Well hello there!

If you follow me on Instagram stories, you might be up to speed on what's been going on with us. No matter what, though, here are some 2022 highlights for you:

1. We took a lot of trips this year:
   1. Houston TX, 3 nights
   2. Broken Bow OK, 3 nights
   3. New Orleans LA, 5-6 nights
   4. Baton Rouge LA, 3 nights
   5. Branson MO, 4-5 nights
   6. Nashville TN, 8 nights
   7. Hot Springs AR, 2 nights
2. We did some home projects but nothing too crazy this year.
   1. We turned our guest room (in the shop) into a kids' hangout.
   2. I built a bookshelf for Charlie.
   3. We hung Christmas lights outside the house for the first time!
3. Homeschooling and cooking remained roughly the same as usual!

Here's what you'll find in this newsletter!

• My favorite recipes lately
• Our new homeschooling routine
• Christmas!
• Personal goals for 2023
• and more

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My favorite recipes lately

We did a Whole30 that started in November and ended on December 10. We've done several rounds over the last 7 years. If you aren't familiar with Whole30, here's a super quick rundown. It's a sort of elimination diet. For 30 days, you fully eliminate these common allergens and intolerances: gluten grains, gluten-free grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, and alcohol. You can eat meat and eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, some oils, as well as most extracts. It's very interesting and a bit of a challenge, but we really enjoy it!

Important thing to mention: It's just 30 days. It's not meant to be forever! After the 30 days, you slowly reintroduce the gluten grains, gluten-free grains, dairy, and legumes, waiting a day or two in between to see how your body reacts!

Here are a couple of our favorite Whole30 recipes:

• ​Cracklin' chicken​
• ​Shepherd's Pie​
• ​Tuna cakes​
• Sweet potato breakfast bowl - puree cooked sweet potato with 1-2 spoonfuls of almond butter, cinnamon, and a splash of almond milk - top with fresh blueberries and coconut cream!
• ​Sloppy Joe mix​
• ​Pizza spaghetti pie​
• Cauli fried rice
• ​Chicken cabbage soup​

NOTE: These are delicious, whether you're doing Whole30 or not! We had Cracklin' Chicken just last night, and we are not currently doing a Whole30. :)

Is anyone interested in doing a Whole30 starting at the end of January or beginning of February? Both Cam and Annabelle have late January birthdays, so I would wait until those have passed.

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Our new homeschool routine

It isn't THAT new. We've been doing it all school year. But considering I've not sent out an email in a while, it's new to you readers!

I call it Morning Time. It's a presentation that I mirror from the computer to the TV. Most days, this is what's in the presentation:

• Bible verse and story
• Phrase of the day
• Riddle or joke
• Something fun, like a Fill-In or Would You Rather
• Duolingo (for German and Spanish)
• Vocabulary (we learn a few new words each week, things like beckon or vague)
• Music or art (we might listen to Beethoven, study a Rembrandt, or read a classic poem)

Once Morning Time is over, they get their Morning Notebooks. They each have a basic spiral-bound notebook in which I jot down a quick daily activity. This is a nice transition from looking up at the TV to looking down at a paper.

After that's done, sometimes one of them has piano practice (I have played since I was a child, so I am the teacher!). On the other days, we jump into school work. Math, Language, Reading, Science or History (we go back and forth), and that's about it.

Most days, we start at 10:00 and are finished by 1:00. We have lunch and then the rest of the day is for playing or creating or being outside!

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Christmas!

I mentioned this on IG, and I'll say it again. Christmas feels like a marathon now that I'm a grownup. It starts in November, with putting up the tree, finding and buying gifts, wrapping them, planning family get-togethers and other festive outings (like visiting a Christmas village, going to see Santa, taking family pictures, that sort of thing). By the time Christmas is here, I'm pooped!

This year was no different. I did feel less stressed this year; as I'm getting closer to age 40, I just feel less and less guilty about doing what's best for me (and my family) rather than catering to what everyone else expects of me (us). It's also easier with slightly bigger kids (they're almost-7 and 9.5). Charlie's still little (1.5), but it's just easier than it was when both the big kids were younger.

The kids each picked out gifts this year; they got each other a gift as well as something for us parents. Eventually they'll buy the gifts themselves, but for now, it's the thought and the gesture that matters.

I got an ice cream machine, and it's become my new favorite thing. I've made 8 flavors so far!!

• Paleo vanilla (that one needs some work)
• Mint chocolate chip
• Coffee (plus caramel, but my caramel also needs work)
• Peanut butter + chocolate cookie dough
• Oatmeal cream pie
• Caramel apple (same note about the caramel!)
• Salted caramel cookies (I picked up the cookies at the store and just turned them into ice cream)
• S'mores

Both kids got a smart watch: the Garmin Vivo fit Jr 3. They love them. There's no internet on them; they connect to the app that's on my phone. I can see their data and they can see some of it on the watches. They can use their watches to start timers, check the time and date, and track their steps if they want. I can add tasks on the app that they can complete and get rewards if I choose to do so. We haven't done too much with that yet; mostly I like to see when they fell asleep the night before! I just think it's interesting.

Did you have a good Christmas, if you celebrate? And if you don't celebrate, how was your holiday season?

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My goals for 2023

Not everyone makes New Year's Resolutions. For me, it works. Even if I don't stick to things, it helps me get my thoughts together and I usually complete at least a few of them.

I made a craft to show my goals for the year. Here's a video of that!

(If that doesn't work for you, here's a link instead.)

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...and more

I sing every few weeks in my church's praise team. I mostly sing the alto part, sometimes tenor, and sometimes the soprano part if it's needed. But I'm most comfortable in the lower register. NEVER a solo! I get so nervous hearing my own voice on its own that it gets all shaky :D

Cameron got a guitar for himself before Christmas, but I've been the primary one using it. I can play about 10 chords comfortably, although switching from chord to chord is still a work in progress. I've gotten to the point, though, where my fingers don't hurt anymore, so that's good!

This year, we're planning to take a trip to Seattle and Portland. The problem is that we want to go in May or June, but the prices for everything are way higher than if we go in April. But April it's much chillier and rainier! So we're trying to find a sweet spot. The goal for the trip is be car-free. We want to fly into Seattle, stay somewhere downtown and use public transit only. After 4-5 days, we'll take the train that goes from Seattle to Portland. We'll stay in Portland 3-4 days and fly back from there. From everything I've read, it will be possible to use only public transportation! I've got more to say on this but I'll save it for later!

I've been eating potatoes, onions, bacon, and cheese scrambled eggs just about every day lately. Who knew onions were so good in eggs?!

Charlie is 1.5. He's giggly and tries to be helpful. If you ask him to throw something away, he will. If you ask him to put something in a particular drawer, he will. If you need something, ask Charlie! He will probably do it if he understands.

Alexander is 9.5. WHOA. He wears his Mario costume/PJs every single day except for when we need to wash them. He loves all sorts of puzzles. He plays Zelda every day for his screen time.

Annabelle is almost 7 (just a few weeks). She loves dolls. She loves make believe. She is very sarcastic! She has an incredible memory.

Cam is working hard on a new business venture. He'd have to explain it to you in detail but basically, he wants to help small businesses create their own video content rather than hire someone for every video (or create sub-par content). In this age of social media, businesses really need to be active online but many of them don't have the know-how or resources! He is trying to help with that.

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I'm sure I'm forgetting something important. But for now, that's it.

How are you? How have you been?

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