2013 Pine Family Newsletter

This year has been a wonderful year for our family. As we celebrate 10 years of marriage and our children growing and becoming more independent (our littlest turned 3 this year – no more toddlers here!), we have found a new peace and balance that has helped us build a foundation for years to come.

Summer in Costa Rica

Our highlight of the year was spending a large part of our summer in Costa Rica. Our family had such an amazing experience there – mostly staying in a vacation home in a little town named Nosara on the Pacific coast.

Time away from it all proved to be the most amazing prescription for our family. We woke up at 5:30am with the sun already risen, the birds in full chorus and often times the howler monkeys making noise in the distance. Tim or I would often find time for a morning jog to the beach or yoga session before breakfast. The kids woke up and began to play, so happy and free. We took our work with us – we weren’t completely free to do as we pleased every day – but we found plenty of time to play. We spent days at the beach, taking time for long lunches at local cafes, and took amazing adventures riding quads through the jungle, stand-up-paddling amongst crocodiles (no kidding!), hiking, and more.

Our kids loved collecting hermit crabs and setting up little homes for them, swimming in the pool daily, and got to spend lots of quality time with each other and friends and family. We were joined by my parents for a week, and our friends, the Lim family, for almost two weeks. The trip to Costa Rica really could be considered “the trip of a lifetime” – and perhaps we would consider it that – if it weren’t for our plans to go back again next summer!

• Our favorite Costa Rica experiences
• Photos on Flickr
• Costa Rica – how we made it happen

 

Kathy’s 2013
I have spent a lot of time this year finding the right balance between my career, volunteering, motherhood, and pursuing my interests. It has been a year of growth and learning, and I am very excited about rediscovering many of my passions and pursuing new ventures.

I’ve stepped out of my position as PTO President after two very intense and devoted years. While it took a lot of sacrifice, my time as PTO President taught me a lot about leadership and the power of working with others and believing in what you set out to accomplish (read more here about why I don’t regret all the sacrifices I made and what I got out of it).

In many ways, leading the PTO helped awakened my interest in giving back, and hooked me on how fulfilling it can be to do something with a strong sense of purpose.

For that reason, I’ve continued my path to doing what I love by following my passions and interests with much more dedication this year. I have picked up painting, started a blog (you’re on it, by the way), opened an Etsy shop, and started thinking about new ways to meld my career and interests.

Meanwhile, I’ve kept my web design business going strong, and plan to continue to do so while I pursue potential writing, art and interests in helping others in 2014.

And, if you wonder how I find time for all of this, you may want to read about my pursuit of a fulfilling life or how I maintain perspective – I’ve been learning a lot about finding balance in my life, and I believe it’s something we can all find value in, in the midst of this busy world we live in.

Tim’s 2013
Tim has had quite an exciting year as well. Last year, he and his business partners at Assured Lender Services where he was working full time started an escrow company that they ultimately decided to sell off at the end of the year. However, early this year he was called back into action when the deal went sour, and it became his full time job getting the re-salvaged escrow company back off the ground. The company, Reliant Escrow, Inc. is now running smoothly and Tim continues travels frequently to San Diego, where the office is based. Meanwhile, he has also been working arduously to get our backyard project near completion. This Thanksgiving we had a major rehaul as several tractors removed concrete, over 300 plants were delivered, and family and neighbors helped us get our new plants in the ground. We are closer than ever to completion (is there really such a thing?) and hope to put final touches on in 2014 and move on to other household projects.

Wishing you laughter & love 
We hope that 2013 has found you in good health and surrounded by loving family and friends. Time only seems to move faster in this media-filled, busy world we all live in, but it is during the holiday season that we all can take a bit of a reprieve from our work, demands, and busy life and truly relax and enjoy our time with the ones we love. I hope that you will treasure these moments and cherish the things that matter to you most during the holiday season and in the new year.