The end of a 2023

Hi Everybody!

It’s a new year! 2024! wow!

Jan 1 happens to be my anniversary as well. Rob and I have been married for 21 years.

I know that may not seem like such a big deal for some but I had no positive examples of marriage in my immediate family. It was nothing for my mother, father, grandparents etc to have been married 3-4 times. Other partners in between. Thankfully, I have broken that mold once again. God brought Rob to me. Rob & I have many faults….but he is a good man. A good father. He is supportive and would pretty much give me the moon if he could. I don’t think you can get much better than that. Rob has been working harder in the last 18 months then ever because he is fulfilling his dreams as well as mine.

When I reflect on 2023 there are so many things that happened. It’s difficult to remember everything because it was so full of ups and downs. It’s late at night as I am typing this and thinking about the highlights of 2023…and how tired I have been because we did SOOOO much.

All of the renovating. Here are some good things because I don’t want to focus on the bad.

1. The Little Pink Barn
2. The New Shop
3. The Little Pink Barn Open House
4. I got to add Fabric Designer to my resume
5. My traveling gigs for work. I got to see some great places and meet amazing people.
6. my son’s wedding
7. chickens
8. vacation to Virginia
9. My youngest daughter graduated from college. She gets to write a new story for a our family. I am super proud.
10. a new church family. It has been so nice to connect and create a new family of friends here. It has made my adjustment so much better.

I have learned so many new things. I have been studying and immersing myself in so many homesteading type things. I am just amazed at how many things we can make from our surroundings. It’s pretty awesome when you open up your world. I love the internet (in some cases).

Honestly, the biggest thing that has impacted me in 2023 is The Little Pink Barn. I don’t think I could have imagined how well the open house turned out. Or how it has touched so many people to watch the progress and see how it turned out. I had no real plan when I started posting other than to document it for ourselves. Rob and I work so hard that sometimes I think it’s difficult for us to see our progress along the way. It sometimes feels like we don’t get a lot done and it’s nice to see it documented. The pink barn has been a magical place. I have created a special place for friends to meet. I work in there everyday and I just love that I get to be in there. It’s the one place that I got to make my own. I got to organize it to my own needs. It’s also the place that I get to be creative and take a break from the reality of my life. we still have a lot of construction zones in my house and I always have chores that need to be done. when I go to the barn I get to get away from that for a time. It helps let me breath.

I also get to have PINK!! Pink is my signature color. I decided on a whim to buy a pink Christmas tree from Amazon. I had no idea if it would be a flop or if it would look great. I posted a video on social media when I opened it up and honestly, I was so excited about it. Well a few of my friends decided it would be a great idea to send ornaments for the pink tree.

I was so touched by this. So many people sent ornaments from all of the country. It basically filled my tree. I loved all of the cards and letters sent along with them. I will be using those ornaments every year for that tree because I just think that is the magical part of the pink barn…the pink tree…the lovliness & kindness that happens at Christmas. I was truly touched by it all. I was so giddy to get that happy mail every day. Everyday watching the pink tree of kindness filled with joy.

The tree is perfect for the barn. The barn is full of kindness. So many of the pieces of furniture have a special meaning or tell a story. The decorations and the trinkets are gifts from friends, momentos and memories. I love to be surrounded by those things. SO to have my pink tree be a part of that and now have a story…well that just makes my heart swell.

As we approach 2024. I know there are a bunch of new things on the horizon that I can’t share just yet.

But you can expect a few new fabric lines.:)  I am currently waiting for my next set of strike offs.

Please pray because I pitched a pretty BIG project that I am excited about….but we are waiting to hear if it’s a go.

The truth is that things are pitched regularly. you only see and hear about the things that are accepted. But there are many rejections along the way. I don’t mind the rejections so much because I learn from them or I wait for the perfect timing. Things seem to always come back around in the perfect time.

Rob is currently working on the garage to get it finished up. He has had to get it all wired up. He added drywall and insulation. It’s going to be a place to park my car and also an extension for my kitchen. I don’t have a large kitchen or a pantry. We are putting a mini split in the garage for temp control. It will also have my harvest right freeze drier, Pantry cupboards and a counter top etc. so it will hold my over flow of small kitchen appliances, big canning pots etc. It will help me clear off my kitchen counters…which is a relief for me. We have plans for to finish the basement, the mudroom, and build a bigger chicken coop. Rob also has to finish his shop and we are going to have concrete poured in the back yard area for a future hot tub and deck area off the back mudroom. I am not sure how much of all that we will accomplish but as each piece gets finished of the house, I feel a bit better because I get to unpack and organize. I try not to focus so much on all that is not done….until I realize I want something that is packed away…and I have no idea where it is.

ugh!

We have another packed year. But I am excited. I have so many exciting new things coming up ..and that creative part of my is going to be in full swing this year. It feels good to be back in the saddle again. I felt really out of it when I didn’t have a work space.

Now I am completely caught up and that feels really great!

I hope you all have a wonderful 2024!

Thank you for following along on my journey. I really appreciate the kindness and support.

xoxox

Charisma