Family Backdrops

We celebrated Christmas of 2023 in our cozy 1890’s home, and then began 2024 with a family trip to Disneyland to combat the doldrums of wintery January.

All 21 of us in an Anaheim VRBO for a week.

It was chaotic.

Tiring.

And oh so magical to watch the faces of the little ones.

We rode rides in the rain.

We carried tired kids.

We waited in long lines.

Will we all go together in the near future?

Probably not soon.

Keeping us all together and accounted for in a super-crowded amusement park is a bit like herding chickens.

But we paused the chaos long enough to realize the wonder of childhood as it bubbled into cherubic faces and cemented each memory in our hearts.

It turns out herding chickens can be pretty epic when it’s this crazy group of cluckers we’re chasing around.

Many of you know we’ve been remodeling our 1898 home to get it ready for our twilight years. After 30 years in our pioneer home, we felt completely settled and ready to spend the rest of our lives there.

And then, in 4 weeks from first inkling to moving truck, we had relocated all of our earthly possessions from that comfy home we’d worked so hard on, to a new home, 10 miles south. We’re still not sure why, exactly, but it all fell into place so perfectly that we’ve decided we’ll learn the reasons as we go.

We had one last family dinner in the empty house.

We sat on the floor and shared favorite memories.

We laughed.

We ugly cried.

It felt like the best way to say goodbye to the house where we grew into a family. Especially with a photo taken in front of the fireplace where countless life events were documented, books were read, and naps were taken right in front of the fire, curled up on the floor. It was the backdrop of our life on 800 South, and perfectly fitting to host this one last goodbye.

We unpacked boxes just in time for Thanksgiving, and now our Christmas decorations that held places of honor in the old house are sprinkled, willy-nilly, in our new surroundings, because it takes time for traditions to make themselves known.

Our heads are spinning.

We’ve got a back yard to landscape, literally from the ground, up.

Commutes are longer to . . . everywhere.

It almost feels like we accidentally got off the train at the wrong station and nothing looks familiar.

The newness feels strange, yet right. 

All this change makes us incredibly grateful for lasting friendships and the familiarity of friendly faces, so don’t be surprised if, when we spot you at Costco, we come racing down the aisle to give you a hug.

Wherever we find ourselves housed, we will be grateful for you!

We’re grateful to have our family so close.

We’re grateful for our Savior and the capacity to return home because of Him.

And we’re grateful for this life full of learning experiences we rarely manage to anticipate before we’re knee deep in them.

We wish you a new year full of love and faith and tradition, and also something unexpected so you, too, can find wonder at the plot twists this life holds for each of us.