(A note from Roma: for
many years, my sister Bianca was the one who ran our family blog. But she has
moved on to the college and adult stage of life. So I have been asked to take
over. Let’s see if I remember everything she taught me about how to launch a
post! J)
2016
really was a great year. There were unplanned adventures for some of us,
uneventful days for others, and plenty of going about the usual mundane routine
around the house. Which is not a bad thing. Sometimes the day-to-day things
seem small and insignificant, but God can use those times to teach you lessons,
give you peace and rest, or whatever you need. The days are long but the years
are so short! Which is why I hope and pray that we all “fix our eyes on the things that are unseen, because what is seen
is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18.)
We
siblings kicked off 2016 by ice skating with Bianca’s special man, Jessie. What
a fun way to start off year! Winter was spent driving around doing photo shoots
(our favorite thing to do around here); a surprise trip to Texas for us girls;
hanging out with friends; hosting a really sweet missionary family from
Ethiopia (another thing our family likes to do as often as possible—we love missionaries!)
and celebrating our Mom’s birthday. And Josiah was playing a lot of basketball
as well. (And still enjoys it today! A post about that will be coming up soon!)
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Bianca and Jessie on a
cold photo shoot I took them on. But worth it!
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Going to Texas to
reunite with friends was the best Christmas present from sissy ever. Thank you
Bianca!
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SPRING
TIME came, which meant joining a large homeschool coop for the first time in a
long time. This coop has come in handy for doing fun classes and educational
classes (so that if we cover those subjects there, we don’t have to cover them
at home!) We’ve made new friends, gone on fun field trips, and have done other
fun activities such as bonfires and barn dances. It’s a very neat group with
lots of God-fearing home school families. We celebrated Easter and Josiah’s
birthday, and for spring break, my Mom’s parents came for a nice long visit. We
watched the amazing film: RISEN. (Joseph Fiennes.) If you haven’t seen this
film, it’s a must. Then came Ruby and my birthday, and what our recent blog
post was about—the awesome road trip U.S.A to Missouri, Virginia, Tennessee,
and…I’m pretty sure we hit other states too. That was a highlight this past
year, seeing and meeting relatives and friends. Read about that here.
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Barn dancing with
homeschool kids and parents. We got lots more people to come out on the floor
later—don’t let the picture fool you! J
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This was Easter Sunday.
What you don’t know is that I had to walk across the street, climb a big
ladder, (first carry the big ladder up and down our super long curvy driveway)
and cut this branch from a high tree to capture this photo. The things I go
through to get the perfect picture that says SPRING. J
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SUMMER
TIME! Sports camp at our church; Bianca going to Colorado with her man and his
entire family on vacation; and Ben doing ministry in Guatemala for a whole
month! Life changing for him. Halfway through his internship, I Face-Timed him
and showed him my passport. I was going
to join him for one week! It was unexpected—I went with our old church in
TX, replacing someone who couldn’t go, so I went for free. I was thrilled! Other
summer activities included more photo shoots just for fun, and splashing in the
sun at a water park. We experienced crazy weather and having to take shelter in
a public building as soon as we had finished swimming; a 4-day power outage in
the heat of July; and car problems multiple times, including when we were all
dressed up for a photo shoot. But it was still a fun summer. We even got to visit
the people who now live in our old house in TX and saw the house again!
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Ben and I at the top of
Cerro de la Cruz in Antigua, Guatemala, Sacatepequez. My most favorite part of
2016!
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Josiah, Mom, and Rubia
cooling off one warm July day. Perfect weather. Right before the weather
drastically changed and we took shelter at the drug company Bianca works at
because of tornado warnings, some serious strong wind and rain. J
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FALL
TIME brought us enough left-over vacation days to head to Ohio in September to
spend time with the Puerto-Rican relatives. It included a day in Amish Country,
a wonderful stage production, good food, a cute market and hiking. Still very
hot weather at this point, and not very many fall colors yet, but that’s okay. In
October, we had our Third Annual Cobbler party at our house and it was
delightful! Perfect. Our favorite outreach that we do every year. It included
over 80 guests, a tree swing, two piñatas, cobbler and ice cream and
fellowship. I pray that the Lord uses these events for His glory! For Thanksgiving,
we had all the relatives come and see us again just like last Thanksgiving! So
fun to have all these people in the house, reflecting on the goodness of God
and Jesus Christ.
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Cobbler party fun—breaking
into the piñatas!
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“Bio” (Abuelo) and
Rubia enjoying guitar together over Thanksgiving break when all the relatives
flew down. Mikey is enjoying a snooze.
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And
now I will just skip over to Christmas vacation in Ohio with the relatives,
amazing Puerto Rican food, (are you starting to see a pattern here?) chocolate,
lights, music, laughter, my teenage cousin doing that weird dance he used to do
as a toddler, and singing and candlelight service and telling the story of the
birth of Christ…I didn’t want it to end, but it did and we just got back
recently and have unpacked and are doing a lot of laundry!
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Everyone in Abuelo and
Abuela’s living room after presents had been opened.
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So,
that was 2016! I realize most of our blog readers have probably read a lot of
these things in the beautiful Christmas letter my Mom composed and mailed to
all y’all, so this post is mainly for people who don’t get our letter, and also
to just sum up this past year.
To
close, I will share with y’all my personal goal for 2017. I want to write down
on blank sheet calendars for 365 days, 12 months, 52 weeks—what I am thankful
for. I am learning how thankfulness can fight so many sins—anxiety, worry,
jealousy, covetousness, selfishness, etc. It can also humble me, as I realize
how much God provides, protects, and blesses in one single day. It helps me to
not focus on what I don’t have, but on what I do have: this peaceful, 10-acre
lot with cats and a dog, chickens and roosters, lots of wooded areas, gorgeous
sunsets, my parents, four best friends, and friends coming to visit soon.
HAPPY
NEW YEAR, and I hope 2017 is filled with blessings, life changing moments,
adventures, hope, peace, love, and joy, and a deeper relationship with God.
~Roma
(and the rest of the clan)
