Happy New Year!
We had such an incredible 2016! It was truly fantastic for each and every one of us on this end. I realize I have been somewhat incognito for some time. Life has been…. busy…. to say the least. End of October we spent much time bouncing from place to place in and around Chicago. November 1st we ended up at my brother’s home. We had made the familial decision that it was best to sell this rig instead of invest in new tires (after the massive blow out), simply because this rig is just not big enough for us. Also, it became abundantly clear in our adventures that having a vehicle and wee bit more storage would be MUCH wiser for the sheer number of people and activities we have going on. So, we needed a place to park it for a few months, allowing us time to sell the RV and invest in a truck/vehicle plus a travel trailer. TT seems the much better route for us.
And…. it just so happened that my brother was in major need of some family support. Our family is quite distant (to say the very least). Last I spoke to my brother was years ago. But I heard from my dad that he was in a tough way. He was laid off, house nearing foreclosure, and mounds of debt if he did not swing things around right quick. House was kinda in shambles when we arrived, but we struck a deal that I’d help him get his house back in shape and help him rent out rooms to build up income to save his house. At the start, we lived in the RV in the driveway for quite some time. Needed to get the house in order before moving in. Eventually we moved into a large back room to the house that has backyard/private entrance. Kids have a fabulous yard, a fun fire pit, and super nice neighborhood and forest preserves to explore. Overall been a great stay.
I’ve helped him rent out some space in his home, he regained his job back (whew!) and he’s at the very very beginning stages of getting back on his feet. I’m working hard on selling our rig for it’s value, and getting the conference up and running! It’s only a few short 6-or-so weeks away! Wowza!
Our hope is to be situated by conference time so that start of March we may set back out once again. And so far, we seem to be on par with that plan! In the meantime, the kids are having fun catching up with Chicago friends and taking a few classes. D got back on the swim team for our period here, K has been working VERY hard on filming projects, and the littles will all start park district classes in the week or two ahead. AND!!!!!! A new puppy has been occupying much of ALL of our time. Meet Mansa. He’s a true sweet pup. 10 weeks old now, but was a xmas present to the kiddos. Super awesome addition to our family!
So….. the new year had me thinking….
Well…. actually it was the FB posts I had been seeing ALLLLLLLL over the place suggesting that 2016 could go F-itself. I was kinda confused. But really….. the confusion just is mine and mine alone. Yeah, there were clearly some truly crazy wordly woes that happened this past year. Many celebrities died, we had probably one of the craziest presidential elections of all time…. Natural disasters and the like. It was rough on a wordly perspective. Ironically however, our family had one of the best yet. It was such a super-special year full of experiences and personal achievements.
February we hosted our first ever unschooling conference and it was a raging success. By May K had completed a full feature documentary about homeshcooling and hosted a movie premier. We participated in the UWG conference, traveled some more in the summer, including east-coast travels and participation in the Unschoolers Rock the Campground weekend. We furthered beautiful relationships with friends on a farm in Ohio and fell in love with them and their amazing slice of heaven. We explored ideas to move/relocate but then ultimately decided to pick up and hit the road full time on our nomadic adventures. Just before nomadic adventures commenced however, K participated in the 48 Hour Film Festival and won Audience Choice Award (amazeballs!!!!). A first-time trip to Rethinking Everything completely changed our lives for the better. The experience, the adventure, the people…. it nourished us in ways we did not even realize needed nourishing and fostered amazing connections with beings I LONG to see again super-duper soon. We purchased our first RV and had the most “amazing” adventures in the first rig. (And yes, I’m being sarcastic there!) But in all seriousness, I was meant to have that rig to teach me a plethora of things I could not have gathered from any other experiences. So I feel totally blessed to have had the time and experience in our first rig. We had the MOST AMAZING trip to AZ to participate in the Free to Be conference. We happened upon the International Balloon Fiesta in NM and man…. live felt completely altered from there. Upon return we rekindle family relations with my brother which has actually been super duper great. The kids did not know their uncle at all. And, we have been able to spend more getting things on track for the conference (which we are SO excited about due to all of the amazing speakers AND registered participants already!)!!
I’m sure I’m leaving some things out…. mainly due to me not recalling every detail but living in a state of bliss for all that has come our way this past year. It was a really amazing year, and because of this I am super stoked at what 2017 is bound to bring our way! It’s going to be a great one!
I’m closing out with some pics of our near-end-of-year adventures here. Some are likely repeated due to previous blog posts I’ve shared, I’m just thrilled to share them with you! Happy New Year!!!!
