2012 Year In Review

 I had pictures picked out to represent each month for this post and for some reason blogger won't let me upload any photos from my computer today, so I had to stick to ones already on my blog.  Ahh, well, these'll do.  Last January we kept busy with the kids joining a shotgun 4-H club.  They enjoyed practising and shooting with other kids and we also got quite a bit of snow to play in.

 February was all about the chickens.  CT finally got his flock of bantam chickens - D'Uccles to be exact - the ones he'd been wanting and he spent all of his free time tending to and studying those chickens! He went to the auction with 'Grandma' several times as well and sold quite a few chickens and eggs and made a little money!  We also decided to put our house up for sale in February and spent a little time getting it in shape to sell.

 In March, we continued to keep the house clean and ready to show at a moment's notice and got outside to take some photos to chart the kids growth since we hadn't done any family portraits in over a year.

 April we took a 9 day trip over the mountains to visit my brothers and nieces!  The kids had such a good time and I always enjoy time with my brothers.

 May we had some unusually hot weather for Mother's day so we spent the day at Alder Lake.  We also had a little of puppies!  This made the kids whole year I think - they loved every minute of helping to raise those pups and still talk about each puppy like it's a member of the family.

 In June we got away to the ocean with my sister in law's and their families to celebrate my husband's sister's bday.  Fun house to stay in, lots of food and of course time with family is always a blast!

 We also sold our house in June so the packing began and the decision on which house to purchase and move to had to be made!

 In July we set out for the 5 hr drive to Winthrop to camp with my husband's side of the family to celebrate all the boy's July birthdays!

 August - We moved into our new home!  We are still so thankful to be able to live in such a beautiful house in a wonderful community.  Looking forward to each season in this place and growing caring for it.

 September - we had a housewarming / end of Summer party, we invited pretty much everyone we knew, cooked a pig in the ground, set up canopies, Mom and Dad camped out in their trailer and some friends stayed in our outfitter tent and we partied for 3 days. 

 In October we unexpectedly lost my husband's Mom.  We will always treasure the year and half she lived with us, enabling our children to really get to know her.  It's still so strange to think we can't just pick up the phone and check in with her - especially during the holidays.  We spent two weeks in CA visiting her in the hospital and also getting to visit with many family members. 

 Reunions weren't planned for this year but we sure got them - in the form of funerals, as we also lost my Grandma in November.  Thankful for the visit we were able to have with her when two of my aunts drove Grandma and Grandpa out to see our new home in October. 

 September, November and December I also got back out to do some elk hunting - I'm able to hunt just down the road and all around our house so I can come back in for lunch and then head out again.  Came across several herds this year and I enjoy being out in the woods just listening to nature and paying attention to the surroundings - give me that over a day shopping or touring the city any day!  I didn't bring home any meat like our son did for the second year in a row ( Great job CT!) but I'll keep at it!

December we've enjoyed decorating the new house, spending time together as a family and planning all of the projects we want to start up this new year!  Took the kids to discover the library in our new little town today so they are now laying around reading by the wood stove, giving me time to write this blog post and now that I've reached the end, I'll head downstairs to check on my chicken soup and possibly start on the library book I borrowed!  God has been so good to us this throughout the losses and the gains and if I can only set a good example for Christ for the kids God has given me to raise so that they grow up to want to serve Him with everything they have I will feel just a little bit successful in this life!