Happy New Year: A Look Back

My friend Lea recently posted a "Decade in Review" on her blog, and I thought that was a great idea so I thought I'd steal it... Hope you don't mind, Lea! As we enter this new decade, here is a look back at our lives for 2000 through 2009:

2000: Andrew and I were engaged on Easter Sunday and 2 months later I took the giant leap of moving from my parents house to Santa Barbara, California to be with Andrew. I began working at Hollister & Brace, which is one of the best law firms I have ever been a part of.

2001: Andrew lost his Grandfather to lung cancer in January. That July Andrew, his mom, her husband and I took a road trip to Peoria, Illinois for his memorial service and the Weaver family reunion. In May our first nephew was born, an event that I was able to be in the delivery room for, which was such a special experience for me!

2002: Andrew and I got married on April 6th! Our wedding day was beautiful and perfect, despite the less than perfect weather that day. In June by dad's retina detached, which ultimately left him legally blind (not that it has slowed him down at all!). This made me want to be closer to my family, which prompted our move back to Arizona that August.

2003: We bought our first house, a new build in Chandler! It was so much fun to choose everything we wanted in the house, and really make it our own. We also found our church home, where we have been ever since.

2004: Andrew was laid off from his job, and in August began working with the Donor Network of Arizona, where he still works today. In September we found out that we were going to be parents!

2005: Joshua was born on June 13th and changed our lives... for the better... forever. 6 weeks later we took our first family mini-vacation to San Diego for another Weaver family reunion.

2006: With having a little one, we learned that having a 2 story home is SO overrated, so we decided to sell our house and move to a one story. Despite the declining real estate market, we were able to sell our house in 40 days and purchase the house we always wanted. It all happened with perfect timing. 5 months after moving into our new house we found out that baby #2 was on his way!

2007: Of course the best part of this year was our little Benny coming into our lives on August 10th. We also spent the better part of the first half of this year working on our backyard. I participated in a great deal of the landscaping, including ripping out a tree stump and roots, despite my growing belly. Another highlight of the year was getting Joshua out of diapers!

2008: With our new mouth to feed, we could no longer afford my part time work schedule that I had enjoyed since Joshua was born. So I decided to leave the firm I had been working at for the last 5 years, and started working full time for a sole practitioner. This job has provided me with so much experience and I really enjoy it. We also joined the ranks of the soccer moms and purchased our first minivan!

2009: What a way to round out the decade! We had a great year. Andrew and I renewed our wedding vows in February, Joshua started to learn how to read and Benny was potty trained. Hooray! The best part of our year was our first big family vacation to Illinois and Wisconsin to visit family, including the boys' first ride on an airplane. In the fall we got to take a couple small family trips to San Diego to see the beach and go to Sea World. We had so much fun!

Now we're into a new year and a new decade. We're excited to see what this next 10 years will bring. Happy New Year to everyone out there. We pray your 2010 and beyond is filled with abundant blessings!