2010: A Year in Review

I am sitting here with a glass of wine in my new massage chair (thanks Santa!), pondering the old year and anticipating the new. I have to admit, my initial response when I think about last year is to complain. 2010, you were tough on me. But, then I am ashamed. How can I complain? Anyone who knows the Lord and His goodness (and to know the Lord is to know His goodness) should never live a single moment without acknowledging His hand of blessing. Although last year was a struggle for me, great blessings (namely my sweet Coco) came out of it all. So, I will only look at the good in 2010 and share those things with you:
Jon—Not only did his family life change dramatically this year, his business life changed as well. Jon is still working on computers with Panhandle State Bank, but he has moved from being the AS/400 Administrator (responsible for the gigantic computer server that holds all the banks information) to the Business Intelligence department as a Report Developer and Analyst. With that move comes a lot more exciting challenges and the development of new skills. The biggest change with this new position, though, is the location of his office. It has now in his den in our home. (I have to say that this move is pretty great for me. Although we try not to bother him at all during working hours, it is comforting to me to know that there is another adult in the house). I was a little nervous about this considering how social Jon is, but he does go into the main branch at least once a week, as well as frequent trips to Spokane. And when he really needs a social fix and starts twitching or stops showering for days on end, I send him to dollar beers at Eichart’s or trivia night at McDuff’s and all is well.

The blessing of working from home
Other fun things for Jon this year included several trips to Seattle, one to be an attendant in our friends’ Dan and Brittany’s wedding and to buy a new-to-us car, and helping one of his best friends and his family move from Ft Benning , Georgia to Seattle , Wa. Jon was in charge of driving 5,000 miles in a 38ft RV, towing a truck with 3 kids under the age of 6, Josh’s pregnant wife Gayle, and a 1 yr old German Shepherd puppy named Danya. There are some pretty funny stories from this trip.
Leah--made a baby. I was also able to go back to Bakersfield to meet my new 2nd nephew Jack in February, and spent the month of May “helping” my sister after the birth of her 3rd baby Reagan. I also read a few good books, including Gilead and Wish you Well. Just before Coco was born, a photographer friend of mine gave me a tutorial class in how to take better pictures. I will be working on that, for sure, next year. I also finished a very extensive and comprehensive study on the book of Revelation given by Chuck Missler. If you know anything about Missler you will understand what a feat this is. Me and my greatest accomplishments
Jael has accomplished much this last year. The greatest was the adjustment from being an only child to being a big sister. To be honest, I was a little worried. But Jael has been wonderfully patient with it all and really loves Coco. She will walk past Coco and plant a kiss on her head, and then continue playing. My big girl knows and recognizes all alphabet letters and knows nearly all the sounds they make. She understands simple addition and subtraction. She has mastered the tricycle and rides laps around the kitchen island at break neck speed. She keeps reminding Jon to teach her to ski this winter and is excited to learn to ride a “big girl bike” this summer.

showing off her skills with her new tamborine

Collette—She has gone on the greatest journey of the family for the year. She began the year as just “a glimmer in her mother’s eye” and has grown to a 14lb, 23 in ball of fun. She says “Agoooo” a lot and is aggressively working on her first few teeth. She is such a smiley baby, and laughs at just about everything. The other day, I said to her “Coco, I want you to be sleeping right now.” She just giggled.
All that being said, though, I am really happy to put 2010 behind me and am pretty excited about 2011. Lord willing, these are a few things we are looking forward to:
Jon is planning on competing in several races, including the Windermere half marathon (foot) and the Capitol Forest 100 (mountain bike). He will also be spending a week in the Philippines with his family to be an attendant in his father’s wedding this summer. We have a few family trips planned as well, including Juneau this summer and Anchorage/ Wasilla for Thanksgiving and, hopefully, a make-up trip to California for Christmas. (Can you say "Disneyland"!!!!!!!!!?) My plans for this year are simple: spend quality time with my girls and wonderful husband, enjoy this beautiful place where we have been blessed to live, and learn to laugh through the chaos of this life we live. Oh, and TRY to post a blog at least once a month.

Happy New Year everyone!!! Lets make it a good one!