2011- The Year of Changes

I'm actually posting twice in one year! 2011 has been a year of changes- mostly good ones!
    We got an offer on the house in KY in March while we were at Bryce and Heather's house for Bryce Eric's 2nd birthday. That began a whirlwind of activity!! We closed a few weeks later and moved on April 22nd, the day before Easter. Bryce, Heather and the boys came to help us pack the truck, drive down and unpack. I can't even begin to say what a blessing they were! My friend, Sandy, also came down the last week we were there to help me finish packing. I don't know how I would have done it without her, as my asthma went crazy with all the dust and I was a mess! It was so hard to leave all the people we grew to love in KY, but it is so good to be home!
     The last 7 months have been consumed with unpacking, organizing and getting the house back in order. We just finished remodeling the dining room, installing tile floors and cabinets to hold all my craft/sewing stuff and seasonal dishes and decorations. I can't wait to have people over for dinner, or any meal actually. I still have a lot of work to do, but it's all coming together.
     Which leads me to our next big change: In 23 days, on New Year's Eve, Ashlee will become Mrs. Matthew Berchen. He proposed to her on the beach Saturday morning, September 17th. We are thrilled! We are having the wedding at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's beautiful home in Myakka Valley Ranches. It will be an outdoor wedding at 3:30, with a formal dinner following and then relaxing and partying until we ring in the New Year together. I am very excited and plans are coming together very nicely. They have had 3 wonderful showers and are about to decide on a place to live until they move to CA next summer/fall. Matthew was sworn into the US Navy on September 8th and reports to Boot Camp on April 3rd, 2012. He will be gone for a few months and then she will move out to San Diego to join him.
     Another big change has been our diet. Ashlee has been battling some health issues for the past 2 years and had changed her diet, but we all decided to join her on a program called GAPS. It has changed my life! I have lost 15 pounds, feel great, have more energy and don't feel at all deprived. My next post and hopefully many others to come are going to explain what GAPS is and how I've implemented it.

Reflections of 2010

The last year has been a time of limbo. It has lingered and yet flown by all at once. We have traveled much, but arrive at the end in the same place we started. I lost my Mom and friend on Jan. 22, 2010.
We had her funeral in Sarasota on Feb. 22. It was a bittersweet time for our family to come together, laugh, cry, remember, and begin the healing process. It was a beautiful day. We chartered a boat to take us (just the 6 siblings) out to the inter-coastal waterway to scatter Mom's ashes in the Gulf of Mexico she loved so much. Aunt Joan (my Mom's baby sister) and Uncle Leroy's children had sent a lei from Hawaii to toss out with the ashes. The water was VERY choppy. The captain took a long time driving the boat back to the marina, which gave us time to comfort each other and compose ourselves a little bit. Many people, both friends and family, then gathered at the beach house we had rented, had our own special memorial service and shared a meal. While we were in FL, Ashlee began a relationship with a life-long friend, Matthew Berchen.
When we returned to KY, we began "staging" and preparing to sell our house. We had garage sales and packed much. It is hard to pack away all your personal possessions and keep the house ready to show at any moment. We drove to PA to celebrate Bryce Eric's first birthday. He is so sweet!
We officially put the house on the market in April.
In June, we celebrated as Ashlee graduated from high school. Sandy Berchen and Matthew came for the week and we had a great time of reconnection. Tiffany and Heather were here for a week. We headed back to FL for a funeral two weeks later. While we were there, Grandfather Ditchfield had a stroke. I spent a little time each morning with him and he even woke up and spoke to us on Friday after being in a coma all week. That was his last goodbye though, and he passed away on Saturday, June 26, as we were driving back to KY. We attended a summer camp with our church the last week in June. Christina went to PA to attend the Gettysburg Civil War Reenactment with Bryce, Heather and Bryce Eric.
In July, we were in FL again for Grandfather's memorial service. We also celebrated Karabeth's 3rd birthday with a party at the fountains at Island Park. It was a rainy day, but we had a good time!
We thought we would be home for awhile, but on August 13th we got a phone call from Bryce that Heather might be in labor! She was not due for three more weeks, but Bryce Eric had been three weeks early, so it was possible. We made arrangements and quickly headed to PA! Heather's labor stopped and we spent the next 4 1/2 weeks visiting and waiting patiently for Sweet Pea to make his/her debut! We spent time with friends, made awesome eggplant parmigiana, enjoyed sharing recipes and information, went on lots of walks and even celebrated Rebecca's 13th birthday with a trip to Hershey, PA! On the evening of September 14th, Heather began to suspect labor was starting. She slept most of the night, then we called Bryce to come home from work. The midwife arrived about 7 and Conlan James Reckner was born at 12:37pm, Sept. 15, 2010! He was born in a birth pool in the kitchen. It was all very peaceful and natural. He weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20.5 in long. We spent the next two weeks helping out and went home to KY on Oct. 4. It was an honor and a privilege to be there at his birth!














In October, Matthew came to visit for a week. November 23 we were headed back to FL for Thanksgiving and "Mary" Christmas. All of my children and grandblessings gather together each year to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Then Friday we shop and put up the tree and Saturday we celebrate our Christmas as a family. It is a busy, but blessed weekend. It is also when we get our annual family picture that I use on my Christmas Cards (that Tiffany designs).










We stayed in FL through my birthday and enjoyed special times with friends, including the Downtown Sarasota Christmas Parade and the Ditchfield Family Christmas Concert, a highlight of our year!! We went to my sister, Peggy's house for Christmas day and my brother, Tom was there! Our year ended on another bittersweet note. My "only friend, Janet" and her dear family bought a house in St. Louis and moved there on Jan. 13, 2011. She was the first new friend I made when we moved here and we have become like sisters in the past 4 1/2 years. I am so happy for her as she begins this new chapter in her life and thrilled that it is in St. Louis, where I will surely see her again!

Here we are, still trying to sell this house and move back to Sarasota. Once I get there, I think I shall stay there the rest of my life! We will see what God's plan is for 2011. I hope to blog more than once a year! May the Lord bless you and keep you each day of the coming year!