I guess I am also learning to make Heaven my forever home as we have never been able to grow roots at any one place. On the flip side, it is always an adventure. Joy is not always in where you are but in what you make of where you are. I have found that wherever my family is, that is my HOME.
We only made that promotion in July with our business so it was time for Mark to go back to the work force to help make the ends meet. It has sure been an adjustment for us to not have dad here all the time, but we are making the most of it and enjoying lots of homeschooling. Even our adopted grandfather, Owen can walk over each day to help teach the kids. It has been fun! We did not get to drive that fancy Lexus which is okay, in business there are ups and downs. We still drive around our old beater trucks which we are so thankful for. They get us where we need to go. We are blessed to have went to Hawaii which was a trip of a lifetime. Mark and I have never gone on a honeymoon so this was a blessing to us!
We have been so thankful for the supplemental income of our home based business, but with Molly having issues with not being able to sense her blood sugars, our focus had to be more on working with her. Lots of planning and education has been involved in getting her a service dog. We are excited that she will be able to attain more independence with havng this dog that will be able to sense her low blood sugars before they get dangerous. In fact, in one week we get to go to boot camp. Molly and I will be spending 10 days in training to learn all the dog is capable of doing, have time to bond, and for her to get used to working with the alerts. It is going to be an adventure. He has been in training for 3 years 24/7 and the company switched to him due to his keen ability to sense sugar changes. I have been very impressed with the quality and attention to detail that Retrieving Independance has had on behalf of our daughter. They want to be sure that she is with the dog that will help the most. It is a great extra layer of protection. This is the photo of TEDDY, her help dog. He was on Furlow with some volunteers training at the bowling alley. He is a Labrodoodle.
We still have a milk cow, lots of fresh milk, a flock of laying hens, 3 sheep, another cow, and 2 steers we raise for beef. We will be having a garden this coming spring. Mark planted Diacon Radishes for a cover crop this year. It draw nutrients up from deep in the soil. You just till and plant in the spring. It is like a green manure. Lots to prepare for this coming year on the homestead.
We were able to go to Wisconsin for our yearly Winter visit over the holiday with our family. We enjoyed lots of fun times and pretty white snow. It was great to see all of our loved ones but always nice to return to our homestead. It is has been a very blessed year. God has been so good to us. Thank you to all that have made our life easier by contributing towards Molly’s servive dog. We could not have done this without your generous help. May God bless each hand that has been put together to make this possible including all the wonderful people that are helping with the benefit coming this Sunday. A special thanks to all the local businesses of Linden and Lobelville, Miss Martha Mitchener from the bank in Linden, Poochie Keeton, Marlene Tarkington, Miss Janet Marshal for all your hard work in helping us put the benefit together.
Other than all our sweet blessings and adventures we continue to have, we are enjoying life way down yonder in Tennessee. May God bless your new year as well! Love to you all.
4 thoughts on “A Year in Review 2016”
gidday to you all there. Happy new year to you all . Look forward to hearing all the good news about Molly and her new dog. Very hot here in Aussie land . Enjoy your “new” home again. You always make it so nice and cosy and productive where ever you go. Love to you . Vicki xxoo
So glad to see you have a nice place to live. My nieces grandson has a dog because of allergies and it is working out fine. Hope it works out for your daughter also. I love the looks of the dog. My dog is 13 years old and I think I’m to old to get another dog if something happens to her. glen
Oops I obviously meant 2017!
Happy New Year to all the Family and all who follow this blog
May 2016 be full of Blessings and Gratefulness x