Welcoming 2012!

I'm excited to welcome 2012, but really... 2011 was a great year for us!!

January 2011 - I was in the interview process for my current job... sort of.  We had pretty much written off hope that I was going to get it, but technically I was still in the running.  We also decided that it was about time to try for a brother or sister for Nicholas.  Nicholas started his new preschool.  I was nervous because it was his first time not in a Christian preschool, but also excited because I could tell this school had a lot to offer.

February 2011 - I actually started my first full time teaching job!  It was a nightmare to walk into.. the long term sub had done practically nothing and I really thought the kids would hate a teacher coming in and making them work.  Thankfully, that wasn't really the case at all. 

March 2011 - We booked our first family camping trip! 

April 2011 - We were waist deep in our house hunting and getting a little sad that we hadn't found the perfect home yet.  We didn't know at the time that it just wasn't really in God's plan for us to buy right now.  Now we're thankful we didn't buy because we're hoping to leave California in the next 2 years or so.

May 2011 - Nicholas turned 4 years old!  I still can't believe he's 4 and now he's going to be 5 before we know it.  He's went from the little boy who scared me because I thought he was speech delayed, to a curious and inquisitive little man who is always asking how things work. 

June 2011 - We went on our first family camping trip!!!  We spent 3 days in the Sequoias and had so much more fun than I even expected!  We met other families, played in the snow, hiked a bit, and really just enjoyed taking in God's creation.  I felt like it was such an awesome opportunity to teach Nicholas about how great and amazing God is.  The last day of June also brought s surprising discovery... we were pregnant!  I say surprising even though we were trying because on the way home from camping Jon and I actually talked about it and I told him that I was 100% sure we WEREN'T pregnant that cycle but we'd try again in July.

July 2011 - July wasn't too exciting to the average person, but to an AVID teacher it was great!!  I got to go to my first AVID Summer Institute and I had a BLAST!  I got to know my AVID team a lot better, learned so much about the AVID program and just enjoyed it so much overall!  It was great (aside from morning sickness)!  It was also the first time that I had to leave Nicholas and it really gave me a taste  (albiet, a VERY small taste) for how hard it was for Jon to leave Nicholas.  Even just week away was hard.

August 2011 - This month brought a lot of excitement... first, we got to see our little guy for the first time and make sure all looked well!  The heartbeat was strong so we finally felt comfortable telling the world that we were expecting!  We also started a new school year, so I got to start a year fresh from the beginning!

September 2011 - Jon hit the 1 year mark at his new job!!!  FAI has been such a blessing on our family.  They are an amazing company that, in a selfish corporate world, really cares about their employees and their families.  Jon works with wonderful people and I hope we can stay with this company for many many many years to come!  We also found out in September that the little one was, indeed, a little BOY!  He made it perfectly clear.  Took Nicholas a while to adjust to the idea (he wanted a sister)... but once he did... he named his little brother and got super excited!!!

October 2011 - Jon went on his first big ride supporting "Off the Front."  A bunch of guys from FAI did it as well so it was a fun time with friends and a great workout for him!  I was there for my first Homecoming Week and we had a great Halloween!  We went to ZooBoo and Pump It Up and a church event before Trick or Treating and ending the night with some great friends!

November 2011 - As small as it may sound, my favorite part of this month was making our first Operation Christmas Child Box with Nicholas fully involved.  In the past he's gone with me and kind of helped, but this year he totally understood what we were doing and was SO proud to carry it to drop off by himself and tell the women there that he had made a box "for a little boy far away who has no Christmas!"  It was wonderful!!!

December 2011 - This month has been great!  Despite getting some bad measurements with the specialist, we also found out that light bedrest works and keeps my numbers where they should be.  We had a wonderful Christmas!  We were able to see family we hadn't seen in years and celebrating Nicholas' last Christmas as an only child.  It's hitting me hard right now that we'll have another little one in the house in about 2 months!

So that's it... we're thankful to God for 2011... with it's ups and downs and excitement and disappointment... 2011 gave us a renewed sense that God's plan is perfect for our lives.  We saw our little guy grow and learn so much in such a short time, and we saw God's majesty in his creation of new life!  I can't wait to see 2012 with it's excitements (new baby!), stressors (sibling rivalry?), and new adventures!