All things new!

HAAAAAAAPPPPPPYYYYY NEW YEAR! I haven't blogged in forever! So much has been going on in the Candelaria household. The holidays were especially busy, as I'm sure everyone else's was as well. We're "lucky" enough to have a million family members (haha) so we had FIVE different Christmas celebrations in two days. The kids were spoiled rotten and Santa didn't forget about Jer or I, either ;)

We spent New Years with some old friends & their kids. I love how easy it was to be around them. The kids had a blast and they all got along great, which made for a stress-free night. The kids even made it to midnight & beyond! There was a ton of food, an exciting game of Cranium & all the "just dance 3" we could handle! It was crazy to think about the "old times" we had way back in high school & then look around at each others spouses and kids! Such a reminder about how fast time really goes by!

Jer & I had begun to feel like big things were around the corner coming into the new year. We were offered a great opportunity in ministry where the salary and free private school for our kids looked pretty appealing. But in the end we chose not to take it. We didn't feel right about doing it when our hearts weren't fully there. After we turned it down we were really excited. We didn't know why, but we both had a crazy feeling that changes (for the better) were coming. A few days later we got a phone call with another opportunity. All the details aren't "hashed out" just yet, but we are beyond excited about it! It would be such an awesome opportunity for our whole family. One that I believe will bring us closer as a family and couldn't be better timed. We've always known that God's plans are perfect, but we're seeing it first-hand right now! So very exciting! (More on this soon ;)

The "big cooking day" was such a success and made my life so much easier that I did it again this month. I ditched the recipes that weren't a big hit, tweaked the ones that needed tweaking, kept the ones we loved, and added a few new ones to the mix. I know it may sound super dumb, but it makes me so happy to know my family is eating meals they really enjoy which are also good for them. We usually have enough leftovers for a lunch throughout the week, so we're really getting our moneys worth as well!

I've also been doing something new with the laundry! I know this may be old news to most moms... But it was a "eureka!" moment for me when I realized it! I do one load of laundry per day! Haha... Yep, wash, dry, fold (for the girls I roll outfits together so they can dress themselves easily) and put away! I used to try to do laundry once a week, and it was so overwhelming! I had a million to do and I felt like I could never stay on top of it! But the past month or so that I've been doing this has been so much easier. We never have more than one load a day and it doesn't take much time at all. SUCCESS!! I even find myself washing the bedding more often because of how much time I've freed up. I always love when I find easier ways to accomplish my "mommy chores" ;) Have any more shortcut tips or tricks? Share them with me!