Ringing OUT the New Year, dancing into the NEW

I admit whole-heartedly that I am GLAD that 2013 is OVER.  I am ready for a change. I realize that New Years Resolutions are cliche! We write stuff down on a piece of paper or declare it publicly, find accountability partners...and we still fail at most of what we write down. Although, one year, I wrote down 100 things I wanted to do and I looked at my goals EVERY SINGLE DAY, and ya know what, I accomplished most of them.  So perhaps, I should do that again, or perhaps I should write down the things I didnt like about 2013 and remind myself that I want to change them.
I rushed too much and missed some pretty important things because of it.
I over-analyzed alot and didnt enjoy everything that I could have because of that fact.
I complained WAYYYY to much, and missed alot of blessings because I had my eye on what I didnt have and not on what I have been abundantly blessed with.
I said yes when I really should have said no.  I undertook things I didnt do with a grateful heart.
I spent too much time wasting time, avoiding important things I really should have gotten done.
I was angry alot.  Anger sometimes is where my heart has seemed to settle, and so I walked around with a dreadful, cynical, stubborn, closed heart. And although I have had moments where I have realized it, I havent fixed it! I am not even sure what I am angry at most of the time.
I have taken too many steps backward when it comes to putting my health first. I need to get myself in check and KEEP myself in check.
I have made myself too busy and not given myself enough time to JUST BE!
I havent read to Audrey as much as I would have liked. or taken her to the park as much as I should have, or just sat down on the floor and pretended to eat her imaginary cake and drink her imaginary tea.
I have worked at my business just to prove that I could be busy and not thrown myself into every moment that I could have and captured everything as perfectly as I would have liked.
I have been a hard to live with wife and a unreasonable daughter and the relationships with these, my Most Valuable People has suffered because of my attitude and self-centeredness!
I have cried too much and not laughed enough.
I have been a keep-my-distance friend and a god-talker and not a god-listener and god-follower.  Oh My word, I am a Chreaster! There I said it.  I realize it and I am ever so sad because of it.
The good thing is, God loves me anyway, and I know that. But I also know I have to spend some time focusing on my relationship with him and alot of the the stuff will fall into place naturally...funny how he works that way!
The resolution I am making is simple:
BE STILL
and
Think before I speak, before I judge, before I preach, Before I yell.
BE STILL
and weigh my words and actions.
BE STILL
and be OK with myself
BE STILL
and know.

Life according to FINN

We have adopted. It has been 3 weeks since Audrey and I walked into a Homeward Bound Animal Rescue on November 23rd and chose to adopt a then 7 week old German Shepherd/ Lab Mix puppy. After a few episodes of begging Jim, he finally said yes. We left our house at 10:30 am with Molli in tow in the back, and were set to meet and pick up "Francesca" or "Fletcher" one of Finn's 8 brothers or sisters( 9 puppies) with no intention of coming home with Finn. He came to us, was interested in Audrey and I, shy, but silly, one kiss to Audrey and we picked him out and paid the $300 adoption fee on the spot, after a good meeting with Molli. I felt 10 minutes of crazy buyers remorse.  What had I done?  A puppy?
That meant potty training in the cold, puppy teeth, barking, getting along with a new fmily member in an already crazy household.

 
 

 

Has it been just as crazy as I pictured it?  OH MY YES!
Has it been worth it? DEAR LORD ABOVE, YES!!
He is smart and sweet and growing WAYYYYY Fast!
They said a projected 65 lbs...and I am thinking 80 lbs!
His teeth are like daggers, and he has drawn blood on each of us.
He has peed and pooped on the carpet...all cleaned up nicely!
He has irritated Molli.
He has chased and annoyed Jagger.
He has gnawed his puppy teeth into Kendalls hair. Run amuck in the car as we drove.
He has done great in his crate at night. If he waked up after 4 am, we allow him to sleep in bed with us for the last few hours of sleep.
He has learned sit and stay and Fetch and he starts his puppy training on Monday.
He has brightened our day in every way! What a beautiful addition to our family.
WELCOME to OUR LIFE Finn Tiller Salter, your life. <3 p="">

Our 2013 Christmas Letter

Since I didnt add it to the Christmas Cards this year, and I feel like if you are on social media, which 90% of our Christmas Card Recipients are, then you already know all of this. But just in case, here goes:

Our family has had a wonderful year, filled with so many great adventures and fun!

We enjoyed camping this year! We spent 2 weeks at Pettecote Junction Campground in Cedar Run Pa at the beginning of June. It was wonderful and relaxing, and we got to spend much of our time with friends who also love to camp.  Jim bought he and I Kayaks for our 5 year anniversary, so we made good use of them during our time here, as Pine Creek was right behind our camper. 

This was our 3rd camping season and we have continued to enjoy it as a family.  We get to "get away" but do it close to home, enjoying places like Gettysburg and Cedar Run.

We also enjoyed a few weekends in Kent , NY where my dad has his fishing boat and camper.  It is along Lake Ontario, so we enjoyed all of the attractions close-by.

My cousin Amanda and her family went along with us this year and I checked one thing off my Bucket List: Maid of the Mist. It was breath-taking and something everyone should experience.  It was such a wonderful day spent with some of my very favorite people.

Audrey and my mom and I then toured the other highlights of the regions: Rochester and Buffalo zoos, the National Museum of Play, Butterfly Gardens, and so much more.  RELAXING!

Summer was also spent in our small garden and in our back yard, sliding on our slip-n-slide.

Visits to the park, the zoo,  Hershey Park, Land of Little Horses. Audrey and I also made a trek to the Dewey Beach  Delaware with my friend Jen and her daughter Alli.

The final adventure was a Halloween Disney Cruise that we took with my mom at the end of October.  To say it was amazing is an understatement. We loved it, but I do believe Audrey loved it most of all!

As you can see, we are always on the go!  I am happy for that. I love my down time, but I don't give myself much of it, because in the back of my mind I am reminded that my kiddo will be headed to Kindergarten soon enough and I will never get these precious days back.

Audrey continues to grow like a weed in stature and in spirit. She is now a BUNNY at her Preschool. We are so blessed to have such amazing teachers in our kiddos life. She loves school!  Every day, she comes home and tells me something new she has learned.  To hear this kiddo sing, "God Bless America" melts my heart.  She is so active and has such an imagination.  She loves dress-up and singing and dancing.

She participated in a Pony Clinic in the spring, where she rode ponies and learned how to care for them. She took dance class for a few weeks this summer, and now she wants to learn how to ice-skate. My plan is to take her skiing for the first time this year.  I look forward to every new experience we can provide for her. She is, as I have said in every letter for the past 4 years, truly the JOY we so rightly gave her as a middle name. 

As for Jim, this is his 9th year at Equipment Depot, selling and renting lifts.  We are so grateful for the flexibility his job offers and also for the great benefits.  He enjoys working there!  He is also always busy, so Audrey and I love when we have Daddy home for a day with nothing to do.  Typically, the fire pager goes off just as we sit down for dinner, but I think this year I finally settled in to that fact, not embraced it, but am ok with it!  The Fire Department is still my husband's heart. He continued his tenure as Fire Chief for Upper Allen Township.  After this long, I really can't imagine life any differently.  I never thought 6 years ago, I would have found a man who could take care of his family so well and allow me the blessing of being able to stay at home with our daughter. In return, I just try and keep up with the laundry and vacuuming..lol!

In addition to those duties, my Photography Business has taken off to new heights.  I could be busy every day, but choose to keep a schedule that allows me to be a mom first. I will most likely pick up the schedule that is waiting for me once Audrey starts school.  I LOVE what I do. I get to see amazing moments in people's lives that others miss: marriages, the birth of children, adoptions, birthdays, milestones.  This has been a VERY busy year, and sometimes, the last thing I do is want to pick up my camera, but then I get a rush from what I capture behind the lens.  I feel like I get to tell the story of so many lives, especially since some of my customers have given me 3 full years of their lives.

I also continue to work for W A DeHart as a contractor once a week. I hold 1 dozen customers that continue to buy their candy, ice cream and paper gods from me.  It keeps the "sales spark" in me and I enjoy the work!

Just this month, we made an addition to our family by adopting a German Shepherd/Black Lab Mix puppy named Finn, from a wonderful local rescue group.  I forgot that having a puppy is sort of like having a newborn baby all over again.  Molli( our 9 year old Dachshund) and Jagger ( Our 2 year old Cat) have welcomed him into our home.  He completes our little family.  By next year's letter he will no longer be the 12 lb little fur ball he is right now, and instead a potential 75 lb lap dog...just what we hope for.

We look forward to the new year ahead! We wish your family a year filled with God's greatest blessings: Health and Prosperity, Love and Family

Always a Merry Christmas!

Stacy, Jim & Audrey Salter

Christmas 2013