2014 Roundup

I was looking back at 2014 and while it seems like it went by so very very fast, it was a good year.  Some of the highlights included:

My oldest son and his future wife at the time came to visit with us from Texas and got to stay a couple of extra days because of ION – the winter storm of 2014.  He also got married and is making me a grandma later in 2015!

My second son turned 24 and decided that it was time to go back to college and work on his degree – he is now a freshman at the local community college with his sister.  First time they have been in school together and in the same year!

My youngest son got engaged and married this year!

And my daughter graduated from high school and is now a collage freshman with her brother.

I got married and we are still working on our country home.

 

I visited Texas in the spring to see my son and his soon to be family.

I visited Arkansas in the fall for Bill’s family reunion as his wife.

We spent 2 weeks camping in our new camper in June only to find that Bill is now living in the camper until he can finish the house.

I had all of my kids and my step son home for New Year’s Eve this year – it was very good to see all of the Hodge boys in the kitchen with their sister laughing around the table.  Just wish we could have had their older sister here too.

Speaking of sisters, my sister came to visit right after Christmas and we spent the afternoon shopping in downtown St. Charles – something I had been trying to get her to do for years!

We had some sadness too – I lost my familiar, my Stormy kitty, my companion for the last 14+ years to a tumor under her tongue back in May.  She is buried under the hawthorn trees at the property.

Bill had to put one of his dogs down in July – he is also buried under the hawthorns with Stormy.

Our neighbor John, at the property and one of Bill’s oldest friends suffered a stroke in September and is not doing well.  He is wheelchair bound and can’t use his left leg or arm.  This is one of the reasons Bill is still living in the camper – he has been working on John’s house getting it wheelchair accessible and sitting with him while his wife has to go to work so he’s not had much time to spend on our place.

Several friends have lost loved ones and our community has lost people too.

But I look around my house as my kids are all home, safe and sound and count my blessings from 2014 and look forward to 2015.