okay fine...2011: A Review

I was informed by my husband [who shall remain nameless] that my annual "year in review" was sorely missed. I may be doing this just for him, but since he does so much for me I figure it's only fair. However, if you were one of the few who reads this blog AND missed my review as well [which is narrowing the playing field considerably, I understand], then this is for you too: Enjoy! [And if you want to peek back, here is 2010 and 2009].

January: This was an interesting time for us. You see, we got a dog. Her name was Margo. She was a super cute boxer. I realized after 3 days that I am still deathly afraid of dogs. Good bye, Margo. We still think this was a good decision. It was also a crazy time for me as I was coaching girls basketball. CRAZY. I was incredibly busy and though we were winning games I was E.X.H.A.U.S.T.E.D. Kali also came to visit us with sweet Caroline and we learned that another little peanut was in the making. Oh happy day.

February: This month came in like a lion. Holy smokes. We had a big, old fashioned blizzard. It was fantastic. I think snow is beautiful, and it gave me a week home from school to finish our countertops that Brent had started. This was a big project for us, but we were so happy with the results.

Also, I got a new sink in this process...thank you Beck and Brent. It has changed my life. [Okay, that may be a bit drastic but...yes, it has changed my life. Love it. every day I use it. I love it.] However, a part popped off one day after it was installed. I was home [due to blizzard] and we had a minor flood, a major breakdown, and a dead cellphone. Oh my. It was an interesting 15 minutes of my life. Other than that...basketball continued [one week I had FIVE games in a row!!!]. By the end of this month I had worn myself out and got sick. Bummer.

March: I finally got back into writing "Our Story" a bit more [which I still am kicking myself to finish...it will get done...I think I can, I think I can...]. I had a moment where I thought I was pregnant and freaked out thinking I would have a December baby [why? my rationale breaks down so I'll spare you the details]. I bought my new DYSON VACUUM. And if I thought my sink had changed my life...well...as Atticus Finch would say, "I had another think coming." You know when a home appliance [is that what a vacuum is considered?] makes your "Year in Review" that it has significantly impacted you in someway. I got to teach my students poetry this month...which I ADORE, and we had a lot of fun. Also...my basketball girls won DISTRICT CHAMPS for the first time since 1986. Wowsa! It was a fun fun time.

April: Brent and I took a little trip to Wisconsin to visit my college roomie, Renae, her husband, Jared, and their little pumpkin of a child, Jaden. We loved it and, as always when spending quality time with good friends, wished they lived next door...or in our spare bedroom. Brent also ran his first HALF MARATHON [13.1 miles, folks!]. This was a huge accomplishment and I was so proud of him.

It definitely put a bug in him to keep running... I must have had a vaccine against that bug when I was little. I dreamed up "teaching grammar with chalk" and again had fun with my students. [Oh and I turned 25 and Brent threw a little "surprise" taco dinner at our place. He's a good one that guy...I should have his children...oh....wait...stick around...]

May: Paige Elizabeth graduated [if you don't know who this is it is difficult to try to describe but basically: my mom babysat Paige and her sister, Torri, since they were 6 weeks until they went to school. We became, essentially, family...]. Kali and crew came back for the graduation!!
Caroline even got to reconnect with her buddy, Scout [my parent's dog]. Little did she know this would be the last time she would see Scout, as Scout had a tendency...scratch that...as Scout ran away every chance possible. She always came back, was brought back, ended up at my house, or my parent's tracked her down, but needless to say "animal loving" is not exactly our family's forte [did you read about January?!], and they thought someone else may...umm, appreciate...Scout more. So Scout went away. I also hosted a big "mother's day extravaganza!" at my house and had my parents, Brent's parents, and all our grandparents over. It was quite fun. I finished my 3rd year of teaching, and still found that I love what I do. Unfortunately at the end of this month the devastating F5 tornado hit Joplin, MO. Brent lived there for four years while in college, so knows a ton of people and places there [including his sister, bro in law, and Henry!]. It was a sobering time.

June: I began relishing in summer vacation and raided our closets [I LOVE doing this!], and I read books, and we took our summer vacation to Nashville/Louisville/Florence Ya'll. We got to visit many wonderful and beloved and deeply missed people.

July: I continued to plug away at "Our Story"...oh wait...that is still happening. I hit 400 posts on this here blog. Oh and I found out I was PREGNANT!! Hooray. Unlike the March scare, this one was prayed for, and Brent and I shared our little secret only with one another for awhile. At the end of this month I got to go on an Alaskan cruise! Something that would have never happened without my dear friend, Micah. We soaked in the sun...oh...I mean, we bundled up and looked at Glaciers, went Kayaking, and ate like queens.

And I slept and slept and slept because I was creating a baby in my womb. [And yes, Micah had suspicions and I lied].
August: I began my fourth year of teaching...man, I'm getting old! I was excited because I had half of my crew from the year before, and I loved them! I jumped right in with Softball again and the heat proved to be a bit much and suspicion number two came from Coach B. But shhh...we still weren't telling. Brent and I also got to welcome our 2nd niece on my side, Elizabeth "Ellie" Kate! Precious.

September: Brent and I made a very quick trip to Nashville over Labor Day to meet, squeeze, and love on Ellie. We broke the news for the first time to Kali and Dan, as we wanted to tell them in person. Squeals and excitement. I continued with teaching Softball, Brent continued at the bank. We went to games and enjoyed the last beautiful summer/fall days. We told our parents and family we were going to have a baby...more squeals and excitement. And then after hearing the heartbeat we let the whole world know.

October: I began writing letters to my sweet baby. We carved pumpkins with Avree and Rylee [Riley? Oh no... drawing a blank! Yikes].

Brent ran ANOTHER HALF marathon and improved his time even more. This time he decided, "Yep, I'm gonna run a full marathon next." What?!

We celebrated Joan's birthday with family and Henry :). I fell in love...became obsessed...with Olive Garden again. Softball season ended, which is always bitter sweet.

November: Brent turned a whopping 26 years old. Basketball season began WITHOUT me, as I had decided that it wasn't for me after last season. We still went to all the games. We found out the GENDER of our sweet baby GIRL and were super excited. We prayed and decided on the four characteristics we hope she embodies [Joyfulness, Compassion, Hospitality, Modesty]. I got to begin teaching my favorite book, "To Kill a Mockingbird", again. AND over Thanksgiving 2 of our favorite people, our lifers, Meagan and Shane made the long trek to stay with us for a few days. It was a glorious time. We all hoped that time would stand still… but it didn't and they had to leave. We again begged them to move, but they drove away anyway. Bummer.

December: I continued writing letters to our sweet daughter who began to show herself more and more. We finished working on our laundry room [a project that began in the summer].

And then we geared up for lots and lots of family at Christmas time.

Here's to another great year! I have a feeling that this will be a year of many changes for us… and we're ready to see what all it holds!!