Top 11 of 2011

In chronological order:

1. We got a 2nd car, after having 1 car for 6 years. Pat's Honda Accord.

 2. Aidan's first Pinewood Derby Race with Scouts

 3. Cillian was born! Our family & hearts grew, and he's been a huge blessing.

4. The boys' birthdays! Aidan turned 7 and Brennan turned 4...and Pat & I were pleased with the Thomas edible train.

  5. Cillian was Baptized

6. Myrtle Beach with my side of the family! Best moment? Dance Party with my sister Sue!

 7.  Brennan played tee-ball for the first time. Adorable. Aidan played coach-pitch for the first time (& did well batting lefty)

 8. Brennan started preschool.

 9. Aidan made his First Reconciliation. He's matured so much!

10. We saw more of my parents in 2011 that since the year we got married.

 11. Seeing a great friend again, now that he's stationed in Ohio. Steve!

In moments of rough trials it's hard to feel blessed, but in looking back, we were truly blessed in 2011.
I wish you a Happy New Year, and God's peace in 2012!

Happy "Noon" Year!

Welcome (almost) 2011!

Alright, so it's not quite the end of 2010 yet. But today we took advantage of yet another cool thing our zoo does: Noon Year's Eve.

They have a ball to drop (actually raise), and it's a fun way for the kids to have some New Year's excitement when staying awake until midnight isn't an option.

The zoo offers free glasses of apple juice in special cups for the kids to toast, as well as crafts to make (like party hats, etc). Our zoo membership is so worth it.

So while Pat & I will struggle this evening to stay awake til midnight, we did get to ring in 2011 with the boys. It was FUN! :)

waiting for the clock to hit 11:59 so the countdown can begin

Happy Noon Year!

 making party hats

 celebrating before the rain hit

 a t-rex!

My recap of 2010 will be on its way this week, but for now, I say
Happy New Year to you all!

2009: The Good, the Bad, and the In Between

 009 was a big year for us. It started off with:

-Closing on our first house! We bought our first house, this small 3 bedroom ranch in a great area.
No more than 2 miles from Patrick's office, no more than 2 miles from our Church & Aidan's school. On top of it all, they reported that housing values increased 12.8% in our town this past year.

-Making changes to the house,  including painting, getting new carpet for the bedrooms, replacing the roof.

- Aidan turned 5, had an awesome birthday party at Playground World, and graduated preschool. He played Soccer Basics, conquered the fire poles at parks, and started kindergarten. He lost 3 teeth this year. He was Woody for Halloween. He made it on Santa's nice list & got what he wanted for Christmas.

- Brennan turned 2, transitioned from crib to big boy bed, stopped napping (God, help me!), got many haircuts (remember the one my husband got in trouble for?), was Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. He also made it to Santa's nice list. Not so great, he had a visit to the emergency room.

-Patrick turned 29, gained a lot of handyman experience improving our house, completed another year of  grad school, gained job security & a better position in his job, got a Blackberry from work (you know this is a highlight for you, Pat!), got a new MAC laptop, & did an awesome jobplanning things for my birthday. 

-Me: I turned 29, reached my goal weight yet again, fell in love with the 30-day shred, got more organized than I've ever been in our homes, found a white wine I love (Barefoot Pinot Grigio), volunteered for 40 Days for Life, did some other volunteer work for our church, and developed some new friendships. I also became a great-aunt.

We traveled to Michigan many times,  Milwaukee, North Carolina,Gatlinburg, and for the first time in our married life, did not travel to South Carolina this year.
We also hosted Thanksgiving for the first time, a big cookout, and my sibling-side Midwest get-together.

We became  godparents, again, welcoming Luciano into this world.

We finally made our legal will.
We improved our life insurance policies.
We completed Financial Peace University.

Many good things, many blessings during 2009.

Trials & tribulations, too, like barely seeing each other while Pat is in grad school, our car a/c breaking while traveling back from TN, in 90+ degree weather.
Our fridge needing to be repaired, probably replaced. The need for a 2nd car growing more intense. job uncertainty for a while.

Combine the good & the bad, and together we hope we've grown stronger. More faithful.
New Year's always feels like a night of offering, of hope.

I wish you all a Happy New Year, and I hope 2010 is the start of a wonderful decade for us all!

Resolution Time!

Man-alive, can you believe we're seriously starting another decade?! Crazy.

I've been annoying myself trying to decide how to do so many significant posts, so here it is:
This one for 2010 resolutions, and then another for the past year (2009), and I might combine that with the highlights of the past decade.
If not for your entertainment, I love to have these things to go back and read at a later time. Progress, mishaps...checking in on myself.

(this just cracked me up)

Without further ado, I present some basic resolutions for 2010:

1. Do a written budget every single month, before the month begins. This extends to paying cash for groceries, gifts, Sunday tithing, and as much as possible gas for the car. Using the envelope system that came with our FPU kit.
2. Monthly, send my brother Kevin a card, even if I can't include a gift. (he is mentally ill, and after watching a tv show that featured a 7yo girl w/ schizophrenia, I felt ashamed I don't do more for him.) Monthly cards to Kevin, pictures often, gifts when possible.
3. Get back into the habit of sending my godchildren cards on a semi-regular basis, with our without a gift to include.
4. Exercise a minimum of 4x a week, unless I am truly sick. (to maintain my WW status)
5. Pay off at least 3 debts (going off #1).
6. Pray more with my husband, and aim to go to Adoration at least a few times over the year.

I don't normally aim for so many, because I otherwise feel resolutions aren't attainable. 

But several of these are already a part of our normal routine, just not to the extent I feel we need. Or I need.

The budget will be the hardest thing for us to do. Not figuring it out, but taking the time to sit down and do it. But we're both much happier when we do it.

2010! I have high expectations & much hope this will be a good year. A busy year, but a good one. 

What do you resolve?

Happy New Year! 2008!

2008!!! 2008! It seriously still feels like yesterday when we were talking about the millennium and Y2K. Time sure flies, doesn't it?

So what do you have in store for 2008? Think 2008 will be great? (couldn't resist the cheesy rhyme;)

I have a few things in mind for this new year. I'm hoping it's another good year for us here in Ohio. I have a small feeling some not-so-great stuff may happen, and that makes me feel a little scared and unnerved. But hey, I also know there will be a ton of great stuff, too!

Without further ado, here are some things pertaining to us for 2008:
-Aidan will hopefully play indoor soccer! There should be openings available, and we plan to register him this week. We hoped to last year, but my inability to drive due to kidney stones/pain meds altered those plans. :( Not this year! My little man will be trying out soccer!

-I will hopefully become a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. I am so close.

-Aidan will most likely go to preschool. Again, we tried for it this past year, but fell to the waiting list, and that spot just never opened for us. I'm a little picky, too, about where to send him. I do not want him to go somewhere where it's M-F. I prefer the 2-3 days a week type, and those fill up faster. This coming Saturday is the Preschool Fair at our library. We're going! (I do, however, feel it worked out for the best with him remaining out of the structured school another year.)

-We may move. We signed a 2-year lease here, and that expires in September. We're hoping renting month-to-month will be an option until we can buy a house. We'll see! Please keep your fingers crossed that our landlord feels sympathetic and generous. ;)

-We've decided 2008 is our year to eliminate! We've started the Dave Ramsey plan, but we haven't exactly been following with the "gazelle intensity" Dave refers to. This is our year. We plan to actively work to eliminate more debt this year than ever before. My husband is already working two jobs, and in a few months I'll probably pick up a few hours each week working somewhere. The idea of bidding farewell, er, good riddance, to our debt is so invigorating!

-Another journey I've planned is to make my own baby food. Receiving a blender for Christmas was all I needed. I hate always offering Brennan food that's from a jar.

-Aidan will turn 4, Brennan 1, and my husband and I 28. Aidan will continue with Story Time at the library, Sunday School, my husband will continue to prepare for grad school, and I'll continue to try and feed myself & family healthy foods. (another "elimination"-the constant presence of cookies in our home).

If you've read this much, you must be bored! Kidding. Thanks for taking interest.
Now tell me what is in store for you this new year!