WOW.............so much time has passed since I last blogged. Many things have been going on in our lives and there NEVER seems to be enough time to get everything done. I think (and hope) that it is just the adjustment of juggling our first year of homeschool, trying to keep up the house, trying to work from home to bring in some sort of supplemental income, the holidays, etc. 
Did anyone else feel like this during your first year? If so, what did you do? Do you have any tips to make things run smoother than normal?
Our Christmas was
WONDERFUL! Every year we host our annual family Christmas get together, where everyone brings an appetizer of some kind and we make a main dish, usually a pasta dish to share. Well, about 2 hours before everyone was supposed to arrive, my daughter Amanda came out of her bedroom in her pajamas, with her hair up in a big ponytail, waving her hand in my face. At first I thought she was just playing around pretending that she was engaged, wearing her sister's......"This keeps the guys away" ring. But when I put on my glasses and realized that was
NOT the same ring and that her eyes were full with tears of joy, getting ready to flow, I just lost it! My beautiful baby, my first-born, was
ENGAGED! 
While we were all getting things ready, her boyfriend, Tang, had snuck in to see my husband and asked him for the honor of marrying his daughter. Oh, that just made the tears flow even more!!! Tang is such a wonderful young man who is in training to become a Police Officer. He is following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, uncles, and brother. We are all so very proud of him! Here is a picture that was taken on the 23rd at my sister's house. I just love this picture because that is them! They have so much fun together! I told them I was going to use that for their engagement picture for the paper!
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE what the next 16 months are going to be like, as we have already attended one bridal expo with another planned for the end of the month!!! I know that they will have everything done and in order
LONG BEFORE next April, so all they will need to do is just show up at the church on time!
Here is a picture of all of us, including my niece and nephew. Starting from the back left, Tang, Goose, Bean, in front of Tang, my nephew Nemo, my niece Boog, me, Skippy, and Kiddo. My sister Cathy was taking the pictures.
A few days after Christmas, Bean moved to North Carolina where she is taking a few weeks of classes where she will be in training for a major satellite company. She is excited about this new path in her life. I, however, am not as excited, as I wish that she would have looked harder here for a job and was back home with us. But, at that age, they think they know what they are doing!!!!! Cutting those apron strings has proven to be very difficult for me. Even though this is the
THIRD time she has gone. I guess as a mother, it will always be difficult when they leave. Even if it happens a dozen times!
Did anyone else feel like this during your first year? If so, what did you do? Do you have any tips to make things run smoother than normal?