Why I didn't wish you a merry christmas and happy new year

I have completely abandoned you, and I'm sorry. I have never let one entire month pass before publishing a new blog post. But I have a great excuse!  

I had planned on wishing you a merry Christmas and happy new year, but then the power went out for four days. FOUR DAYS without power, running water or internet...

It came on again December 24th, and the whole Upper Skagit breathed a sigh of relief to have lit-up Christmas trees just in time for the big event.

I'm glad our family got our cookie baking done before the power went out. I invited my daughter's best friend to bake and decorate, and Kai invited his girlfriend to cut and dress the tree. And to eat the cookies, naturally.

As much as we're hard core homesteaders, I am a total wimp when it comes to power outages. I love electricity.

Yes, our pantry is stocked with canned food, and we can fetch water at the river. Yes, we have a wood stove for heat and lots of homemade candles. Yes, we have a generator to power the freezers with all our home raised meat. Our propane tank for the cook stove is full and the chickens give us eggs without electricity. There's lots of cheese in the cave underneath the house.

But... but... but... I like hot showers. I like flipping on the light switch and being able to read when it is pitch black dark at 4pm. I rely on my computer for work and pleasure.

So yes, I get whiny when the power goes out for days at a time. Sorry.

The other big thing that happened was our oldest kid turning 16 and getting his driver's licence. 

Do you know what that means? I am letting go when he gets in the car to drive down valley for a 3 hour roundtrip to visit his girlfriend. I am practicing trust and faith that no elk/drunk drivers/other inexperienced teenagers hit him. 

I have more freedom because I don't need to shuttle him around to basketball practice, and that's nice, but this letting go thing is harder than I thought.

On his birthday, we went to the driver's licence office, his favorite sushi place, and to a store where you can paint pottery and then have it fired.

In between raising my kids and working at my new job as Feminine Power Global Ambassador, there's no time for much else right now.

I go outside as much as I can, and it's a good thing we have gorgeous nature right outside our door.

Sunshine is rare right now, and whenever it makes an appearance, we drag the kids outside to get some vitamin D.  Here's a little excursion up the hill behind our house, where it was cold and we needed fire.

Don't ask me why it is necessary for my kids to wear shorts when it's freezing.

It has been very cold, but not much snow.

Just rain. Grayness. Clouds. Hibernation.

With our two teenage boys getting more and more independent, wanting to spend time with their friends instead of us, we try to get as much family time as we get.

One plus is that I get to spend more time with my girl.  It's pretty special to have that bonding time with my youngest - time I don't have to talk about basketball and mountain biking and the most popular rappers.

I'm becoming acutely aware of how time with my kids is going by so fast. When they are little and take so much of your energy, it's so easy to forget that they will be gone in a heartbeat.  I'm trying to cherish them as much as I can.

Tell me how you are doing. Have you missed me?