Coming up with a word or theme to start out the new year is a common practice. Some examples include words like, “Abundance,” “Gratitude,” or phrases like “The best is yet to come”.

I thought this seemed like a nice idea last year and thought about suggesting it as something to include in our family assemblies, but I never actually did it. And now, somehow, there are just three weeks left in the year.

But better late than never. After some reflection, I’ve figured out the theme for the past year: 

“Just Jump”

This theme came to me last week when my daughter and I went to the outdoor pool at the rec center to swim laps. It was cold outside (for Florida, at least), and the pool heater had failed earlier in the day, so the water was quite chilly. We stood on the edge of the pool shivering and giggling for a few minutes, waiting for one of us to take the plunge. And then we simultaneously jumped, as if it were planned that way. 

That moment seemed a lot like this year – looking out at all the new things before us, feeling concern and a little fear, but also a giddy excitement…then all of us together just jumping in. And because of that, we’re ending the year feeling closer as a family than we ever have before. 

A Year of Change

This was a big year for our family. On New Year’s Day, after a four-month period of discerning whether or not we wanted to make Florida our new home (you can read more about our move in this blog post), we moved into our new house here. This year has been a year of making a house a home, making a place a dwelling.

Then, at the end of March, we welcomed our seventh child into the family. Little Lavran was born at home in the water, a fitting entrance for our first Florida baby. Having a baby in a new state, with a new midwife, and in a totally new way (our first water birth!) was exciting and a little scary.

There have been so many other exciting “just jump” moments this year: 

• Making new friends here in Florida
• Some amazing road trips as a family, seeing new sights and old friends and family, including an epic drive to Boston for Highland dance national championships this past summer
• Trying new things (snorkeling, triathlon training, to name a few)
• Learning new things (Guitar, violin, photography, new subjects in school)
• Saying goodbye to habits and hobbies that weren’t serving us 
• Navigating our first hurricane and the aftermath

And one more — this blog became a reality! After years of talking about starting a family blog, we did it.

In so many ways our move to Florida was a leap of faith. We weren’t sure if it would be the right fit for our family. We didn’t know how the kids would adjust – not to mention ourselves! We made the move on a tight budget without assistance from a moving stipend. Looking back, it was slightly crazy. But we felt called to do it, and ultimately, we took the leap of faith.

I don’t know what 2025 has in store, but I am so grateful for all the jumps we’ve made as a family this year. There have been ups and downs, and there have been moments that making a change has seemed impossible or too difficult. But we have yet to regret making the choice to just jump. 

We are so grateful for everyone who has followed our blog this year – thank you! We wish you all a fulfilling end of 2024, with lots of successful jumps in the year to come.