to sit down and write, document, share the journey, but I had choices to make. Choices between spending twenty minutes with my boys, grading papers, or taking a shower ( I probably should've showered, but that's a different story). Life as a teacher, a mom, and a wife is insanely busy. I'm still struggling to create a balance between all. The bottom line: I survived. I survived life as a first year teacher making it through the first half of the year. I couldn't have done it without Dale, my family, or the awesome support at school. Family is paramount.
2013 ended much differently than it began. Last January I was starting a new job, considering grad school, and running my way towards my first 5k. Our goals as a family were to spend more time together, eat healthy, and save money. As we started thinking about our lives in Seattle, how to afford grad school, save money, and keep our family running, it was clear some choices had to be made. We had to finally recognize that we are adults (hard, I know, dont we all still feel 16?) with children, and need to make decisions in the best interest of our family. With that came our big Texas move, a move that has tested us but also rewarded us. We are already in 2014 and I am happy to say that we did accomplish all of our goals, and then some. Moving to Texas, has brought us closer to family (near and far). We celebrated Christmas with family for the first time in years. Instead of pining over missing family, we spend weekends with family, creating memories that our boys will undoubtedly carry with them forever. We finally have a "normal"schedule and get to eat dinner together every night instead of working opposite schedules. Kannon is learning how to read and Clark is showing us how to run the show. We bought a new car, a minivan, and are finally taking time to explore areas outside of Houston (which is a great city!) With all that said, we are thinking about 2014.
This year, we both want to get healthy and on a exercise routine. We want to continue eating semi-paleo. We want to grow a garden. Dale and I have made a commitment to spend more quality time with each other. We want to watch our family continue to grow and provide the boys with a loving home, full of new experiences and new learning. We want to take a vacation this year. Mostly, this yar is about continuing the things we started in 2013: our journey of parenting, growing up ourselves and enjoying every moment of life. I have been on break for the past few weeks. I had so much I wanted to accomplish but chose to spend the time with my kids, cook, run, sleep, and play. It has been glorious. With that said, I wish all of you a happy 2014 and encourage you all to dream big, start small, and enjoy life along the way.
