Looking Back on 2009

I haven't written down yet my goals for 2010. Some of the things I had planned in 2009 came out just like I had in mind and some things turned out completely different. Tomorrow my Dad and I will be picking Scott up from the airport. I also want to sit down and write out my plans for 2010. I like that I blogged about this past year, since sometimes it's hard to remember what all took place within a year. So much happens that it seems like it had to be several years in one sometimes.

I was about to write a month-by-month review of what all took place this past year, but I realized that just one month would take up to much space so I'll just write a few memorable highlights from this year.

At the beginning of the year, the older three children were able to take a few riding lessons from a friend of ours at church. That was a dream come true for Ruth.

Hannah celebrated her 4th Birthday in March. She has grown a lot this year, from wanting to be Bibleman, to wanting to be a football player, and even a rough tough cow girl.

Joshua turned 11 in June, he's grown a lot in this year as well. His biggest lesson I think he learned this past year was to be patient with Hannah. Their personalities were always clashing. I helped them resolve their problem by having them work together on things. They still have their squabbles but at least Joshua has learned to be patient with his sister.

Also in June we took a trip to Michigan and visited with Scott's family there. We had a great time and got to visit with a lot of his family there. The kids had a wonderful time over there. They got to go camping, fish, ride on a 4 wheeler, walk the dogs, ride on a motorcycle, and even got to eat birthday cake they had for Joshua's Birthday there.

Ruth turned 9 in July. She has grown as well in this year. The main trait she has worked on and is growing in, is not being too critical of others. She is a very smart and detailed young lady, but when things don't go her way, she can be very critical. I can tell she has been working on not being as vocal with her criticisms. She is a wonderful big sister and we all call her the second Mommy. Whenever I can't hold Jonathan, she's the one he'll go to for hugs and cuddles.

Jonathan turned 2 this year in November. When I look over previous pictures of him I think he has probably been the one to grow the most this past year. He is becoming so independent and vocal. I tell people, "We spend two years trying to get them to walk and talk and the rest of their life trying to get them to sit down and be quiet." He is definitely becoming his own person. He still has his moments copying Hannah but now he is throwing in his own ideas.

It was about the middle of July that we realized we were expecting our fifth child. We found out in October, that we are expecting a boy and we are naming him Elijah Scott.

I found out that two of my cousins are also expecting babies. I'm due in March, one of my cousins is due in April, and the other in May.

Scott took Joshua and Ruth hiking this year. I stayed home with Jonathan and Hannah. We set up an indoor tent, made from chairs and blankets. I even let them eat inside their tent.

I started coordinating the Contenders of the Faith class in a homeschool group in which we are a part. It's a Christian alternative to Boy Scouts. The Keepers of the Faith meet at the same time which is the Christian alternative to girl scouts.

Scott became a bus driver at the local school, and was offered a job in the tech department as well. We were blessed with a good price on a van, and we were able to get Scott a ticket for a trip to Paraguay to visit a Missionary there. Even though that meant having him away from us during Christmas, I was glad that he went and feel like it was good for him. I'm hoping it encouraged him as well as the Missionaries he visited.

Well, that was my brief overview for 2009. If you want a more detailed view of it you can always look over my past posts. I tried to post somewhat regularly although I tend to fall behind occasionally.

Well, it is now 2010 and I'm looking forward to seeing Scott in about 5 hours. I guess I should try to get a little sleep before then. I'm so excited to see him. My next post will be about my goals for 2010. HAPPY NEW YEAR!