A Recap of 2009

Stole this idea from a bloggy friend (thanks Jeanette), but it is a great way to remember 12 months of blessings!!  So here we go.....

January started the year out with a bang, I found out that I was pregnant.  This brought so many mixed emotions: excitement, hope, fear, uncertainty.  But we were hanging on to God's promises and knew we would be able to handle it whatever the outcome.

( yes, I took about a hundred tests, I just couldn't believe what they said)

In February our little guy was turning not so little and celebrated his 8th birthday!  He reminds us everyday what a blessing he is.  He is such a great brother, helper, encourager and just great kid.  Even strangers come up to us and tell us how impressive our Ethan is and how blessed we must feel to have him!

March had mommy working through the blahs of pregnancy but realizing that it was for real this time.  Ethan was gearing up for the upcoming soccer season and Charlotte was growing leaps and bounds in her speech and progress at school.

By April soccer was in full gear, Charlotte was really starting to come out of her shell, I was finally coming out of the 1st trimester blahs and Jay was as always keeping us all on track.  This spring is when Charlotte starting to talk more to people at church and on the soccer field and just really seemed like most 2 year olds.  We were realizing that she was catching up developmentally and emotionally.  All the hard work was paying off, and she was becoming a little girl.  Such progress in 17 short months.  Charlotte learned to walk, talk, eat solid foods, give hugs and kisses, play with toys, play with children her own age, color and so much more simply amazing!

May was a month of celebrations:  Mother's Day, Daddy's Birthday and our sweet cousin Hannah graduated from High School.  We had so much fun celebrating each with family and friends.  This is also the month we decided to put our house on the market.  A growing family meant we needed more space.  I know selling a house, buying a house and moving while 7 months pregnant seems crazy and it was, but we love our new house and so do the kids :)  Charlotte also had her third surgery which included a nose revision, new ear tubes and removing her adnoids.  She did an awesome job this time and let me console her in recovery.  She drank some juice and that was our ticket out of the hospital.  We did not have to stay overnight, which was an incredible blessing.

Charlotte loves her (Hammah) Hannah and we do too!!

 

Ahhh......finally June.  One of my favorite months of the year.  It means the beginning of summer vacation, our annual trip to the beach (Outer Banks, NC) and Charlotte's birthday!  And this year was no different, it was a great month!

 

 

Even with all this joy came some heartbreaking sadness as we lost my Uncle Bill.  We all miss him so very much and think of him all the time.  We love you Uncle Bill and we can't wait to see you again soon!

 

Not too much to report in July as I was really starting to feel extremely pregnant and HOT!!!  We spend lots of time at home hanging out in the cool AC or the pool.  Charlotte started swim lessons and loved them so much that she took all three sessions.  She was a water bug.  Not scared to go under the water or jump in.  By the end she was starting to use her front crawl stroke, it was amazing.  She loves the water, I see a future swim team member in our future.

 

August was a CRAZY month to say the least.  We sold our old house and closed on our new house.  Moved all our stuff, completely unpacked and started back to school (just one week for me.)  August is some what of a blur except for the hours upon hours I spent in the Doctor's office.  Since my pregnancy was high risk, I had to go in twice a week for non-stress tests on the baby.  So I would sit hooked up to the baby monitor for at least an hour while they monitored the little ones movement.  I was happy to know that all was well, but had so much to do it was hard to just lay there.  But we got through it and the BIG day was quickly approaching!  Jay and I also celebrated our 11th anniversary, so much has happened in just 11 years.

September brings one word AINSLEY!!  Just 2 days after the first day of school we welcomed our little angel into the world.  Everyone was instantly in love with this precious gift.  She is a true jewel, always happy and smiling.  She just lights up our lives and we are so thankful for her.

 

 

And on to October, the month Ethan earned his Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.  After almost 2 years of hard work Ethan earned his Black Belt.  He does an awesome job in TKD, as in most things he tries.  We are so proud of our guy!

November 5th we celebrated 2 years with our Charlotte.  Can't believe how quickly time has flown by.  This was the first year she really understood what Gotcha Day meant (a little).  She knows that she came home from China on an airplane.  Little by little she begins to understand, we talk about adoption a lot in our house so there are no secrets there.  She was super excited to bring her ladybug cupcakes to school and celebrate with her class.

 

 

And finally December!!!  We made through another year.  A year of so many blessings and good times and some sad times.  But through it all God was at work, shaping our family and our lives.  We look forward to 2010 with much anticipation to see all that He will do.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21