2009?

I can't believe it's almost 2009! In some ways it seems like the year has gone by before I could even enjoy it. In other ways it has gone on and on and on. It's at the time of year when I like to reflect back on my life over the year. I like to think about all the good and even the not so good things that have happened. It is nice just to see where we have been and what we have done.

Just because I can, here is my year in review. It might kind of be old news if you keep up with my blog but here it goes. Try and keep up :p

So I'm really starting out at the end of 2007. In December of 2007 Samuel was born. Most of his life was spent in 2008, so I feel the need to mention it. After he came home, life got really busy as I adjusted to life as a mom of 2 children. I had just gotten use to have Genevieve, to add Samuel took some time to get use to. He ended up with RSV early on and we had to deal with all of that. He is a joy to have as a son. God knew what he was doing when he gave me Samuel. I couldn't handle another Genevieve.

January didn't bring much in the way of events. We just adjusted to life as a family, and we went on about life as we always had. Genevieve was getting use to being a big sister, and she loves her brother a lot. They became really good buddies early on. We also learned in January that Genevieve would have to have surgery again.

I started the Lent season a little late. However, I was determined to really work hard this year. This year I gave up clutter. I don't know if I did a great job, but I think I did good. I continued my quest to give up clutter even after the Lent season. We moved this year, and I am still purging things now. I find that I have things that I don't think I will use again, and I get rid of it. There is no reason to keep it around. We have hauled off a lot of boxes to the Recycle Center and Thrift Stores. At the end of the month Genevieve had her 3rd and final surgery for Bladder Reflux. She did great, and is doing great now.

March was one of our busy months. We started the month off traveling to Nashville for my sister's wedding. I was there for about 10 days, and my husband joined me later. It was big trip, and it had a lot of ups and downs. We were very happy to be a part of her big day. We went home after the wedding was over, and we began the longest move EVER. At the end of the month my husband was off to school, and the kids and I were adjusting to life without him.

In April we celebrated my birthday, our wedding anniversary, and my husband's birthday. Even though we were apart, we still celebrated in our own ways. It isn't the first birthday and anniversary we have missed. In fact, besides his time in recruiting, we haven't spent them together since the year we were married (6 years in 2008).

May was also a busy month for us. The kids and I attended a Mother Daughter Banquet with my Mom. We had a good time, and everyone loved the kids. Samuel won the youngest baby prize even though he was already 4 months old at the time. They served the same meal we had a couple of years before, but it was still good. I loved watching Genevieve dance around with her friends and have a good time. The kids and I also embarked on our first journey by plane together. We went to Georgia for two weeks to spend time with my husband at school. We had a good time, and we loved seeing him. We had a lot of fun while we were there.

June was full of getting things done and seeing old friends. We spent some time trying to get our passports taken care of. It was easier than I thought, but we ran into a few hang ups later on. We spent some time getting forms filled out again and dealing with all of that. My sister also had her wedding reception in Kansas this month. Some of my friends from high school showed up, and it was a lot of fun. Lacy (my very dear friend from high school) came down with her little girl. It was so much fun to watch her and Genevieve together. We joked about how it was the next generation's trouble makers.

July brought the 4th and all the fun that comes with that. I also stayed busy making sure that we kept getting things for our move finished up. Samuel turned 7 months old and Genevieve started to show a little interest in the potty.

In August, the kids and I ventured out to Tribune to attend my 10 year high school reunion. It was good to see everyone again, but it was very nice to spend more time with some of my close friends that I knew I wouldn't see again for awhile. I also started to try and get Samuel to sleep on his own. It didn't go so great to start off with, and we really didn't get it fixed until we moved into our apartment here. Now I have to work on the all night thing. I also met Lacy for the day, and had a hard time saying goodbye. I really miss her a lot. I know we didn't see each other a lot, but I miss the idea of being able to if I wanted. My husband also made it home from school, and we started the last min things to get ready for our move.

September was the month we moved. It doesn't seem like it has been very long ago, and I guess it really hasn't. We tried to pack in as much as we could before we moved. We had Samuel's Baptism, a trip up for my mother-in-law's retirement, and my father-in-law also had surgery. It was a crazy way to end the time in the states. We made the trip just fine, and we ended up here in one piece. We also moved home not long after our arrival. Genevieve will still say, "It's our new home Momma" when we drive up.

In October we had a lot of fun. We went to Playmobil Park, and Genevieve went Trick or Treating for the first time. It was cold, but she got a lot of candy and had a good time. The leaves started to change and it was so pretty. I also passed my driver's test late October.

November brought our household goods to us. We would spend most of the month getting everything put away and out of the boxes. I am happy to report that EVERY box has been unpacked, and 99.9% of the stuff is put away. We also saw our first snow. The biggest highlight to our month was that our baby girl had her 3rd Birthday.

This month has been filled with things for the holiday. We actually got our Christmas Tree up early, and it looked good (at least to me it did). My in-laws came in for a visit, and we went to our first Christmas Social since we got here. We also celebrated Samuel's 1st Birthday. The month is now almost over, and I think about all the fun we had as a family this month. I love Christmas just because I love seeing my kids so happy. It's a nice season for that.

I hope I didn't bore you with everything. I just feel so blessed for the year we have had, and I hope you have had a very blessed year too. I pray that your new year is filled with a lot of love, joy, and wonderful relationships. Here's to a new year!