Happy New Year!!! I love to do these annual reviews as they give me much needed perspective about the year. The review also helps me decide what to focus on in the coming year. I know that I am looking forward to more routine and better habits in 2019 as this year has been filled with tremendous transition and upheaval.
My biggest wishes for 2019 are to return to our newly rebuilt home and develop structure, order, and routine into our lives so that we can move forward in tackling our dreams.
Started with gorgeous snow blanketing the earth and was probably our most peaceful, quiet month.
Josef and Jonathan finished their basketball seasons playing for the town leagues.
Peter Fillerup, of Anson Fillerup Design, visited us in New York and created a gorgeous and practical design for our house.
I finished the Self-Reliance course on Starting Your Own Business, which gave me invaluable tools in building my genealogy consulting business.
Winter started preschool and loves it!
Winter also turned 4 years old.
Trent got a nasty impetigo infection on his forehead- leading to future outbreaks in his siblings throughout the year.
February
I went to Madrid with two of my favorite people in the world, Christine and Laurel. It was wonderful to be back in Europe and to explore a new-to-me country.
Brent and I celebrated 21 years of marriage.
Trent wrestled on his High School Wrestling Team.
We had an uncharacteristically warm day in February which led to a blissful outing at the beach.
I presented about writing a personal history to a local chapter of the DAR.
We hired a contractor to rebuild our house.
Brooke got impetigo.
March
A series of storms slammed the northeast and our little town was hammered. We lost power for over a week and the kids had snow days for several days. We spent a lot of time connecting as a family.
Brooke marched in a St. Patrick's Day parade with her best friend.
Josef held a chicken.
Winter went on an Easter egg hunt with her friends.
We hired an architect and tried to resolve a tricky septic issue with the town and we started working with a kitchen designer.
I turned 41 years old.
Jonathan performed in his elementary school production of "Knight at Dawn."
Winter got impetigo.
Walter competed at WESEF.
Walter got accepted to BYU-Provo.
Winter started preschool and loves it!
Winter also turned 4 years old.
Trent got a nasty impetigo infection on his forehead- leading to future outbreaks in his siblings throughout the year.
February
I went to Madrid with two of my favorite people in the world, Christine and Laurel. It was wonderful to be back in Europe and to explore a new-to-me country.
Brent and I celebrated 21 years of marriage.
Trent wrestled on his High School Wrestling Team.
We had an uncharacteristically warm day in February which led to a blissful outing at the beach.
I presented about writing a personal history to a local chapter of the DAR.
We hired a contractor to rebuild our house.
Brooke got impetigo.
March
A series of storms slammed the northeast and our little town was hammered. We lost power for over a week and the kids had snow days for several days. We spent a lot of time connecting as a family.
Brooke marched in a St. Patrick's Day parade with her best friend.
Josef held a chicken.
Winter went on an Easter egg hunt with her friends.
We hired an architect and tried to resolve a tricky septic issue with the town and we started working with a kitchen designer.
I turned 41 years old.
Jonathan performed in his elementary school production of "Knight at Dawn."
Winter got impetigo.
Walter competed at WESEF.
Walter got accepted to BYU-Provo.
April
We visited Sweden, Norway, and Denmark where we visited our friends and went to all our favorite spots.
We packed and moved to a new house.
We worked on getting the permits approved for our house so we could start rebuilding.
Winter had another bout with impetigo and the doctor gave us surgical scrub to stop the cycle.
Brooke performed in her middle school musical, "The Wiz"
Trent stuck a tiny piece of tape in his ear and I removed it myself instead of going to the ER.
Walter competed at two other science fair competitions.
We visited Sweden, Norway, and Denmark where we visited our friends and went to all our favorite spots.
We packed and moved to a new house.
We worked on getting the permits approved for our house so we could start rebuilding.
Winter had another bout with impetigo and the doctor gave us surgical scrub to stop the cycle.
Brooke performed in her middle school musical, "The Wiz"
Trent stuck a tiny piece of tape in his ear and I removed it myself instead of going to the ER.
Walter competed at two other science fair competitions.
May
We tried to settle into our new rental and hoped that work would commence on the house.
I got a KitchenAid stand mixer I dubbed Martha.
Brooke, Winter, and I drove to Kentucky to visit two of my sisters.
My husband's sister and her family visited at the end of May.
We went to our first ever professional baseball game--we saw the Mets.
Jonathan and his 3rd grade class visited Hammond Gardens.
June
They started working on the house.
The septic guy redid our septic system.
Josef graduated from 8th grade.
Walter went to prom and graduated from high school.
The 2017-2018 school year ended.
Winter went to her first swimming lesson.
Brooke attended New Beginnings in anticipation of joining the Young Women Organization in August.
Brooke and Josef started practicing for swim team.
Walter and Josef went to scout camp.
Brooke went to her first Girls Camp.
July
Brent and Jonathan went to Wyoming for Independence Day.
We couldn't renew our lease and had to start looking for new housing.
We went to the beach as much as we could.
Work on our house was very, very slow.
I had a mini breakdown in the middle of the month because I was exactly in the same place a year ago: my house was still burned down, we didn't have a place to live in September, and my son was still struggling badly with depression.
The 3 younger kids and I drove to Wyoming with stops at Wall Drug and Mount Rushmore. We went camping with my sisters and parents.
Trent turned 17.
Josef turned 15.
August
Walter and Trent got their wisdom teeth removed.
We attended Brent's niece's wedding in Utah.
Brent was called and ordained to serve as Bishop of our ward.
We prepared to move, again.
I went on a quest to find a bed I could sleep on without suffering.
Brooke went to the temple for the first time.
My son was able to get some much needed treatment for his depression.
I took two trips to Wilkes-Barre and Plymouth, PA to do on-site family history research.
We went to the beach and Six Flags.
We enjoyed the Dutchess County Fair.
We negotiated a new lease and didn't have to move, hallelujah!!!
Walter left for his Freshman year at BYU-Provo. Brent flew out with him to get him settled.
Brooke turned 12.
September
All the kids started school: Winter (preschool), Jonathan (4th grade), Brooke (7th grade), Josef (9th grade), Trent (11th grade), Walter (university).
I went to Nashville for a scrapbook retreat and made some new wonderful friends.
I visited Wyoming for a quick weekend.
Trent PASSED his driving test and is now a fully fledged driver!!!!
We tried to settle into our new rental and hoped that work would commence on the house.
I got a KitchenAid stand mixer I dubbed Martha.
Brooke, Winter, and I drove to Kentucky to visit two of my sisters.
My husband's sister and her family visited at the end of May.
We went to our first ever professional baseball game--we saw the Mets.
Jonathan and his 3rd grade class visited Hammond Gardens.
June
They started working on the house.
The septic guy redid our septic system.
Josef graduated from 8th grade.
Walter went to prom and graduated from high school.
The 2017-2018 school year ended.
Winter went to her first swimming lesson.
Brooke attended New Beginnings in anticipation of joining the Young Women Organization in August.
Brooke and Josef started practicing for swim team.
Walter and Josef went to scout camp.
Brooke went to her first Girls Camp.
July
Brent and Jonathan went to Wyoming for Independence Day.
We couldn't renew our lease and had to start looking for new housing.
We went to the beach as much as we could.
Work on our house was very, very slow.
I had a mini breakdown in the middle of the month because I was exactly in the same place a year ago: my house was still burned down, we didn't have a place to live in September, and my son was still struggling badly with depression.
The 3 younger kids and I drove to Wyoming with stops at Wall Drug and Mount Rushmore. We went camping with my sisters and parents.
Trent turned 17.
Josef turned 15.
August
Walter and Trent got their wisdom teeth removed.
We attended Brent's niece's wedding in Utah.
Brent was called and ordained to serve as Bishop of our ward.
We prepared to move, again.
I went on a quest to find a bed I could sleep on without suffering.
Brooke went to the temple for the first time.
My son was able to get some much needed treatment for his depression.
I took two trips to Wilkes-Barre and Plymouth, PA to do on-site family history research.
We went to the beach and Six Flags.
We enjoyed the Dutchess County Fair.
We negotiated a new lease and didn't have to move, hallelujah!!!
Walter left for his Freshman year at BYU-Provo. Brent flew out with him to get him settled.
Brooke turned 12.
September
All the kids started school: Winter (preschool), Jonathan (4th grade), Brooke (7th grade), Josef (9th grade), Trent (11th grade), Walter (university).
I went to Nashville for a scrapbook retreat and made some new wonderful friends.
I visited Wyoming for a quick weekend.
Trent PASSED his driving test and is now a fully fledged driver!!!!
October
Brent had PRK surgery on his eyes to correct his very, very bad vision.
The kids visited their dad at IBM for a full day of learning and activities.
Jonathan was chosen to work on the Safety Patrol.
Winter wrote letters to her cousins with elaborate drawings and stories.
Walter turned 19.
Jonathan turned 9.
Winter and I visited the Botanical Garden in New York City.
Brooke dressed up as Pliny the Younger and her friend dressed up as Mount Vesuvius.
Winter dressed up as Rapunzel (because the dress was purple) for Halloween.
The rebuild of our house actually started to pick up.
November
I was sick all month with a bad cold and sinus infection, and then I suffered from some side effects of the antibiotics.
I went to the Met Opera for the first time with friends.
Brooke and I went to a Christmas craft activity.
I did a lot of genealogy research on my own family.
Trent and Josef went to the Harvest Ball.
I finally figured out that my design style is Scandinavian.
We tweaked our kitchen design and made more choices about the house.
We went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for Thanksgiving with two of my sisters and their families.
December
More house preparations and finally getting ready to move.
Lots of Christmas preparations.
I discovered a new author-Susanna Kearsley.
We celebrated Advent and worked on a beautiful book about Jesus Christ throughout the season.
Winter was the most beautiful Lucia girl and we celebrated the holiday at her preschool.
Brent and I had a much-needed getaway.
Tile, trim, paint!!!!
We had a big PTSA fundraiser.
Brent and I attended Handel's Messiah at the Carnegie Hall which was performed by Musica Sacra.
We attended some wonderful Christmas parties full of music and friends.
Some of the kids went with Brent and me to NYC for a wonderful Christmas Eve.
We had a fantastic Christmas.
We went ice skating as a family and then absolutely crushed an escape room.
Brent celebrated his 43rd birthday!
So there you go, a super crazy, stressful, busy, adventurous year.
Brent had PRK surgery on his eyes to correct his very, very bad vision.
The kids visited their dad at IBM for a full day of learning and activities.
Jonathan was chosen to work on the Safety Patrol.
Winter wrote letters to her cousins with elaborate drawings and stories.
Walter turned 19.
Jonathan turned 9.
Winter and I visited the Botanical Garden in New York City.
Brooke dressed up as Pliny the Younger and her friend dressed up as Mount Vesuvius.
Winter dressed up as Rapunzel (because the dress was purple) for Halloween.
The rebuild of our house actually started to pick up.
November
I was sick all month with a bad cold and sinus infection, and then I suffered from some side effects of the antibiotics.
I went to the Met Opera for the first time with friends.
Brooke and I went to a Christmas craft activity.
I did a lot of genealogy research on my own family.
Trent and Josef went to the Harvest Ball.
I finally figured out that my design style is Scandinavian.
We tweaked our kitchen design and made more choices about the house.
We went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for Thanksgiving with two of my sisters and their families.
December
More house preparations and finally getting ready to move.
Lots of Christmas preparations.
I discovered a new author-Susanna Kearsley.
We celebrated Advent and worked on a beautiful book about Jesus Christ throughout the season.
Winter was the most beautiful Lucia girl and we celebrated the holiday at her preschool.
Brent and I had a much-needed getaway.
Tile, trim, paint!!!!
We had a big PTSA fundraiser.
Brent and I attended Handel's Messiah at the Carnegie Hall which was performed by Musica Sacra.
We attended some wonderful Christmas parties full of music and friends.
Some of the kids went with Brent and me to NYC for a wonderful Christmas Eve.
We had a fantastic Christmas.
We went ice skating as a family and then absolutely crushed an escape room.
Brent celebrated his 43rd birthday!
So there you go, a super crazy, stressful, busy, adventurous year.
