2012 - Year in Review

As per the usual, it is time to reflect on the year. And what a year we have had. Full of change, a little uncertainty, a lot of sporting events, but most importantly, laughter and love.

Beau took this picture of us.

Brenley took this picture of her Dad.

If you go back and read all the 2012 posts, this has probably been my most active posting year as mobile blogging has made things a lot easier for me, but also because I spent a few months "between jobs." Besides maternity leave, it was the most delicious use of my time. A time I don't take for granted, and feel very fortunate to have had because I got to spend so much precious time with my kids. Time seems so fleeting as I reflect back on old posts. Their faces are changing. Their activities are changing. Homework is getting harder. Baby teeth are getting lost. I'm just thankful to have this record of all those special moments. I don't capture everything, but the things I want to remember and hold on too for more than the fleeting moment, I do try to keep logged with words or pictures.

This was also a year of change. Not only did I change jobs and begin working out of the house, but I added more travel to my calendar. Some of it has been overnight, but a lot of it I try to do in one day. I try to work that travel around our family calendar. It hasn't been perfect, but what I have missed, I have made up for in flexibility. Flexibility in picking up kids early when needed, being the one to take them to dr. appointments, or heading to their school parties and not worrying about trying to get back to work in 30 minutes. I can do laundry in the middle of the week and have supper ready when everyone gets home. While I miss office camaraderie, and sometimes I forget what I look like in makeup and work clothes, this new job has afforded me many more visits to see parents, my siblings and their families, and my Stillwater bestie. There has been nothing better than that. And while this job isn't my lifelong goal, it is a great company and I am hoping for more responsibility in 2013.

What other change? Well, we moved. As I think back to last March and April when we prepped our house to be put on the market and actually stuck a sign in the yard, I just shake my head. Sometimes I just can't believe we did it. Thinking about how much "crap" I threw out and cleaned, or how many times we had to leave the house in the evening. Or here I was starting a new job, learning new things, all the while dashing around the house to pick up clutter while I raced out of the house with my laptop to work in my car while we had a last minute showing over the noon hour!

It was an entire team effort from me to the kids to Brian, and finally in June, the offer came in and we accepted it. But wait, we hadn't found our new home!! After several panicked nights and days, and one offer rejected, and another offer raised, we got our new home ----  only to be "homeless" for two weeks in between. Argh! How we survived two weeks in a hotel suite, which included me gone for 5 days.....well, it is called amazing kids, incredibly supportive grandparents, and lots of answered prayers.

Speaking of amazing, we also have amazing friends and family members who helped us move into our dream home on a very hot July day.

So from here our big boy turned 9, started the 4th grade, and began playing football. He has developed a love of video games, Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder, and has become a fan of Sports Center (which his Dad loves). He seems to be caught between being a kid and pre-teen. He still loves hugs and kisses and will momentarily hold your hand from time to time, but he has a problem listening (or hearing the message is a better descriptor), focusing at times, and he knows everything - just ask him! We have even had a few moments of emotional breakdowns when the communication lines between parents and kid broke down. But we signed up for all parts of his life, so we are readying ourself for this next phase, and praying he maintains his sweet innocence for as long as possible, and we as parents are equipped with the right words and temperament.

Speaking of pre-teen, we think Brenley has already entered it. She is so willful, so independent, so opinionated. Yes, she is like her mama, but wow, she has more fire in her than I could ever dream to have. It has made for some interesting showdowns, but truly this little girl is full of so much love too. She can swing from one vine to another in a matter of minutes.  She is full of big words, fascinating stories, question after question, and complete wonder. She is so amazing and while Brian and I look at each other and just shake our head in disbelief, we also relish every sweet moment she paints for us.

Through all of this, I love my husband more each day. He is a great father who can get kids chauffeured around, coach a baseball or basketball game, and then get kids bathed and tucked in - all in the same night. He is a whiz at laundry, and never once complains when days go by and I am still in the same black stretch pants with no makeup on. We will celebrate 12 years of marriage in 2013, and sometimes (in a good way) it seems longer, especially when we reflect on memories of our kids that seem like they happened in another lifetime.

The other reflection I want to make for 2012 is about a few very strong women that I am fortunate to know and call friends. The first is my friend Heather who found out this year, at age 36, that she has breast cancer. After a shaved head, bouts of random sickness and numbness while enduring powerful chemotherapy, she is in her final radiation stages now. This young mother and wife has taught me that no fight is too great. She has me second guess complaining about my own itchy dry eyes when I hear how the chemo has broken down her body, and yet she remains so hopeful, so strong. She has recently found out her cancer was much more life threatening than she even knew, but her strong will and spirit has her doctors smiling at her progress. My hope for her in 2013 is that she is cancer free and she gets her family moved closer to Kansas so she gets a new start on life. I'm anxious to share that journey with her.

My other strong friend is Kelly. I just thought I endured change this year, but this friend has bought her first ever home, been through a company wide layoff, with a company that moved her and her family halfway across the US only a year prior. She then discovered her father was sick with cancer only to loose him a month later, all the while dealing with her mother's memory illness. That synopsis doesn't even do my friend justice, but the point being is that through all of this, another young mother and wife maintained her grace and composure all the while enduring an experience so painful that I have such a hard time even comprehending it. My friend says all of this happening was truly Divine Intervention, and there really is no other words for it. My hope for her in 2013 is that she finds comfort in her memories, peace with her worklife, health with her family, and happiness in every corner she looks. Thank you Kelly for teaching me that God does work in mysterious ways and to accept where I am in life, because that is exactly where I am intended to be.

That leads me to wrapping up this reflective post. One thing our family wants to work toward is having a better relationship with God. We all have Him in our hearts, but we don't do nearly enough to keep Him in our daily lives with our actions and words. There has been nothing better than the few times we have sat down together - the four of us - to pray. We want more of these moments so we can continue to be thankful for our many blessings, but also so we can lean on in times of need.

For me personally, I want to keep things in perspective and take nothing for granted. I want to continue to visit my family as often as possible. I want to rendezvous with my girlfriends more. I want to be in the moment more with my kids. I want to make time for my husband, all the while being a little selfish for myself from time to time. I mean, sounds easy, right? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as my little girl often says.

With that, I will close with a few quotes.