Obviously, 2017 was a busy year for me. As evidenced by my absence here (and many other places), my family life was even crazier than usual.
I'm not sure that I can even accurately sum up all of the changes that occurred last year.
For starters, one huge change was our move across the country. After 3 years in Georgia we are now back in the Pacific northwest! Anyone who has moved can understand how much work it is just to move across town, let alone move across the continent. We drove from GA to WA with the kids, the dog, and our camper. We stopped at some great National Parks (Yellowstone, Badlands, etc.) and really enjoyed our trip. Once we arrived in WA, we moved into our new house that we purchased sight unseen while we were still in Georgia. That was an adventure! Then we had the usual relocation recovery (perfectly summed up here by another military spouse).
Before leaving Georgia, I finally realized my dream of becoming a midwife. I graduated from college (summa cum laude!) and completed the necessary exams to become a midwife and IBCLC. I obtained a midwifery license and officially attended one birth as a midwife, no longer a student. It was an exciting and stressful time for my entire family. I wasn't sure I would have time to finish everything before we moved again.
The kids have really been busy. Matthew is starting to drive (!?!) and he is playing baseball for our local high school. We still homeschool but he's there for the sports. Josh has his first job as a babysitter for a local family and is learning computer programming. Leila and Sarah, my sweet twins who were just babies when I started this blog, are totally tweens now. They've started to shift away from the childhood dolls and toys and toward talking with friends and listening to music. Nathan and Ryan will be 10 soon and they are just as wild as ever. Seven (Amelia) is 5 now and still my precocious little girl. Violet is 3 and still very much the baby of the family.
I have so much more to write about and so many things that I want to preserve here. I have a terrible memory and this blog has always helped me remember the craziness that has been my life. I probably have 500,000 photos to share. If you follow me on instagram, you have seen some of them.
My goal this year is to get back to blogging! I am getting ready to have surgery next month and I plan to use my time recovering in bed to update my blog. In the meantime, I'll share some photos.
Moving Day 2017 (Yes, Matthew is as tall as me now!)
Last morning in Georgia
Early morning coffee stop on the way out of town
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Wyoming
Yellowstone NP
Old Faithful
Mt. Rainier (with my dad, Granddad With No Hair)
First days in our new home
Midwife Heather (that's me doing what I love)
