Goats, Grandparents, and Goodness: A 2022 Overview

I didn't think many eventful things happened in 2022 but as I was reflecting on the past year it was clear that God was working. There was a lot of growth, joy, pain, and goodness. But overall God's hand was seen in every little thing.

I decided to copy my dear friend Lily's idea (and I guess, Alayna's, though she beat me to posting XD) and do a 2022 wrap-up. I'm not going to get into all the details but just give you a basic overview of my year (plus an abundant amount of pictures). I'm also going to include a song for each month. Some of these songs are just fun but most are ones that had to do with whatever God was doing in my life that particular month. At the end of this post, I'm going to share some thoughts on the coming year, and my verse (and song) of the year! Enjoy friends!

.january.

January wasn't very eventful. I had a sleepover with Alayna and a birthday party for our bunnies, my family did a few respites, and there was a lot of ice skating!

Highlights:

- Having a sleepover with Alayna (along with a birthday party for our rabbits).

- Doing a lot of small art projects (for a gift for Alayna).

- My very close friends finding out they were pregnant.

- Doing respites for K & N (two sisters we had as a placement that went to a new family), and L & S (12 and 15 year old sisters who were here during a big snow).

- Ice skating on a frozen lake with friends (Jon & Haley).

Song of the month: Gratitude by Brandon Lake

.february.

There weren't many noteworthy things in February (as you can see by the number of pictures for this month). But we did have our first 4H meeting at our new club, and that began a lot of social anxiety on my part, but as the year went on I was able to overcome that a little bit!

Highlights:

- First 4H meeting at our new 4H club.

- First of 3 respites of the year that we did for K (a 4-year-old boy with down syndrome).

- Ice coating everything outside resulting in a beautiful wonderland.

Song of the Month: Million Little Miracles by Maverick City Music

.march.

March is when things started to pick up for the year. We were able to do a few respites, and start our Marvel journey off with a bang with Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain Marvel. (This was very exciting for me and my siblings as our only Marvel exposure up to this point had been Into the Spiderverse, which we love. XD) I also got to practice with my recently purchased camera with my friend, Abby, who minored in photography.

Highlights:

- Week-long respite for K (the 4-year-old with down syndrome).

- Respite for A (15-year-old girl) who was supposed to stay for a few days but ended up staying for 2 weeks.

- My mom's birthday.

- Photoshoot around downtown with my friend, Abby.

- Starting to watch Marvel movies for the first time.

Song of the Month: A Man Named Job by Ryan Proudfoot

.april.

April was a very exciting month! I went to a Gray Havens concert with Alayna, did a fantastic photoshoot with my two goats, added a bearded dragon to our family, painted a mural, and took a step into more leadership in my church. My dad also had a major injury, and it was hard to watch him in so much pain. But God was so good throughout it all.

Highlights:

- Going to a Gray Havens concert with Alayna.

- Doing a Photoshoot with my goats.

- David's 10th birthday, and he got his bearded dragon, Eustace as a gift.

- Respite for L (5-year-old girl).

- Painteing a mural on the windows of our ministry center with Abby.

- God's faithfulness during my dad's major injury.

- I started leading a small portion of our Sunday morning time with my church.

Song of the Month: Just Because by Judah.

.may.

May was a very exciting month. The highlight probably being bringing Samwise home and starting my lionhead rabbit breeding business. Our friend's wedding and a block party were also things we had been looking forward to for a while.

Highlights:

- End of school year testing/finishing 10th grade.

- Friends Kait and Andrew's wedding

- Buying my male lionhead, Samwise.

- Meeting our new next-door neighbors.

- Memorial Day Block Party at our house where we got to know a lot of our neighbors better.

Song of the Month: Meant for Good by Brandon Lake

.june.

June was busy! Our trip to Indiana was a weeklong roller coaster of activity. Our trip to Pittsburgh made me very thankful I don't live in a large city. A lot of the month included me stressing over my 4H projects, worrying I wouldn't finish in time. XD

Highlights:

- My siblings and I went to Indiana for a week to hang out with our grandparents.

- I made a beautiful masterpiece then watched as my siblings shot it with a gun.

- Going to the Indianapolis Zoo.

- Did a respite for T (17-year-old boy) and another for T (6-year-old boy, brother of K and N. This was the first time we had seen him since he left our home in September 2021).

- Went on a women's retreat in Pittsburgh where we live-streamed The Gospel Coalition's Women's Conference.

- Boaz's 12th birthday.

- Doing a lot of photography and entered a photo contest.

Song of the Month: Revival by Judah & the Lion

.july.

July was a good month! Almost all of my highlights of the summer took place during these 31 days. We did respite for two siblings, 2 and 2 weeks, and they were the cutess kids I had ever met (I am not exageratting). We had our 4H life skills judging and all of my siblings and I wont first place! I was able to go down to Columbus for state judging, so we got to check out the State Fair which was an adventure. And last, but not least, going to see The Fellowship of the Ring at a huge amphitheatre while an orchestra played the movie soundtrack live!

Highlights:

- Respite for G (7), W (6), and S (7) (G & W were sisters, and S was their foster sister. They were here for a week).

- 4H Life Skills Judging.

- Going to Blossom (a huge amphitheater) with my sisters and watching The Fellowship of the Ring while an orchestra played the entire movie soundtrack.

- Respite for S (2-year-old boy) and F (2-week-old girl at the time).

- 4th of July party with some elderly friends at an apartment building in our town.

- Going to the Ohio State Fair to get judged for my art project that won first place at our county fair.

Song of the Month: Who's This Man by Joseph O'Brien

.august.

August was also very eventful. I had a birthday sleepover with Alayna. Went to Columbus to witness my first chicken jeopardy competition (you heard that right) but also got to check out COSI the day before. August is also fair month for us so in the days leading up to the last week of the month we were spending a lot of time preparing all of our projects and animals!

Highlights:

- Birthday sleepover with Alayna

- Abigail turned 14 and Christa turned 16.

- Boaz participated in the Avian Bowl (basically chicken jeopardy XD) in Columbus.

- Going to COSI.

- First of 3 respites for M (16-year-old girl).

- Tauriel (my lionhead rabbit) had her first litter.

- My dad's sister and her family visited for a week.

- Chicken bathing party with friends.

- Drawing 'Mount Goatmore' for a goat barn decoration at the fair.

- 4H fair week (which included getting 4th overall with my meat chickens pen, and dressing up the goats for a costume show).

Song of the Month: How Great Thou Art (Fresh Cut Flowers) by Aaron Strumpel

.september.

September included my 17th birthday, a wonderful staycation, an abundant amount of watercolored cards, and much more. The staycation included a much-anticipated mud fight (we literally just chucked mud at each other), kayaking in the rain, and a tube exploding halfway through the trip so my brothers had to share one tube. So in others words, it was very successful! XD

Highlights:

- Turning 17!

- Having a staycation. Some of the highlights of that include: Tubing down the Cuyahoga, kayaking, a mud fight, the Cleveland Aquarium, watching Captain America: Civil War outside on a screen, and going to Lake Erie.

- Having a booth at a local art festival (tip for life: if ever in question about what people will buy, the answer is watercolored jellyfish *nods*).

- My dad's birthday.

- A fundraiser for our ministry (and I got to be the photographer XD).

- Going thrift store shopping with Alayna for my birthday.

Song of the Month: Free & Untorn by Matthew Mole

.october.

The biggest highlight of October was the birth of a sweet baby girl. But along with that my aunt finished her chemo treatment and had surgery so she is now cancer free! We also went trick-or-treating and my sweet sister, Abigail, dressed up the one and only, Patrick Mahomes. A very iconic NFL quarterback for those of you who don't know. Seeing her come downstairs with that wig on was the best thing ever.

Everyone's face... *grins* irreplaceable.

Highlights:

- Abby & Grant's baby girl, Norah Joy, was born.

- Doing a newborn photoshoot with Norah.

- Volunteering at a kid's carnival at a local elementary school.

- My aunt finishing her chemo and having her surgery to remove the remaining cancerous tumors.

- Working with my dad the whole month on one of his jobs (we finished a basement).

- My mom and dad going on a little getaway for a week, and our friends, Jon & Haley staying with me and my siblings.

- Selling all three of Tauriel's babies.

- Buying my beloved plant, Walter (thank you to all who have participated in Walter's survival, you know who you are).

Song of the Month: Open Your Eyes by Judah & the Lion

.november.

November wasn't very eventful. Most of the month was filled with preparation for our trip to both the Carolinas to spend time with family for Thanksgiving. The highs of that trip include seeing The Chosen in theatres, doing a photo shoot with my uncle's pitbull, Solo, getting up at 4:45 am to go Black Friday shopping, and the annual Turkey Bowl my cousin's neighborhood participated in.

looks like chaos right?

Highlights:

- Starting my Middle-earth art journal.

- Celebrating Dom's birthday.

- Doing a respite for J (a 6-year-old boy, who unfortunately got sick while he stayed here).

- My grandpa broke his hip this month but both of my grandparents were very positive and trusting of the Lord during it all.

- Traveling to North Carolina to see my dad's sister and her family, and to South Carolina to see my mom's side of the family for Thanksgiving.

Song of the Month: Land of the Living by Roo Panes.

.december.

December was a good end to 2022. Besides the normal holiday havoc, December was pretty chill. We did a week-long respite for those kids we had in July, exchanged gifts with various people in our lives, painted windows for dear friends, and saw some pretty large bison.

Highlights:

- Week-long respite for S (2-year-old boy) and F (5-month-old girl).

- Our foster care foundation had a Christmas bowling party and we got to see a lot of kids we had done respites for over the past year and a half.

- Painting windows at an apartment building.

- Tauriel's second litter of bunnies was born.

- Christmas with my family.

- Seeing Black Panther 2 in theatres (this was my first time seeing a Marvel movie in the theatres).

- Seeing some family we hadn't seen for a long while, including a great uncle and aunt who own bison.

Song of the Month: Carry by Branches

_________________________________________

2022 held a lot of wrestling and doubt for me, but I am very thankful for the people God has put in my life. My family, church family, and my friends were always there to encourage, challenge, and walk alongside of me as I fought to believe truth this past year. I am thankful for 2022 but at the same time, I don't want 2023 to look the same as it. My prayer for myself, my family, and my friends are that God would do a work this year. That He would further His kingdom in my life, my family's life, my city, and the world. That sounds like some big goals, right? To remind myself that God can and will do this, I chose my verse of the year to be Ephesians 3:16-20, which says...

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

He is able. Able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask, think, or imagine, through the power of His Holy Spirit which is working in us. How amazing is that? His Spirit is powerful, and this power that can change the world is moving in us! What a wonderful gift! So don't be afraid, friends. Do hard things. Take steps of faith. Love boldly. Pray big prayers. Why? Because Christ dwells in our hearts. We can pray with great expectation because we know who we are praying to. I pray for you and me that our God would help us to grasp the measures of His love for us and fill us with all of His fullness in 2023.

We want all that You are, every detail and part

To the measure of all the fullness of God

And then we overflow 'cause our depths could never hold

All the wonder and awe in the glory of it all

For You're all that we need and You don't hold back a thing

So come and fill up our hearts with the measure of the fullness

Of who You are, who You are

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask

According to His great power that is at work within us

And to Him be the glory in the church throughout all the generations

Forever and ever, amen.

(Fullness of God by Judah.)