What a year 2022 was! In world news there was a baby formula shortage, the Winter Olympics and Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. For us 2022 was a sweet year!

Waking up New Years day in our new home was the absolute best. We might of had to roll out of bed since we were sleeping on a air mattress in the guest bedroom, but we were in our little farmhouse. Our dogs could finally settle because we were in our forever home.

January brought a new job for me. I was working as a Early Head Start teachers aide. By May I had changed positions and became a Family Advocate. Little did I know this job would help to me see the needs of our new little town. Kevin’s mom had her stomach surgery to remove her cancer, too. Thank you Jesus after chemo and surgery she was and remains cancer free.

January 6th we got our first snow. I was so excited! After 18 years in Alabama snow was not something we got to enjoy. It stayed cold so we got to enjoy this snow for a few days. We did some little projects around the house while we were stuck at the farm.

I also went to New Years Retreat again this year. It was something I really needed. I had no idea what our new life in Kentucky was going to look like. I just new God wanted us here. By the time I left I had goals, a word and mantra. With Pamela’s help we discovered my word for 2022 was TREASURE! It was time to treasure all that God has done in our lives.

February started with an ice storm. No thank you! Just snow please. Our kitchen cabinets finally arrived in the middle of the frozen mess. Kevin and I got them installed. Kevin started on our “custom” range hood Valentine’s day. And by custom I mean using the pallets the bricks came on to create what I pinned on Pinterest. 😎

Mid-February we experienced our first flood on the farm. Sadly, Kevin was stuck on the farm and I couldn’t get home. Luckily, the next time it flooded we were both home!

By the end of March we had the curtains hung, the island countertop was installed, we planted some trees, the master bath was finished and we got to move into our master suite. My uncle brought out an old barn post for our mantle and had his guys wrap up a couple odds and ends around the house. We also used leftover pallet wood to build our chicken coop.

April we started a garden and explored the farm. I treasured Sunday afternoon farm walks with Lollie. I found peace watching the chickens while sitting on the porch having some time with God. I could get lost in prayer while working in the garden. It was a great spring.

The house was slowly coming together. We went from a partially done home with boxes everywhere to rooms coming together and our house becoming a home. Middle of May we finally got our countertops and had a fully functioning kitchen. Kevin got the closets put together and we filled them full.

Seeing Nadya go to prom and graduate high school was a blessing, too. Our sweet Naddie Lou was all grown up and thriving. Considering all that she went through during her 19 years of life she had a great head on her shoulders and was ready to conquer the world.

The end of May Kevin turned the big 5-0! We celebrated his birthday on the farm with friends. He had a donut cake with the most amazing donuts made by the Amish.

June and July we tended to the garden, got settled in our home and explore our little town of Marion. We were starting to get some veggie from the garden and the chickens were beginning to lay eggs. Life was really great!

I drove up to St. Louis and met up with Stacey and we round tripped to Oklahoma City, OK to celebrate our friend, Kim turning 50. After that we road tripped to Table Rock Lake, MO to spent the week on a houseboat with our Big Life Sisters. What an amazing 7 days of life we had!

Next was a weekend of life with my 80’s ladies. We have been friends since the 1980’s and love our yearly get togethers. I treasure our time together. It truly is amazing when you can get together once a year and pick up right where you left off.

The garden was producing faster than we could keep up. Fortunately, we found a local church that has a food bank and started donating fresh veggies to them. We felt God saying this is why you are here. Grow more and give more. It filled us with joy to be able to do this. In October we were still filling buckets and boxes of veggies to donate to the food pantry. Thank you God we love it.

In the fall Kevin and I working on finishing the mudroom and the pantry. Finally, the house was close to being done. I was starting to make list of places I need to touch up paint and little things that needed a quick fix, but I would say the house was finally.

We got to celebrate Thanksgivings, but snow kept us stuck at the farm alone for Christmas. We loved it and made the most of it, but it was sad not having the boys with us. Thankfully we got to meet up with them in Nashville on the 29th. We had dinner and “parking lot Christmas”. We literally parked side by side and did a gift exchange. It will be a Christmas we will never forget.

2022 was truly a year that I treasured. Our lives had completely changed. We went from spending up to 2 hours a day commuting and working 40+ hours a week to a slower and much happier life. I was a Family Advocate at Chapel Hill working just 200 days a year from 7-3. Kevin was able to not work for a full 11 months and is now a bus driver for the head start program working just 200 days year. Life was so good and we were treasuring it.