Merry Christmas from Trumbull, Connecticut! We hope you and your family have had a wonderful year and are enjoying this holiday season. I have a little downtime to share a few of our memories from our somewhat eventful year. There is one thing I will preface everything with...God is faithful. He showed His faithfulness to us time and time again this year. There were many times in 2011 where life for us could have made a wrong turn. But each time our prayers were answered, and we knew that God was with us and helping (and holding) us along the way.
The biggest event of this year was welcoming our beautiful baby girl, Hannah Josephine. She was born on March 4th, and she is a perfect fit for our family. She is our third redhead (I think she's the reddest of all three) and has the feisty personality to boot. Hannah is 9 1/2 months old now, getting into everything, standing up everywhere, growing her third tooth, and eating like a champ. Probably at least 10 times a day, I look at her and thank God for this sweet and fun little girl that I can't stop kissing.
The next biggest thing this year is finishing our new house and moving in on July 30th. I am going to blog a little series of the whole process (with pictures) of it in January so check back then to hear more of the start-to-finish details. It was definitely not a walk in the park, and there were days where we thought we just might not make it. We had some issues with our contractor towards the end, and we had quite an unfinished home about 3 weeks before we needed to move in. To say there was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and worn out knees from praying) up until moving day would be an understatement. We have some fabulous friends and family who pitched in and helped us wrap up some of the final details. We are still working on a few projects that still need to be finished, but our family is settling in and enjoying our new home.
Another big event for us was Jason getting a new job in September. He was really ready for a change, but we weren't quite sure with the economy how that change would happen. (Again, cue the worn out knees from praying.) A door opened for him at the beginning of September, and we have been thanking God ever since. He is now the Director of Community & Provider Relations with the Stratford VNA (Visiting Nurse Association). He is the sales and marketing guy for all the local doctors, nursing homes, rehab facilities, hospitals, etc. that need a variety of services for their home healthcare patients. It's an excellent job for Jason...he gets to work independently and have a flexible schedule.
Abigail is 6 1/2, in the first grade, and growing up before our eyes. Besides losing four teeth this year, she also loves to draw (she's quite an artist) and is reading more and more every day. She continues to be a Girl Scout Daisy, and also enjoyed playing basketball and soccer this fall. She takes her role as big sister very seriously, which means bossing Ben around, and entertaining Hannah with her songs and dances. One thing I will say about Abby...she is very observant (she doesn't miss a beat!), and we get a kick out of some of her thoughts and opinions about life around her.
Benjamin is 3 1/2 and going to preschool two mornings a week. He's our little stinker...all boy and then some. Others say that he's an angel when we aren't around, so I'll take that over the opposite any day. His big excitements this year were graduating to big boy undies and getting his first stitches after a run-in with the barstool. Ben is our little helper...he loves to help me cook, put away the groceries, and empty the dishwasher; and his toolbox is never far behind his daddy's. He gives Abigail a run for her money, and doesn't seem too keen on Hannah wanting to play with "his" toys (we're working on it).
I continue to work the night shift part-time at Yale in the PACU. It works great for our family's schedule, and I seem to bounce between day and night fairly well. When I have a little free time, I squeeze in some reading for book club and coupon clipping for some savings. Life is busy with three kiddos, and I've got us mostly unpacked and organized in the new home. That seems easy to type, but it sums up a lot of my life!
This year was pretty stressful, working day and night around jobs and kids and activities to finish our home. Now that we've reached the end of the year, we both are looking back, taking a few deep breaths, and starting to relax. We didn't do much for vacationing this year...the one weekend we enjoyed at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania was cut short with a hurricane! Next year is our 10 year anniversary, and we have big plans to escape for a few kid-free days to a remote island with lots of beaches and fruity drinks. :)
We have much to be thankful for, including our wonderful friends and family. We are truly blessed with people in our lives who motivate us, encourage us, pray for us, laugh with us, and accept us. We miss our loved ones who are far away...if any of you have plans to pass through New England, we would love to see you! Stay tuned for our Top 10 List!
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