Looking Forward to a New Year

Here we are on the last day of 2014.  While it was a tough year in some ways, it was a wonderful year in others.  We were kind of silent on the Beacon unless something came up.   We had a lot on our plate this year, and there wasn’t a lot of time.

We lost Dad in July, and in the months leading up to that were with him as he failed in health.  He passed away while we were away with our entire family branch for a family reunion on my husband’s side.  The reunion coincided with our annual trip to Maine which gets booked in January.   It was difficult for us, but he told us before we left to “GO, get out of here and enjoy your grandkids!”  We can never change a minute of the past, and I’m not sure I wouldn’t have changed that had I known.  He would have been angry with me if I had, so I guess for us it was the right decision.

Thankfully 2014 was a healthy year for us.  No major health issues propped up, and some got a lot better.  Other than the occasional cold or stomach bug (one which has postponed our trip to visit to our daughter’s family in New Hampshire today), we’ve all been fine.

I started a new passion which went through the family like a virus.   Krista started it and has infected all of us.  Essential oils and their use seems to be a new thing locally so I’ve launched a new educational journey.   As I continue researching and experimenting my way to wellness through essential oils, I’ll be sharing with Stef on a blog called “Country Comfort Essential Oils.”  On it we share information we learn and recipes for natural products that can be made at home that are pretty fantastic.  That’s another blog and it’s linked at right at the top.   Stef and I are both Wellness Advocates for doTERRA, which sells 100% pure Certified Therapeutic Grade essential oils, so we post our own links to doTERRA in each post that one of us writes.  Researching and learning takes a fair amount of time but the benefits have been wonderful.   I really enjoy being able to make homemade products like fantastic lip balms that taste great and have nothing but organic ingredients.

You can also check out “Macaroni Mojo” also listed at right, where so far Stef and I have shared some recipes from our favorites.  Some are handed down; some are just made up along the way.  It’s just a fun thing we hit now and then with something new.  We’re hoping to entice the other two daughters to share and hopefully they’ll find the time because they have plenty to bring to the collection.

I’m looking forward to reading, writing, studying, camping, and enjoying our daughters’ families in 2015.

All of us wish you a happy, healthy and love filled year!  Happy New Year!!