2024 has been a good year. It hasn’t been perfect, but I’d definitely call it good.

I’ve learned so much, and have grown as a person. I’ve discovered that life is about growth. A lot of times, this growth happens spirally. I learn more about myself, and feel like I’m headed in a straight trajectory. But then, I circle back around, and apply what I’ve learned to what I once believed in a new way.

It’s a pretty cool process.

Anyhow, a lot of that has happened this year. I’ve learned to love myself more, and understand what I need to flourish in life.

I’ve let some relationships go, while others have grown.

Life is good.

And now, I’d like to talk about some specific things and changes I’ve made in 2024.

Some of my accomplishments this year are:

• I added a lot of flowers and natives to our garden this year, with the goal of creating a sanctuary for bees, butterflies, and birds. It worked, and we enjoyed so many new visitors this year.
• I made a few changes in our homeschool, and it’s flowing as smoothly as it ever has. As a homeschool mom, this is wonderful.
• I decided to swallow my embarrassment, and try to become a full fledged Indie author in June. I wrote a lot, as well as rewrote several manuscripts.
• I added a lot of new products to my Etsy shop, and saw some success there. Such a blessing!
• I’ve read a lot, and learned a lot. I never want to stop learning!

Some financial accomplishments from 2024 are:

• My husband’s 401-k account hit a big milestone. While it’s tight sometimes, we’re contributing 12%, and my husband’s employer contributes 18%, so overall, we are saving an equivalent of 30% of his income each year.
• We purchased a creek property on just over three acres with funds we’d saved from a home sale. We hope this will be a good investment over time.
• In November, I rededicated myself to live more frugally. I do this every so often, and I definitely needed to change some things since inflation has really gotten the best of us.

Next year, I hope to:

• Be the absolute best wife and mother I can be.
• Keep a good and cheerful attitude whenever I can.
• Be authentic.
• Be mindful of the relationships I’m in, and make changes while necessary. For many years, I wasn’t careful about this and I definitely suffered. But now, I’m determined to value myself and not hang around people who treat me poorly.
• Make our home a peaceful yet fun place, while we do life together.
• Learn more about celebrating the Wheel of the Year, and implement seasonal celebrations in our home.
• Be careful with our finances, and hope for growth in my businesses. Mid-year, I decided it would be best for my family if I became more intentional about making money while still being a stay-at-home mom. So I’ve been doing that, and I hope to continue. (A couple of years ago, we made some great changes and became mortgage free which helped us out a ton. But now, we are on the cusp of being a “low income” family due to our family size and inflation. It’s not all bad, though. My husband is going back to college in January, and his tuition is 100% paid for through grants because of it. So that’s a blessing!)
• Slowly but surely, we hope to continue our home renovation projects. In 2025, I hope we can update the appearance of the back of our house, and put in new flooring.
• Enjoy life!

There’s so much to enjoy in life, isn’t there?

Hopefully, I’ll be back to talk to you soon. As a heads up, there might be a short interruption in this blog in January, since I plan to change hosting plans.

Thanks for stopping by today!