Another year is done. And as I (Kris) sit here on the last day of the year, I think back and we have done a LOT during the year. After a couple of slower years (we did have a pandemic and all), 2022 seemed to speed up. We had a lot happening over the year, so let us take you on a bit of a recap!
January: Ajay turned 20, we totaled a car in an accident, Allen/Bobby raced in Winter Heat at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Elaina had her first club volleyball tournament
February: Allison started driver’s ed, Ayden played rec basketball, Allison turned 15, Bill won at Daytona, Elaina started school volleyball, Kris went on a personal retreat
March: Kris and the kids went to Florida for spring break, Bill won at COTA, Allison got her driver’s permit, Alex had his Tomoe Warrior Test
April: Alex had an honors chorus concert, Ayden played rec soccer, Allen/Bobby and Alex played rec flag football, first Carowinds visit of the year, family camping trip, Allen/Bobby raced at Anderson, Kris went on a ladies retreat, the kids had a school dance, Kris married the Cranfields
May: Allen/Bobby got fitted for a race seat, Allen/Bobby had his spring band concert, Elaina’s volleyball team competed for the conference championship, Kris and Bill celebrated 17 years of marriage, Bill turned 45, Allen/Bobby raced at Kingsport, Bill won at Kansas, Alex finished elementary school, Allison participated in a big horse clinic, Kris finished life/leadership coaching class, Kris and the kids went to Bill’s race at Charlotte, Allen raced at Hickory, Cat was shot
June: Cat moved out of her apartment, the middle schoolers went on a mission trip, Allison competed at the War Horse Event Series, we adopted Rocky from the animal shelter, kids attended various day camps, Annual Conference, Allen/Bobby raced at Anderson, Alex had his Sun and Moon test, kids attended Mount Shepherd summer camp, Kris went on a personal retreat
July: Kris started serving at Wesley Chapel UMC, Allison competed at the WHES, Elaina attended volleyball camp, Kris and the girls attended an MRO ladies event, Carowinds day, Ayden turned 12, family trip to Indianapolis and the race (with our first Buc-ees visit!), Allen/Bobby raced at Motor Mile and finished 2nd
August: kids attended Outdoor Skills Camp, school started with 4 middle schoolers!, Allison started homeschooling, family trip to Richmond for the race and a day in Washington D.C., Kris went on a retreat weekend, we finally replaced the car totalled in January
September: Alex and Ayden started cross country, Alex and Allen joined student council, Bill and Kris saw John Crist perform, Ayden had a small medical procedure, tried to figure out a medical thing with another kid, Cat turned 29, Allen/Bobby raced at Lonesome Pine
October: Kris turned 44, enjoyed a “goodbye” meal for family members who had been in town for several months, Allen/Bobby raced at Anderson, Elaina and Ayden went to the mountains with a family member, Allison competed at WHES, a school dance, Alex won 2 first place trophies at a karate tournament, Allen/Bobby raced at Hickory, Elaina made the club volleyball travel team, Scarowinds visit
November: Kris went with Bill to the final Phoenix Championship Race and THEY WON!!, Allison competed at the WHES championship weekend, Elaina turned 14, Alex turned 12, family visited for Thanksgiving, Kris went on a preaching planning retreat, Alex sang with his school choir at a local festival, annual family photo with the Bass Pro Santa, Bill and Kris left for Nashville for the NASCAR awards banquet
December: NASCAR Awards Banquet, grandma took some kids to the Living Christmas Tree concert, Allen turned 14, Allen/Bobby and Alex had winter concerts, Advent Family Bible Study at church, Allen/Bobby had 4 teeth extracted, Carowinds Winterfest visit, Christmas Eve/Day, family trip to Illinois
And you know, a whole lot of regular boring life stuff in between. Whew! That felt a lot typing all that out! 2023 is already seeming just as full. Any tips for being fully present in the midst of all the chaos? How do you make sure you breath in the midst of the fullness of life?
The Mares Family 