Jan - March 2014

The winter of 2013-2014 will be forever remembered for huge snowfall amounts and persistent very cold temperatures.  Kids missed several days of school because snow storm after snow storm.  Propane costs skyrocked, and we paid over $900 a month to heat the farmhouse for at least two of the winter months.  We kept the kids sleeping downstairs so we wouldn't have to heat the upstairs of the farmhouse.  Hannah turned six in January and Hudson turned three in December.  We had a joint party for them, but had problems making it because of very deep snow.  We got stuck  in very deep snow on our way to the kids' party.  We had a sherrif's officer pick me and the kids up and take us back to the farmhouse until a tow truck could pull our car out of the drifts.  It was a wild and crazy adventure just trying to get to town for the kids' party!  We celebrated the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) with Taiwan adoptive family friends in the Chicago area.  The kids' dance party was one of the best times that I've had at an event for families EVER.  The construction of our home progressed with heating, plumbing, electrical, drywall, painting, and trim.

late 2013 in photos

We really didn't drop off the face of the earth, but much has happened in one year.  We sold our home by owner with two offers in four days in order to build our dream house.  It was a scramble to find somewhere to live with just a few weeks notice.  Thankfully, a friend's farmhouse was unoccupied, and she invited us to rent the house in the country while we built our next home.  This is the first time I've ever lived in the country.  The house sits on a gravel road surrounded by soybean fields.    It was quite an adventure!  Our family has lots of memories of hunting cicada shells, swinging from the rope swing, evening fires on the back porch, way too much snow, freezing pipes, and living together in one bed room.  We watched bulldozers break ground and it was exciting to see how quickly the Amish framing crew worked.  We stopped by our property most every day to check on progress and take pictures.  December 29, 2013 marked five years since we met our daughter Hannah in Taiwan.

parade of homes inspiration