I don’t think I’ll ever make the time to send out real Christmas Cards. So consider this your Christmas card from the Daniels!! I like to write this post at the end of each year to reflect on the year gone by, look forward to the year ahead and write a short update on each family member. 2022 has definitely had it’s fair share of tough times, but I do believe we’re coming to the end a stronger family than when we began the year. At the beginning of last year I was in the midst of a difficult season of morning sickness and doubting God's plan some. August felt so far away to meet my 5th child. I knew my whole year would be centered around adding a baby to our family. Which is not a bad thing!! It’s wonderful! It was just so different from what I thought 2022 would be like and you know, it's definitely not easy, but hard things can be good things too. When God shifts my plans so much I take a little while to get on board. Of course he always shows me that his plans are best, but I still grieve my old plans and that's ok! God doesn't tell us not to feel deeply. He asks us to trust Him and he's constantly giving me opportunities to do so. ;) Piper is an invaluable member of our family and I can't imagine life without her now. <3 In addition to making everyone smile more, her presence is helping us figure out all the kinks in our family that need to be smoothed out. It's making me rely on others instead of just trying to do it all on my own, which is what I always did before. 5 kids 8 and under is beyond my limit. I have always needed God to sustain me, but now we're in constant communication. Prayers for patience, grace, strength, wisdom, peace, etc. are now completely interwoven throughout my days. Growing closer to God is always a win! I'm also learning it's ok to ask for a little more help from the kids and from Sam so that I'm not completely burnt out. We're definitely still figuring out how to make it all work and that's ok too! We don't have to have it all figured out to enjoy our days together. Learning, growing and loving, that's what families are for, right?
Alright! Here are my 2023 updates on each member of our family going oldest to youngest.
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| Letting the big kids stay up a bit and read manga with me. |
I have been working for Sequitur Energy for 2 years now and recently got a raise, which was amazing! It's still so great to work for a boss that I have been working for over the past decade. So wonderful. At the beginning of 2022 I started working a little every day for my brother! He has his own bookkeeping business called Rundle. I love getting to work for my brother! (Seriously, I have the best two bosses ever!) If you ever need bookkeeping for your business let me know, Rundle can get it done and get it done right! In July, a month before Piper was due, I switched my working priorities. I started working more for Rundle which has more stable and predictable hours and started working a little less for Sequitur. On a normal day I work 2.5-3 hours. A busy day at the beginning of the month can go up to 4. I have never worked anywhere close to this much with this many kids ever! I'm definitely still figuring out how to do it and get school done with the kids. We are finding a way. Otherwise my time is filled by taking care of my sweet Piper baby. I don't have much time for hobbies these days, but I know the time with Piper being so small is very short in comparison to the rest of our time as a family. So I'm going to soak up the snuggles and get back to my hobbies in a bit. I still find time to draw the kids a birthday card and read a few manga volumes here and there. I'm happy to report Sam and I still have our Saturday anime nights. Though they are crashed often by a certain bundle of joy. ;) I even found the time to read a couple of "normal" books. One non-fiction and one fiction. The Culture Code and Outside of Grace. I thoroughly recommend both! As always, I'm still chasing the delicate balance between home schooling 3 different grades, leading park day, organizing Discovery Crew Co-op, keeping up with friends, working 2 jobs, cooking, cleaning and having a little time for myself and my hobbies to stay sane. Like I said at first, God is the only reason I can do what I do!
Last year Sam's update was mostly about what happened with his back and all of the dr. appointments we went to so we could figure out what was going on. Well, it's still not completely resolved but things are better. The pain cancelling implant did not work unfortunately, twice even! He tried two different versions and both were unsuccessful to reduce the swelling and inflammation in his leg. At that point the doctor decided to go forward with a discectomy. It was still an outpatient procedure but was going to have an extensive recovery. Again, unfortunately it did not work, but this time the doctor was unable to even perform the procedure. Once they would get close to the disk Sam's blood pressure would spike. The doctor didn't want to take a chance, so he decided not to go through with the surgery. The next follow up they wanted to try a disk brace. The other option was to do the big discectomy surgery through the hospital with a short stay afterwards. We decided to go with the less invasive option and hope for the best. It was a harder recovery than any of the other procedures he'd done before BUT he has 50-70% relief from swelling and inflammation! That's enough to do more regular things at home, like getting on the floor to play with the kids, grilling for the family and playing his guitar. It's felt so good to see him feeling a little bit more like himself again. His job still takes a lot out of him, so he's on the lookout for a better fit that allows him to be a bit more present and able to help at home. Sam still enjoys video games, especially online ones to play with his buds, as well as music, anime and manga. Recently he's gotten into the hobby of Warhammer. He's only started to build his army, but he's looking forward to getting to play the tabletop miniature wargame soon.
Jane is 8 years old and is in 3rd grade and teetering between little kid and big kid status. Her interests are starting to be different than all her younger siblings. She enjoys having conversations with adults and likes a lot of the same shows as I do. She has really gotten into anime this year and her favorite show is Spy x Family. She is enjoying her new video game Miitopia she got for Christmas but she says Roblox is her favorite game. I think that she has just as much fun messaging her friends on there as she does playing the games though. ;) She was inspired by Yor Forger to learn self defense so she is excited to take fencing and Taekwondo at Super Friday this coming semester. She’s also taking Physics Phun Phest because she loves science! History and cultures is another favorite. She did Countries and Cultures in Super Friday last semester and loved it. She also did All About Christmas and PE. So far PE is her all time favorite SF class. She has made great strides in reading this year!! Although she still doesn’t enjoy it much it’s not the struggle it used to be. Jane adores her baby sister. The reason I can work as much as I do is because Jane does a great job helping around the house and even entertaining or holding Piper for me when I need to get some chores done. It has been so wonderful! In a pinch I will even pay her a dollar or two to be in charge of Piper while I work for about 30 min.
Atlas is in 1st grade and 6 years old going on 16. Haha!! But really that picture is giving me teenager vibes. He is passionate about video games and keeps getting better at them! He rarely asks me for help with them anymore and honestly I’m not much better than him at most games. His favorite right now is Sonic Frontiers which he just got for Christmas. Kirby and the Forgotten Land was another favorite in the past year. He has really been enjoying Super Smash Bros too. He’s been on the DL this year a couple of times breaking his left arm and getting stitches in his forehead from two separate incidents, each requiring a trip to the ER. He’s did an amazing job staying calm both times. I was very impressed. Hopefully we won’t have any more serious injuries for a while! He continues to excel in school, especially in math. He’d rather be playing video games though. ;) He’s an a pretty big introvert so it’s been really great to watch him make some good friends this year. He’s excited to start Super Friday this coming fall!
Alexandria is 4 years old and in preschool. This girl still adores dragons and everything reptilian!! She’s recently really gotten into video games. She loves to play super smash bros on the Wii U. Kirby’s epic yarn is her other favorite. She likes almost all the same things as both of her brothers, but her general love and fascination with all animals is her own. Much to Jane's dismay she does not like princesses or many girly things at all. Because of her interests, most of her good friends are little boys her age. This year she made a friend at the park that's a girl who also loves animals. They are so sweet together. Xan continues to receive school well and asks to do school! We do simple and short counting and letter lessons for now, but as soon as she not having fun anymore I let her stop. We’ll get a little more structured in Kindergarten. Her vocabulary continues to be impressive for her age and she loves to talk! She is such a sweetie most of the time, but when she gets upset her anger can be fierce! We're working on sorting through strong emotions. She is now an expert swimmer and loves to draw and color.
Flynn just turned 3 and isn’t doing any school yet. He does some educational games on the kindle and is pretty good with letters, numbers, colors and shapes already. He is obsessed with candy!! He asks for it all day even though he only gets one or two small pieces after lunch and dinner. He’s a strong willed kid! He knows what he wants and makes sure you know about it. I say he’s sort of like the boy version of Jane and louder because he’s the 4th kid. He has to be loud to be heard. So we are constantly working with him to be a bit quieter. Otherwise he is a ball of energy that always keeps us laughing and having fun! He LOVES dinosaurs and trains and anything that doesn’t require being still. He is our earliest swimmer and is advanced in most physical activities. He's really tough! When he took a tumble off the trampoline recently, he cried for just a second, climbed back on and kept jumping.
Piper is 4 1/2 months old and our little ray of sunshine! She is completely adored by all of her siblings! I am Piper’s favorite of course, but after me Jane is the one who can calm her best. <3 She has just started giggling and babbling and we are all loving it so much! She is more entertained by her feet than any toy. If she’s not trying to chew her feet, she loves to practice standing. In my opinion, she has such kind eyes and melts my heart every time she looks at me. She enjoys the attention of all her siblings, but can get overwhelmed if everyone is trying to play with her at once. We are just loving watching our little surprise baby grow up. :)
Time for the 4 questions I ask myself at the end of each year. It's a great way to reflect over the previous year and then look forward to the next!
1. What are you most grateful for in 2022?
Saying Piper seems like the easy answer, but it’s also so so true. I am so grateful for her and glad God took it into his own hands to give her to our family.
A very close second is being a part of the sweetest home group. A group of Jesus centered, wonderful people that love, support and encourage each other. Our kids all love each other too. I can’t tell you how long I prayed for a community like we have together. I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness. <3
A very honorable mention is working for my brother! It gives me the stability I need in my hours and has helped me make some more money during this year of so many medical bills. Also, like I mentioned earlier, he’s the best boss.
2. What was your favorite moment of 2022?
Without a doubt, giving birth without my midwife and my mom catching Piper. It was a terrifying but absolutely incredible moment. Not that I would ever forget the birth of any of my children but Piper’s birth was on another level! The experience is beyond words.
A few honorable mentions, going to the MOCO The Fair with my two big kids and watching them ride all the rides together. Watching the Astros win the 2022 World Series as a family! Also, reading my sister-in-law’s novel.
3. What are you looking forward to in 2023?
I’ll say it again and maybe this time it will stay true. NOT being pregnant. I’ve been ready to move past the baby stage of life for a while. I adore Piper but I’m excited to maybe sleep better this year and have time for hobbies again when she gets a little closer to 1.
I’m also really excited to meet my newest niece in the coming months! <3
Honorable mention: More than likely taking the kids to Camp Tejas for an overnight trip for the first time!
4. What goals do you hope to accomplish in 2023?
I had pretty ambitious goals last year. I forgot just how much pregnancy makes me fall asleep on the couch and I have no time for myself at night. I did pretty good most of the year still exercising but dropped off after Piper was born because she's up so much until midnight. I did not accomplish my drawing goals for the falling asleep all the time reason. But I did still grow in my drawing skills just not in the way I had expected. Definitely didn't catch up on my blog, but I did find out that blogger is finally somewhat compatible on my iPhone now so I'll be working on it more this year. The one thing I do feel like I accomplished was having more intentional family time and being more of a family team! I do one on one nights with the kids now and we have a family meeting on Sundays. I'm excited to keep growing as a team this year! Since I remember now just how demanding it is to have a little baby around I'm going to keep that in mind for my goals this year.
1. Make my blog a priority!! (you see I didn't say "catch up" this time. Just so long as I make good progress over the year I'll call it a win)
2. Crafting a family rest day, "Sabbath" and carving out more intentional family time.
3. Losing the rest of the baby weight from Piper (which is only a couple more pounds!!) and maybe even some leftover from Flynn!
4. Choosing to spend more time outside with the kids. I love it! but I let work, school and household chores keep me inside more than I would like. So I want to teach myself to say, "Yes, there are things to do inside, but I will let it go for now and enjoy my kids and the outdoors in this moment!”
I would love to put growth in drawing or exercising daily on here but I already know that my nights are not my own right now with Piper being little still. Night time is the only time I could find to work out or draw before adding Piper to the mix. I don't want to put a goal on here that feels unachievable right now, so instead I'll just leave them here at the bottom just in case my nights come back to me sooner than I think.
Kids New Year's Answers
Grateful: Piper and Mom
Favorite moment: Beach and Fair
Looking forward to: Beach and Fair. ;) J-Super Friday. A-New switch games.
Goal: J-completing her Yor costume. A-beating Sonic Frontiers.
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| They still cuddle sometimes. :) |
Just for funzies.
Most said phrases by me this year: I don't have time! That's too loud! We're already late. Stop. Please, help! I love you. You can do it!
I'm going to try out having a word to focus on for the year. The word that's sticking out to me is:
"Rhythm"
Goodbye 2022!!!!! Hello 2023! Happy New Year Everybody!
1 Corinthians 10:23-24
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.
