Goodbye 2018

I think it is such a good thing to look back at the year and think about how well we accomplished our goals and the big things that happened this year.

My goals for 2018 were to be outstanding and be organized.

I'm not sure I really accomplished those. I think I was a pretty good dad. I think that I tried hard. I think that the challenge of life is balancing being present in the moment, taking time to see the bigger picture of what you want to change and how to improve, and also not becoming so lost in the day to day that you just amble forward without much thought. I'm not sure that even makes sense. I had a wonderful year with this family, I hope I can continue to grow.

Shantel's goals for the year:
-Less complaining (own what I'm doing and do it happily).
-More organization and delegation
-Quality one on one time with Lydia and Austin (and Caleb) every day.
-No phone (or less phone) after David gets home from work.
-Faith and Trust in the Lord
*Cut out anything that interferes with these goals.

I think Shantel made a lot of progress here. When she wrote these, we really had no idea that we would homeschool and I think that really has been a blessing for her time with Lydia, Austin and Caleb. She has really increased her faith and testimony and trust in the Lord. She has focused on not complaining and building a positive attitude. I would guess that she would say that she understands much more about how to delegate and is still working on actually making that happen. She has been telling me that if you delegate then you have to be okay with how they do it, and sometimes she wants it done a certain way.

I asked Shantel and we decided to list our top three things from the year.

#1 - Best Summer Ever
We had what Shantel called "Summer of Dreams" and said repeatedly that she was living her best life. The kids were at good ages for adventures, lake days, water slides, and just enjoying each and every thing that came their way. The summer was the perfect balance between adventuring & sunshine and home-days & relaxing. We did a lot of fun things together as a family. Really the summer that dreams are made of.

#2 - New York
Shantel, Lydia, and I went and visited Bruce in New York. We walked a thousand miles, saw all of the touristy sites, and enjoyed exploring together. We are so glad that we got to go on this trip!

#3- Homeschool
We started homeschooling Lydia. (Which has been amazing and such a good experience for her and Shantel). Lydia is thriving and so is Shantel. The boys, too. It's a good life for us, and we're so glad that we had the courage to do something different because it's been such a good fit for us this year.

We are grateful for everything we experienced in 2018 and so so grateful for this family of ours. 

Ringing in the New Year!

We had a great New Year's Eve. In the morning the kids decided to make a giant pile of stuffies on the bed.

Shantel and I were watching the Haderlie kids so Jenna a could take care of Kevin who just had surgery. However, we really thought it was important to be at my house and spend some time with Bruce (visiting from New York) and my mom (who has been sick). So Lydia and I went to my house for dinner and games. Meanwhile, Shantel was a trooper and watched the other 4 kids at home. It was fun to have Ldyia playing games with my family.

Shantel and the other kids, literally "rang in the new year." Only they did it at 7 pm.

I came home with Lydia around 8-9 and once we got her to bed, we made some frappe, popped some popcorn and watched our favorite new year's movie, "While you were Sleeping." While we did we worked on our Logan puzzle. It was the absolutely perfect ending to 2018.

Happy New Year!

December Fun

Here are the few other things from December that did not make it into their own post.

Lydia has been doing great at piano and loving it. She had her first piano recital. She played a duet with Ezri Lewis. They played "We wish you a Merry Christmas." They did awesome and it was fun to see Lydia learning. After her recital she also got to learn "Jolly Old Saint Nicolas." It was fun because she got to the point of memorizing the song and at night would beg to just play it a few more times.

Practicing at our house beforehand.

At the recital. 

The more she plays the more the boys want to join her as well. I love music. I feel like it truly brings light and joy and happiness into our home. So here is to hoping my kids have some musical talent because I do not have even a tiny bit. 

Bruce came out to visit from New York for Christmas and the kids loved playing with him. Here they are wrestling him to the ground.

He also read them books, took them to get ice cream and was a great uncle. 

The kids had fun in Morgan. 

Shantel was in charge of the ward Christmas party. It has been a big party planning year for us because the primary (Shantel) was in charge of the ward walkabout (summer activity). Elder's quorum (which I was helping with) was in charge of the Fall Festival and then because the relief society president had a baby, Shantel ended up in charge of the Christmas party. Needless to say Shantel put in a ton of work. She did an amazing job. She had a committee help her and they came up with the theme of a "Cozy Christ centered Christmas." It was fantastic.

We wrapped a lot of presents. I actually really love wrapping presents. This year was great because we did it well before Christmas, which means it was not stressful, plus we got to enjoy the presents under the tree during December. We still had a few late nights wrapping, but we just put in a hallmark and enjoyed it.

We gave neighbor gifts to our friends. It is interesting because many in our neighborhood have opted to give money to charitable causes, in lieu of neighbor gifts. Which is great if that is what works for them. However, for Shantel and I, we really feel like neighbor gifts are important. They help you connect to your neighbors and build a feeling of unity. They help bring the spirit of Christmas through the whole month as you both give and receive. We are glad to be able to enjoy that tradition and both remember that growing up. 

The kids with Grandpa Peaden reading books.

Sledding in Morgan (look at that awesome sled hill).

And finally, the kids had a great time playing with their presents after Christmas.

Lydia and Austin with their skateboard and scooter.

Austin with his new race track and new cars. 

Lydia making her paper bag animals.

I love these kids. 

Happy December!