Garman Year in Review: 2016

Well, what to say about 2016? The beginning of this year, it felt like our family had reached a new level of crazy. Maybe it was the ages of the kids and all their activities, or homeschooling a middle schooler and a preschooler, or finishing the book…or all of it combined.

At one point in the year my nine year old informed me, “Mom, The tooth fairy hasn’t given me any money for the LAST THREE TEETH I’ve lost.”

I also learned that when you forget to clip your children’s toenails for a few months, a few different things can happen:

1. Your child’s toenails will begin to break off themselves (thus negating the problem).
2. Your child’s toenails will begin to grow into their skin (thus complicating the problem).
3. Your child will bite them off with their teeth (Ohmyword…just PLEASE tell me your children have done this too…).

So, yes… apparently we dropped the ball with a few things this year. I realized just how bad it had gotten when my three year old sneezed and then informed me that she had “blessed herself.” I guess she’s learning NOT to rely on us for many things anymore…

I thought the quote of the year came from Colby: “There are some days that make me understand why some animals eat their young.”

Of course he’s kidding and we love our kids…but yeah…we all have our moments. (I laughed out loud this morning when I read Prov. 19:18 …I think we all need to be reminded sometimes).

So, yes, the year started out wild and crazy, but things eventually settled down…

Colby continued to do what He does best (teaching God’s Word and making all of his girl’s dreams come true).He also was able to do some fly-fishing this year (which was probably good for his overly female-enriched life.

In case you’ve missed it, I self-published a book this year.  Many of you were very kind and encouraging about it and it was a great experience.

This year, we were able to go to on a Disney cruise with my parents, Georgia with all our church planting team, see cherry blossoms in D.C., spend a day at Virginia beach, grow a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast (Darcy), go on a marriage get-away to St. Louis, compete at a State Robotics Tournament (Darcy), join a soccer team (Haley), take a gymnastics class (Gracie and Penelope), learn to ride a bike (Gracie), and give up a binkie (Penelope).

I got on a blogging kick and wrote about evangelism (very popular topic as you can imagine), weakness, our summer in Iceland…Oh yes, our summer in Iceland.  Definitely our highlight of the year.   (<— Read about it here).  Words could never capture all that we experienced there.

All in all, 2016 was an amazing year.  We got to see so many incredible things, the kids are all flourishing (despite long toenails and unrewarded lost teeth), and our health is good.  The church is growing both spiritually and numerically.  We have an abundance of amazing friends and family.

And…looking back, I realize that we don’t deserve any of it.  God has blessed us deeply this year and it really is humbling when I reflect on His generosity (provided many times through His people).

We continue to pray for those of you who do not yet know this Love that is ours through Jesus.  He really is what this life is all about.  

Thankful for all of you,

The Garman family

P.S. Life is nothing without relationships, so if we haven’t had a real conversation this year, please stop by or give us a call…We cherish all of the friendships God has given us.