New Year Amongst Us!

Hard to believe that 2013 is over and 2014 is now amongst us!  Truly I mean this when I say it...."where did the time go"?!  Since Christmas was all about the hustle and bustle and enjoying the season with our families, we decided that the New Year celebration was going to be all about our little family.  Bringing in the New Year together, at our new home, making new memories was what we wanted to do.  Nobody else around, but us...man, we had such a fun night, too.  I wanted something fun, something that could possibly be a new tradition for us, but not tacky or boring.....so, I found on Pinterest the idea about activity bags and time capsules.....that got me thinking and I created our own version and combined the two!  I created hourly activity bags that consisted of items that would go into our 2013 memory box and boy, was it a hit!  Ethan, loved everything about it and kept us on time.  We started at 5pm and each hour brought something new.  We created handprints, answered questions from the year, ate treats, drew pictures, played games, and finally created our memory box.  It was really fun and will now be our new tradition for each and every New Year's Eve.....I'm looking forward to what fun we will have at the end of 2014 when we open that box, before creating a new one!  I love my family and truly, love that we can have as much fun as we do with just being us!  What a fun New Years!!!

While we were waiting for the ball to drop and enjoying our little party here at home, I couldn't help but think back upon the year......it truly was a really good one for us!  It's funny, b/c thinking back to where we were last year at this time, I remember sitting in our living room at our home in New Phila, drinking coffee, and wondering where would 2013 take us?  It seemed like we had such a hard year ahead, but now looking back, it wasn't bad at all!   My #1 goal (aka: resolution) was to get Colin potty trained!  I thought for sure it was going to take a long time to get accomplished, b/c last January marked 7 months that we were trying to get it done and he had no interest.....well, January 20th, 2013 that all changed and little man took his 1st pee in his potty all by himself, by Feburary he was doing both 1 & 2 in the potty, and my March he was getting us to go.  Let's just say, when the flood gates opened there was no turning back! YAY!!  I'm learning with Colin, when he wants to do it, he'll do it!  So proud of my little monkey, 2013 was a great year for him...he accomplished the potty, started Equestrian therapy, started preschool, and has really come out of his shell!  My #2 resolution was for Ethan...you see 2013 started out rough for him!  He hated school, I mean getting him into the building was torture and he cried every day.  I knew something was wrong and tried my best to fix it, but I quickly realized this wasn't my battle to fight....he had to learn to stick up for himself!  So, after a conference and a few discussions at home with him, he did it....he defended himself and after that moment on the playground, he started to change and I knew it would be ok.....Finally, my #3 resolution was to get my husband happy! LOL!!  I knew for awhile he hated our house in New Phila and actually, just hated living in New Phila to be honest....so, going against what I wanted (at the time) we decided last January to put our house on the market!  I knew for sure it wouldn't sell and we'd still be there, so signing a 6 month contract with a realtor didn't seem all that bad.....well, it went on the market Feburary 2013 and by the end of March, it was sold!!!  Had no idea where we were going, but the house was no longer ours and finding a new home was a must......that lead us here, to where I sit right now typing this blog post, in our home, in Gnadenhutten!!!  This is the place we always said that "one day we'll call home" and sure enough, we did it!

Anyway, I'm so proud to say that all 3 of my resolutions were accomplished....1) Colin is potty trained and further along than I ever imagined 2) Ethan accomplished kindergarten and LOVES being an Indian Valley Brave now, completely different kid and doing well in his new school and 3) My husband is happier than ever being here....I knew, but didn't realize how unhappy he was being in New Phila and the move to Gnadenhutten was just what we needed.  Turns out that the fears I had last year are now something I can look back and laugh about, because my prayers were answered!