2013... a year of blessings

There is so much that happened to our family in the year 2013!

My little guy turned 5! Being 5 is the best! Hard to believe he will be 6 in a few short days.

He's the one in the black shirt on the left, with his friends around the Lego Party table. 

Hubby got notified at the end of January that he was part of the layoff at his old job, which was effective the first week in February. Ouch.

Hubby went on unemployment and through God's provisions and a little help from family and our church, we were able to keep our house. Although it never was that close, somedays it sure felt like it!

Hubby went on a number of interviews, including one phone interview that - had he gotten that job would have required a move. Hubby even worked a few times for a local place, and got paid for that. Hubby landed working at a contractor position for FedEx, and by the last week in December was interviewed and hired full time by FedEx. Almost 11 months to the day. While it doesn't offer health benefits, it does however put us back up - financially - to where he was with his old job. So now we can afford to buy health benefits on our own.

Who doesn't love a handsome man in uniform? 

At the end of April, I got offered my current position at a local non- profit organization I have been passionate about since 2010. Although it is part-time, it's nice to be paid for doing something you like to do!

In May I figured out I was pregnant, only to be told by the doctor I would loose this little one. But, by far, the best doctor ever- because before she left the room after telling us this, she gave both my husband and I- hugs! Read a little more about that on the Dear Friends and Family post.

The best thing about hubby being 'laid off' in the summer, is that I went to work and didn't have to worry about my little guy, because I knew dad was in charge. While they did some stuff that I wouldn't have done - like they tried to light a pile of leaves on fire with a magnifying glass and other dangerous stuff. Most of the ideas came from this book: 50 Dangerous Things (You should let your children do). It really is a good book, and teaches the children how to do things safely. I'd rather let hubby teach him how to light a fire in the backyard than him figuring it out with a lighter in the basement with friends a few years down the road!

I also co-directed our Vacation Bible School this year, and it went pretty much without any major fiascos.

Here's my little cowboy at Vacation Bible School! 

Here we are at the end of a very long day, at Adventureland, thanks to my brother-in-law and the company he works for! This 5 year old got some of his 'firsts' out of the way on this trip. First time on a big-kid roller coaster -The Tornado (he did not like), but he did like a more subtle roller coaster that is called The Underground. The swimming in the wave pool was the best, because we had recently put out some money for swimming lessons - he was able to swim (like a fish) in the wave pool, when it wasn't waving. 

Mommy and my silly little boy at the end of a great day at Adventureland. 

In August, my husbands family farm was named a Century Farm by Farm Bureau, so almost the whole family got to go to the Iowa State Fair.

Here's my little guy holding his ticket, getting ready to get on the bus to go to the fair, 

no this wasn't posed- he's just that good! We had a great day!  

Almost the whole family celebrating being a Century Farm! 

Later in August I was able to go to Women of Faith with my mother-in-law to hear some great speakers, and some awesome singers. I was only able to do this by way of budgeting and saving money the Dave Ramsey way! 

My mother - in - law and I outside the Wells Fargo Center after Women of Faith. 

 In September, my little pre-schooler turned into a Kindergartener - officially. Yikes!

Being a little silly for first day of school photos. 

In October I entered a local photo contest, and won a $25 gift certificate! Here is the photo I took, well, I had a great subject! 

My little guy in front of the Amtrak train, with his train conductor hat on.

October brought fall leaves and an awesome Iron Man suit - another bonus of hubby being laid off for so long, he came up with this project all on his own, and made it light up. All I did was buy the suit at our local Aldi's store! While it lit up good for the photo, come Halloween Night we watched the lights slowly die and fade out. Oh well! 

Iron Man in my living room! 

We have a friend who decided to start her own photography business! Go Autumn! So we invited her out to our family farm to take some photos of the 3 of us. They all came out great! Happy Day Photos is the place to go, if you are in the area! See more of our family photos here. 

Our family, 2013. 

For Thanksgiving break we went up to see my brother, who lives in Minneapolis. My parents met us there, after packing up everything they own and selling their house near Charlotte, North Carolina. We had an early Christmas celebration and yes- I was crazy enough to go to the Mall of America on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. No, it wasn't that bad. 

Here are the 3 boys- my son and his cousins. 

No, his younger cousin K does not like photos! 

We also made the big announcement of us having baby #2 while we were up there. Watch the video on this post. 

In December we wrapped up the old year with the boys playing Mario Kart and mommy eating ice cream. Is there any better way? 

Happy New Year to all! 

2014 will be the best year yet, because 2013 had some low points, that's for sure. But it also had some pretty great times, most of which wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for some great family! 

What's in store for 2014? 

1. New job for Roy, with a new route and a new to him FedEx truck! 
2. Sarah's job is moving locations (about a block away)
3. Little boy turns 6, with a dinosaur party (more on that later)
4. Sarah has to decide if she wants to do a gender reveal party for baby. 
5. We will welcome baby #2 into our little family in June!