2014 Overview.

I came to the realization today that a LOT has happened in 2014 and I should probably document it some way or another. So here we go, a brief summary in numbers of what this year was like:

Flights taken- 14

Boats sailed- 5

Buses taken-6

Jobs- 7

Jobs Quit before intended- 3

Long-term homes- 5

Countries Visited- 6 (Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand)

Goodbyes said- too many to count

Exotic animals engaged with- 4 (tiger, kangaroo, wombat, whale shark)

Roadtrips taken-2

Hostels Stayed in-19

Languages attempted to learn/improve-5

Long-term Travel buddies-6

Churches attended- 4

Temporary Pets (places i lived had animals--i pretended they were mine)- 16

Tattoos designed- 1

Notebooks Used up-3

British/Aussie-isms Acquired- 8

Gotten Sick- 2

Cars owned- 1

Cars destroyed (sort of)- 1

Festivals/Holidays - 5

Volleyballs Owned-3

Major Cities visited-11 

Movies Seen-8

But regardless of all the insanely fun/crazy/awesome/scary/overwhelming things I have done this year, the one I think is the craziest is that I have officially spent an entire calendar year away from my friends and family back home. Not having them around me for support when things got tough has been one of the most challenging things I've ever experienced. Yes, of course I can skype/call people when I need to talk. But sometimes....you just need a hug from your best friends or dinner made by your mom. So I have grown. I've got on, met new people, had incredible experiences and enjoyed (almost) every minute of this year. And yet, I continue to look forward to the day I head back. Not permanently (let's be honest, I'm not good at permanent) but at least for a while to be again with people who know me inside and out and can call me out on things I can hardly see myself. Back to not really the house or the country---but to the home. To the home created by loving family and friends who make every little thing seem important. Miss you all dearly. Thinking of you today as the clocks begin to change around the world. 

May God bless and keep you this coming year. May you learn something new. May you go on an adventure. May you rise to a challenge. And may you love. May you love joyfully. May you love abundantly. May you love unexpectedly.

CHEERS! And a HAPPPY NEW YEAR!

                            

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Goodbye Barcy, Hello Road

ahhh it's happening. We're headed out. And it doesn't feel real yet...at all. We've bought maps, planned itineraries, started making to-do lists, bought a car and yet....it hasn't fully hit. Barcy has become home, and leaving just seems surreal. This is our family. These are people that have seen us at our best and worst and even on the roughest days we come back home knowing things will be fine. I have been here for the past 3 months and leaving seems so strange. In many ways this feels like leaving home all over again; except this tie we probably won't be back. Meg and I have talked over and over about how even if we do visit it will be off because they won't be in the same town or around the same people. The boys would be older and Mitch would be off elsewhere. It breaks my heart to think that this little family we have become---Mick, Sharon, the boys, Will, Mitch, Miia, Meg and me--will never be reproduced. We've had our time. It's been phenomenal but it's coming to a close. No more runs around town, no more freshly killed meat, no more laughing/dancing/being ridiculous with drunks on a Saturday night work shift, no more casual horseback rides, or water fights in the backyard. We have one more full day and then we're off. Goodbye Barcy. Hello Roadtrip.

Things that have happened in our last few weeks:

1. Found baby chicks wandering around while watering the horses. Had to gather them up in our shirts and put them in a bucket until we had a place to keep them.

2. Watched sheep get skinned and prepared...then had them for dinner.

         

                

                                                  A kidney....followed by a uterus.

3. Went out riding on young horses, saw a train was coming, had a brief freak-out moment and decided we'd trot up to the end and avoid the train whistle.

4. Watched puppies being born! Ended up being 12 in total and FRICK are they cute.

5. Saw baby guinea pigs hours after they were born. HUGE. I would not envy the mother.

6. BOUGHT A CAR!! WOOT WOOT!! But really. It's an older car, but Mick and a friend have checked it out to make sure it will get us there and it's got a SWEET sound system. boom baby.

7. Watched Captain America in a theatre built in the 1920s. It was basically a steel shed. Super cool albeit uncomfortable chairs though.

8. Dyed our hair purple briefly. I unfortunately don't have pics to prove this.

9. Watched Gabe (a baby palomino) get halter broken

10. In an attempt to register our car... Found out the court was closed and we might have to delay which we can't do. Panic set in but then we became adults figure out what to do and saved our butts. Long story.