I've been accused of having long posts, but hey, they are for ME! So, I can write whatever I want! Heee hee.
Part 1.
10 years ago was 1999. I was living in Germany and for New Year's Eve we took a bus trip from Germany to Paris. When we got on the bus each person was handed a bottle of champagne and a plastic cup, plus some party gear. By the time the bus got the Paris everyone was supposed to have finished their bottle!!! We got off the bus with a group of new German friends. We made our way to the Eiffel Tower and proceeded to form a huge congo line up the Champs Elyesee. It was one of most exciting and thrilling times of my life. We rang in the new millenium under the Eiffel Tower. It seems unreal to even talk about.
Since then I graduated college, graduated seminary, was ordained, have served in three churches, met my husband, fell in love, got married, bought a home, had two children, made tons of friends, and gone through some of the most incredible highs and terrible lows. Through it all and to this day I feel so blessed, so loved, and so inspired. God has always been so good to me.
Part 2. 2009
In the past year we have gone through so incredibly much!!!
I spent over a month on bedrest preparing for the birth of Maeve. After her early birth (June 20, 6 lbs 10 oz, 19 in, 5:57 AM) she was in the NICU for a week with wet lung. We finally welcomed her home at a tiny little 5 lbs after all the weight she lost in the NICU. We have gone through endless bouts with thrush, acid reflux, and now a respiratory virus. 6 months later, Maeve is the smiley-est little girl ever. She has the happiest personality and is just sweet as can be. We all love having a little girl around the house.
I started a new job, switching from the role as solo pastor to a job focused on children and youth. This also caused a change for Noah from our beloved Friends Preschool to the Presbyterian preschool at the new church. Now I am 10 seconds from work. We also welcomed a nanny into our home, Sarah, who helps with the kids a few afternoons a week while Mommy works. Having a caretaker who can walk in the house and basically take over with no instruction or transition for the kids is amazing. There is no separation anxiety, tears, long routine reminders, it's great!
Paul is still working at CSC in Delaware. He continues to manage lots of people and projects. He is well respected and doing an amazing job.
I had the unfortunate luck of falling on December 2nd and have been off of my feet ever since. That's a month now. I had surgery on December 21st and will be on the couch for at least another month or two. This means that I will have spent almost 4 months time on the couch in the course of 12 months. If you know me at all you know this is not my style.
We took two vacations in 09. One to a retreat center in Virginia. We told Noah we were going to explore the forest. It downpoured the entire trip. The second vacation was a quick trip to Ocean City. It rained there as well or was so windy we couldn't stand up. Ahh... remember where I was vacationing 10 years ago? Where are THOSE days?
Part 3: 2010
We have many hopes for 2010. Paul and I have spent a lot of serious time talking lately about why we aren't spending our time doing the amazing things we've always wanted to do. 2010 is going to be the year for us to change that! We have great plans that we hope to put in place by the end of the month that will allow us to get back to our "old selves" again.
We also both are toying around with the idea of running a half marathon together. When I met Paul I was following a training schedule for running a half marathon and never finished it. I will be allowed to run again in April and we hope to complete something within a year.
This year will also mark our 5th wedding anniversary and we hope to head to Vegas in May/June to get remarried by Elvis. This is something we always said we would do.
We really toyed around with the idea of having three kids, but after going through another infancy we are pretty darn sure we are done. Maeve is a good baby, but we miss the freedom to travel without worrying about naptimes and diapers. We are more eager to get on a plane and take the kids abroad in a few years than spend a few more years at home going through the infancy stages. Plus Paul's sister has three kids and they always tell us that everywhere they go (hotels, rental cars, etc) they get slapped with a "large family" fee.
So, in dramatic contrast to where I was 10 years ago we spent last night with a bunch of toddlers and preschoolers. They played and fought and tantrum-ed through the night. At 9PM we gathered them all together and had them count to 5, yell Happy New Year, blow their noise makers and toast their Apple Juice.
2010 is going to be a fantastic year for us and we can hardly wait to take the first steps in this new decade!!
May you find blessings and peace and unfathomable joy in the coming year!!!
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