January Lookback

Ah, January.  The first page in a story of a year.  The promise of new habits, better health, and grand horizons.

We try not to feel jaded by it all mid month.....

I love a clean slate: mornings, Mondays, New Year. The start of something new. Reboot. Do-again.

 A New Year's tradition: making homemade noodles

I don't know if anything grand will become of 2017. But, I hope that I can grow closer to my Jesus, more firmly rooted in Him, by the time 17 rolls to 18.

But this month. January.  It gave us some cold, not much snow, and even a few days that hit the 60's (what?!?) We stayed busy with Owen's basketball, Paul's basketball announcing, and an assortment of commitments that kept us hopping just about each day of the week.

 Last day of break consisted of building all of the Legos they got from grandparents

For the most part, that's OK, as long as we are doing it together, and we have a chance in the middle of it to enjoy a meal together.  Sometimes those meals were eaten in Paul's classroom, but we were together nonetheless.

January, you kept us moving.

You kept us moving with so much momentum that here we are a week into February already. So, I pause for a moment and look over the photo montage. Because well, I like to.

Most weekends were spent watching basketball of some sort. Whether it was 4th graders...

...or high-schoolers from up in the cheap-seats




I'm trying something new: each week one of the kids helps me meal plan and then helps with dinner.  Egg Drop Soup, Spaghetti , and Breakfast Sandwiches were the hits


We had one snow day that involved the kids getting all their schoolwork done through e-learning. Then we all headed out for Tacos to celebrate Hannah hitting a reading goal at school.
We celebrated Paul turning 35...

And a post-Christmas gathering with the Steffens.  The Karen/Brian gift exchange is always a highlight.

Friday night pizza in a classroom before a basketball game. Yea for Book-It! Pizzas!


There were a handful of pleasant days that we needed to get out and enjoy before the sunset.


Madeline celebrating 100 days of school. Her 100 items of choice: 100 broken crayons.

I had the opportunity to sit on a training call with one of the top leaders in my side business. Plus I got to spend a day with some of my fellow teammates. Makes me so excited for where my business is going and what I can do with the increase to fund the Great Commission.

Spirit week for Homecoming. One of the day's themes was "Salad Dressing."
Paul went as the Sneeze Guard.....

Enjoying the cold winter evenings that we can gather around the woodstove and listen to some CS Lewis and Voyage of the Dawntreader.

And finally, a night out with this guy.  We went on TWO whole dates in 2016.  My desire is to increase that significantly!

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