2016 changed me for the better!
One year ago, the Small Town Family was bombarded with homesickness, loneliness, and turmoil. I never thought on January 3, 1017, I would say we love living in Florida! God transformed our hearts and souls and showed us the blessings of living in such a beautiful area with unending sunshine, constant warm weather, and endless possibilities of cultural experiences. God has surrounded us with amazing people and resources which we never anticipated or would have had in Illinois.
Our family pulled together and our bonds became stronger as God changed each of us into better versions of ourselves. The journey hasn’t been easy at times, but with God’s help, we came together as a family.
The progress on my book exceeded my expectations and pushed me to new writing depths I never thought possible. I signed a contract with a self publisher in June and set out making my blog posts into a readable story. I had many distractions and set backs since signing the contract. For instance, I’m still a wife and mother which means, family comes first. Mr. Small Town remains my constant cheerleader and supporter. He has gone above and beyond in making dinners (thank you Stouffer’s!) and helping with parenting duties as I completed rewrites to the manuscript.
When my hard drive, and completed rewrites, were destroyed, Dave held my hand as he tried to find solutions to retrieve the lost data. After discovering the data couldn’t be retrieved, he cheered me on as I recreated the lost work from memory. He continues to be my constant sounding board as I read to him the pages I’ve written to the story we lived out together.
Throughout the year, God kept showering us with wisdom, discernment and strength as we guided the Kid through a cross country move, emotional maturity, and the ever changing world of middle school. We have a new found respect for middle school personnel!
The word to sum up 2016 is PERSERVERE. I didn’t give up. I didn’t give in. I didn’t quit. I muddled through writing self-doubt, less than ideal family moments, and computer failures.
Did I think our family would be thriving a year ago? No
Did I think my manuscript would be in an editor’s hands for the final edits? No
Did I think I could survive a winter without snow? No
I didn’t think I was capable.
But one year later, I am.
I’d love to hear what you can do today that you were not capable of 12 months ago!
Happy 2017!
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I always enjoy reading your blogs. Happy 2017 to you and your family. I always look forward to the fresh start the new year brings. Its like a fresh dose of hope for all the year can hold and what it holds. Love and Hugs to you all! Send warm weather north please. I am sick of the cold already. Lol
Thanks Pam! During the winters up north, I would sit in a sunbeam to keep warm. Then look up at the clear blue sky and pretend it was summer! Now, when it is cloudy and rainy here, I pretend it’s cold outside when it’s humid and muggy 😉 It’s all about tricking your mind ;=)
Well done family! I will forever miss life in Florida! Now that we don’t live there any longer I miss it all the more. We especially miss the beaches!💛🌴☀️
Thanks Donna! We may have beaches but you have all the good brisket and bbq in Texas!