{Wrap-up of 2009}

The last day of 2009 has arrived (and is already half over). If I was to compare 2009 to a bottle of wine (and you know I like my wine!), I'd say it was a great year. I'm not sure if it is possible to remember everything we did in 2009, but I'm going to give it a shot. As we were driving home from Target this morning I was explaining to all my kids what it meant to be New Years Eve (as they don't really have any concept of time - which I actually like - except when we are trying to get to school on time). I asked them if they could think of some things we had done in 2009 - and here's the list we came up with...
*We went on a family vacation to St. Louis and stayed with the Husters (so so fun)
*We got to climb to the top of the arch (I don't really care to do that one again anytime soon)
*Gabriella was potty trained (I'm a big fan of this one)
*Lucas said his first words, rolled over, crawled, sprouted 10 teeth, had some french fries,took his first steps, and turned 1
*Austin and Ashlyn took swim lessons and loved it (mostly)
*Gabriella learned to put her head underwater on her own
*Ashlyn got to take gymnastics lessons and is doing awesome at it
*Austin and Ashlyn are both in preschool
*Shawn continued our kitchen renovation (here's to finishing it in 2010!!)
*Stephanie got to go away for a whole weekend and do some scrapbooking (can't wait to do it again!)
*We sold our huge entertainment center and bought a huge tv (this is definitely the highlight of shawn's year)
*Started sitting in the "real" church and not the cry room! (yeah!)
*We went camping 3 times and can't wait to get back out for more
*Went to Target 4, 237 times
*Went to Costco even more
*Spent a weekend in Manhattan with the Hudson's and the Marks and had a blast with NO kids! (turns out we really like each other when we get to hang out without all of our 11 kids - we got to have whole, uninterrupted conversation!)
*The kids spent many weekends out at the Turner farm which is always a big treat for them. (by the way - when is it MY turn to come to the farm on my own??)
*Gabriella had her first haircut a couple weeks ago (yes, she's almost 3)
*Had about a million play dates and outings with all our buddies.
*We all went to a Royals game and even tailgated
*We went to Ohio Days in Waverly for the big parade and carnival
*We made snow ice cream out of the 12 inches of snow we had on Christmas (actually this is Shawn's thing - I refuse to eat snow ice cream...)
*We went bowling on Gabriella's b-day (and she broke a toe which she will still tell you about)
*Had many fun times with all our cousins and family
*Went to the park about 347 times

And that's all we could come up with for now. Not a bad list if I do say so myself. I love my family, I love where we are at, and I love that we are about to start a whole new year. So, now I should think about what I want for 2010 -
*I want and need lots of patience
*I want to spend time with my kids everyday and take time to PLAY with them.
*I want to always put God first
*I want to spend time with my hubs without the kids on occasion
*I hope to go on another family vacation this summer
*I want to be a good friend
*I want to work out at the gym a couple times (don't want to set that bar too high)
*I want to take time for ME every now and then
*I want to enjoy my family and friends and live in the moment. Enjoy the little things - because, really, those are the big things.

* Here's to 2010!!

Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST