Looking Back At 2013

A lot can happen in a year…

January-

The beginning of 2013 was hard. Still emotionally very raw after Tenney’s death, still in the first weeks post-partum with baby number nine, still in the first few months of Ian being post-treatment for a cancer known to relapse up to 10 (or more) years later, I spent a lot of time sitting, quietly watching my children play, quietly processing and reflecting on the previous year and a half, quietly waiting for our cold and short Minnesota winter days to begin to grow warmer and longer.

It was a quiet month, with only 1 post. It’s Scan Time Again. It was all I could manage at the time.

February-

It was still cold, and our days were still too short. I was still keeping pretty quiet, both figuratively and literally. But things were picking up.

I admitted my fears. The Truth Is, I Was Scared. Scanxiety is hard. Every time.

There was some fun in the snow. There were many smoothies made and consumed. And my baby was growing way too fast. I let go of my hope of ever catching up with the scrapbooks and decided that Instagram Is the New Scrapbooking. I still believe that.

March-

My baby grew up too quickly. They all do. Things were still so hard. Every day. More so than I expected, which felt crazy, because how can anyone know what to expect after going through the amount of crazy hard that our family has went through. Realizing how much Ian still struggles every day was emotionally so hard I have a hard time talking about it, even to my closest friends and family. This baby was, and continues to be, the most blessed of distractions. 3 Months.

April-

Left with a deep sense of “Now what?!”, I wrote about the continuing hard. An Overdue Update.

In the midst of the never-ending hard, we got outside and played hard in the late winter snows (while our southern friends were enjoying the return of green grass and starting their gardens. I tried not to be jealous, but, my efforts were often in vain.) Wordless Wednesday.

May-

Another Mother’s Day brought more kid-made cards and gifts and another day to stop and reflect on motherhood. It changes us, more profoundly each year if we let it. I love the words in this one. A Mother’s Creed.

Spring had finally sprung, and my baby just kept growing up way too fast. Saturday Snapshots.

June-

Amazon broke up with me (as well as every other blogger in the great over-taxed-already state of Minnesota.) Amazon Is Breaking Up With Me.

I worked my way through a number of good books. #iheartbooks My Summer Reading List.

Also, we had a graduation party for Ian! I didn’t really write about it, but I captured some great memories with my ever-ready camera! Saturday Snapshots.

July-

Summer was in full swing, and our children had much fun in the sun, and the dirt, and mud puddles! I kept hearing Ferris Bueller in my head as I contemplated the speed of life 🙂 Who Moved My June

Also, little Faith was looking so sweet on the 4th of July, sending me down memory lane wearing the dress I made for her much older sister. I wrote a little story about a mom and her sewing machine 🙂 Saturday Snapshots.

August-

August was big for me. Big ups and big downs.

It started out with the hardest birthday since the last one, which was the hardest one since the one before it. I want to change my birthday day. Is there a way to do that? I think I’m just going to pick a different day, because my birthday is forever tainted. So I Had a Birthday.

But things were about to pick up. My Plea Went Viral. It was pretty awesome.

Because of that plea, because of a moment when a mom took action rather than just thinking a wishful thought, because that action was multiplied by the many actions of others stirred to help, Ian got to meet a real American hero! Meeting Marcus Luttrell and Team Never Quit.

And then this happened! Watch Glenn Beck Tell Part of Our Story {Video}

The rest of August brought more medical stuff, with our 2 year old ending up hospitalized with a mystery gastro thing for the second time, and down to Children’s for some tests, which didn’t show anything conclusive, so it’s still a mystery thing that we are praying doesn’t happen again. So far, so good. We may never know what that was, or why she got so sick for so many days, requiring IV fluids on two occasions, but if it never happens again I’m fine with that. The Past Couple Weeks.

September-

September Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

I put my first self-published knitting pattern up for sale on Ravelry and here on the blog! Girly Mitts Wrist Warmers Knitting Pattern.

We made it down to Minneapolis for the 2nd annual lighting up the bridge in gold Childhood Cancer Awareness event. We missed it the previous year because Ian was in hospital getting his last round of chemo. The Awareness Is Spreading.

We finished out September, Childhood Cancer Awareness month Missing Tenney SO much. It was coming up on a year since he lost his battle against cancer, and that horrible anniversary was looming in the air, never far from our minds.

October-

I took a look at my filled-out calendar and took a big gulp. We were busy, crazy busy, and I realized that it was exactly what I wanted in this season of our lives. It’s a Good Busy For Now.

Fall moved in, we were busy all the time, and I got to thinking about motherhood and Why We Do What We Do.

Gracie did her math with the Duck Dynasty guys keeping her company. Wordless Wednesday

And my Grain Free Pumpkin Bars became the new favorite. Seriously. Yum! Now I want to get up and bake…

November-

November brought the anniversary of Tenney going to be with Jesus.

It had been almost a year since we had left our old church. I never wrote about leaving. It was really hard for us, and the reasons have really challenged IT Guy and I to examine where we stand on a number of issues. We don’t have everything figured out, but we have learned to embrace grace in a whole new way. Blest Be the Tie That Binds.

December-

Jaron did great in his Advanced Archery class and I made a cake. It wasn’t my best cake, but kids are easy to please (except for when they aren’t!) Saturday Snapshots

I thought about goals and resolutions, and made some, without the pressure. New Year’s Non-Binding Resolutions

And then I came up with my Mom Resolutions for the New Year and Every Day.

And now it’s 2014! Uffda! Time flies!