We’re at the end of the year and I have a moment to sit and look back on 2023. What a year it was…. and my gosh, even that is such an understatement. I would like to start at the beginning and touch briefly (or not so briefly, we’ll see) on the major points of the year to give you a little update.
Leaving Okinawa
Early in the year, we moved back to the States after living in Okinawa, Japan for 4 years (6 years for Anthony). 30+ hours of travel time with 2 small children went way smoother than I could have ever hoped. They both slept for most of the longest flight and J watched Toy Story 3 times.
When we got back, I saw snow for the first time in 4 years and the girls got to experience it for the first time in their lives! Imagine seeing snow for the first time at 3 years old!! Oh, she was excited.
When people hear that we lived in Okinawa I get one of two questions.
1: What was that like?
2: Do you miss it?
I stumble over my words answering the first question because there are no words to quickly explain the most incredible 4 years of my life. People are usually content with, “It was amazing,” or, “I loved it.” But that doesn’t even touch the surface. It was another life.
And I miss it every day.
Moving in with family
I am trying to be brief… I will touch more on specific areas in other posts in the future. For now, let’s get through this so I don’t feel so bad about ghosting this blog for a year.
Immediately after coming back, we moved in with a family member.
We had a perfect plan. We would live with family for a couple of years so we could get our feet under us after such a huge move. We began renovating an unfinished part of their house so we could have our own space. Long-term plans to build our own house were in the works. It was going to be great.
And then it wasn’t.
We quickly realized that these circumstances were not going to work for our family. We felt so strongly that God was leading us AWAY from every single plan we had laid out.
It honestly caught me off guard, but we quickly got to work on creating a backup plan. A plan that would include a lot more prayer than the first.
And that takes us to….
Becoming homeowners
In October we bought our first home!
We bought a dirty 1910 fixer-upper on a small lot with no yard, in a neighborhood with a bad reputation.
I was… reluctant. This house was so far from my “ideal” it was hard for me at first. But I have come to accept that God chose this house for us. He has us here for a reason and I have fully committed to trusting Him (and my husband) on this one.
Not only am I committed. I am excited.
This is our first house, not our forever house and we will make the VERY most of it while we are here.
We have begun some renovations and I’ve been painting non-stop. It’s been a lot. and it’s been a mess. but it’s OUR mess and I love it.
Plans moving forward
Now that I’m back online (and I really am back, I swear), I will be posting more and sharing some of the reno process with you.
I’m eager to share house updates, but this is still my mama blog. I’m working on my 2024 planning and it includes more kids’ projects and some of my first homeschooling content. As well as getting my Etsy shop back up and running. There are lots of exciting things in the works.
It’s refreshing to sit here and know that I am home. I can make plans knowing that there is no huge move coming up or family drama to get in the way of my goals.
It’s just me, my girls, the world’s most supportive husband, and a house that needs a massive amount of TLC (not even kidding, the dining room currently has no walls…)
That’s enough of an update for now. Happy New Year!!!
P.S. We adopted a rescue mutt too 🙂
