My body and mind were recovering from giving birth. We adjusted to living in our new cabin and to having a newborn. My sister Hannah moved in with us.
February: Choices:
The Freedom Convoy, a historic event within Canada, bonded us with friends and created some divides within family.
March: Progress:
I was a little too eager to start our garden. I reached out and made some Mom friends; My business thrived this month.
April: Loss:
A depressing amount of rain drowned my seedlings. Our family dog Athena killed herself jumping out a window. My sister moved out.
May: Youth:
Started to feel more like my pre-pregnancy self physically and mentally. Weather was still too wet to garden but I was doing very well with my rabbit business.
Not a whole lot happened outside of the daily grind of farm chores and gardening. Watching Sequoia grow and develop was a beautiful thing.
July:Anxiety:
Take a pregnancy test and it's positive. My immediate family comes to visit us on the Island.
August: Anticipation:
Farm is potentially selling. Grandpa puts an offer on 124acre farm and it's accepted. We start working on a bus build to be our new home if the farm sells.
September: Waiting:
Waiting for Grandpa's farm to sell. Not wanting to start any new projects till we know if we are moving or not.
October: Excitement:
Farm sells! We start putting all our effort and money into finishing our bus build.
November: Insanity:
Finish bus build, move onto new farm. We are all sick with various illnesses all month.
December: Tired:
So much snow so moving the rest of the farm is halted. We sadly lose some animals due to cold and the stress caused by moving. My pregnancy hormones skyrocket. Christmas goes well though and was a much needed rest from all the chaos. The snow begins to melt and we once again continue moving.
That's where this year ends; The hustle of moving, entering into the third trimester of pregnancy, and building up our new homestead.
Despite all the crazy, if I were to describe this year in one word, it would be Therapeutic. Motherhood has put a lot of things into perspective for me particularly in the areas of faith and religion in my life. I had been struggling with my beliefs and what I had been taught about God from a young age. With a child of my own it has given me much needed clarity. I've come to the conclusion that I benefited a lot from faith and belief in God but that certain religious beliefs were harmful for my mental and physical health and I'm not raising my daughter under them. Making these sort of decisions finally has given me a new sense of freedom and peace. Although deconstructing faith and purity culture isn't easy, it is enlightening and I find I live in a lot less fear.
As far a goals for 2023, I think we have our work cut out for us. Setting up our new homestead is going to be a full year project and we are expecting a new family member in the spring. I would like to continue working on improving my crocheting skills though and work on more fibre projects! There is a lot of potential and prospects for our little family in 2023 and I'm excited to see how the new year plays out!
Wishing you all a Happy New Years! Excited to see where life takes you and what God has planned for you in this new year!
