Guest post, written by my husband, Tim.

A year is both a very long and a very short period of time.

A lot can happen in a year, so much that it’s difficult to remember it all. A year ago today Calvin was only eight months old and had just barely started crawling. What a difference from then until now! The little guy has grown up so much during 2013.

At the same time, it seems like 2013 has gone by really quickly. We’ve been living in Edmonton for almost a year and a half. How did that happen!?

When a year can feel so long and so short at the same time, it becomes that much more important to step back and reflect on what we’ve gone through, to remember the special moments and the big events.

Big Events of 2013

Two big events stand out in particular from 2013. The biggest was the arrival of Victor James, a second little dinosaur to add to our collection of prehistoric creatures. Victor showed up early on the morning of October 24, and he’s already brought us so much joy. Every day he gets a little bit cuter and a little bit more interactive. I can’t wait until he and Calvin are able to start playing and growing together!

The second big event was our purchase of a house in Edmonton. When we learned in June that we would soon have to leave our rental, we weighed our options, forecasted our finances, and made the decision to enter the real estate market. We spent about a month going through the purchasing process, and eventually decided to make an offer on one of the first houses we had seen. We negotiated a pretty good price, and got possession at the end of July. So far we’ve made some small improvements (with many thank yous owed to our parents for their help!), and we have some definite goals for future projects, like new windows, new fences, and an expansion of the back yard. Maybe we’ll even got some of that started in 2014!

Looking Ahead

As we stand on the verge of 2014, it would seem that Larissa, Calvin, Victor, and I are in for a “down year” of sorts. The past several years have been absolutely packed with big changes. Just look:

2010

• Tim finishes his Master’s degree at the University of Victoria
• We start dating, then get engaged

2011

• We buy a brand new car (and name him Max)
• We get married
• We get pregnant with our first child

2012

• Calvin is born (April)
• We move to Edmonton, where Tim starts a new job

2013

• We buy a house
• Victor is born (October)

How can we possibly maintain that kind of pace? Is there any way we can come up with another two or more huge, life-altering events?

Only God knows. But as this list demonstrates, He’s been very, very good to us so far, and we know that He will continue to be sufficient for us, no matter what 2014 holds.