Here it is, a new year. A great adventure. So much has happened since 2019 began and it was definitely not my favorite year but it was filled with so many lessons and it led me here, to this day. For that, I am grateful.
The Word of 2020
My word of this year is appreciation. Thanks to the book I’ve been reading, Holy Everywhere, I want to be more intentional about appreciating the people and things around me. I want to fully stop and take notice again of things like the glimmer in my children’s eyes and the descent of birds into the bushes nearest my window. I find that it’s so much easier to remain in the light if you are surrounding yourself and your thoughts with all of the amazing things you have in your life. Where I live now, I don’t dread the rain because I know that the waterfalls will be perfect afterward. I’m trying to view life the same way.
A Fresh Start
At the end of September, we packed up our lives and moved from New Jersey to Tennessee. It had been a discussion for years but always seemed to be an unattainable dream. So when it suddenly began to come together, it felt like we climbed aboard a dandelion seed and floated to our destination like a wish made to come true. Now just to keep us grounded in real life, I’ll remind you that this dandelion seed was actually a minivan with no hub caps (it’s true, all of my hub caps fell off at some point!). And this ‘floating’ was actually a twelve hour drive with kids, pets, and a ton of bathroom breaks. (Can we go completely off topic for a minute and add that I even got stopped by the police because my “license plate light” was out and the officer actually asked a mom driving a car full of children if she had a rocket launcher, among other things? I’m sure this is a routine question but I couldn’t stop laughing! If my blog didn’t already have a name, I’d probably be Rocket Launcher Mom now.)
My point is that things are different now. We were blessed with a fresh start. We’ve got a bigger, yet more affordable home in a place surrounded by waterfalls and views you might see on a screensaver. I’m not going to let it slip away, I’m going to appreciate any rainstorms that come my way and that starts now.
The Importance of Family
One day at church, I was drawn to the sign about preschool. Without any warning or planning, suddenly I felt led to put my youngest into preschool two days a week. She’s always been very advanced and it just felt like the time was now. She already loves it so much! In September, she’ll begin preschool full time so this seemed like a good introduction to the structure. I was completely unprepared for the idea that all of my children would be in school. How could they have grown this fast?
More than ever, I am determined to capitalize on my time with them. We’ve always done movie nights but now we’ve adopted themes for our movie nights. Currently, we do Star Wars Saturday which means that one-by-one, we’re watching the entire series in chronological order. On top of movie nights, we’re going back to Family Fridays. Family Fridays are usually when we gather around and play board games. If anyone has suggestions for other things to do together, please do share with us!
We’ve also become a huge outdoorsy family. Hiking is [almost] all of the kids’ favorite activity and we sure moved to one of the best places in America for hiking! It’s great exercise and the views are astonishing. The entire adventure is invigorating and I’m hoping the kids will never forget it.
Other Goals
I love my blog and it’s really helped us expand our horizons as far as products and experiences…but it’s really lacking lately. I’m so disappointed about that but I’m determined to fix it! I didn’t write nearly as many posts in 2019 as I had in previous years and I certainly didn’t share many creative posts. I probably didn’t even spend much time being creative. I want to share more tutorials and creative ideas with you all. Time management needs to happen, especially now that I have specific days that my house will be entirely quiet and I can concentrate and get things done! You WILL see more from The Quirky Mom Next Door and team this year, I promise!
I’ve got some other things in the works but I feel like they’re best suited for another post. We’ll talk cleaning, organization, and home decor now that I’m in a new and large home. There’s so much more to share so stay tuned for all of our adventures in 2020!