2012: A Year In Review

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

 2012: Where did the year go? It seems, year after year, that time goes by even faster than the year before. I always end the year with the thought, "How did we get here so fast?". 2012 has been a whirlwind, and a good one. January saw us usher in the New Year in a relatively quiet way. It always seems to be our 'hunker down and make it through the winter' month. The kids enjoyed their new toys that Santa brought, school started back up, Rachel had gymnastics classes, and we enjoy our time together as a family with no where to really rush off to. It's a good way to start out the year. February saw Noah turn 9 years old. His last year of single digits. He celebrated with a Star Wars: The Clone Wars birthday party with a few of his close friends and our family. We had Valentime's Day (yes, Rachel still calls it Valentime's Day - and I love that) and the kids enjoyed taking their little love notes to all their classmates. In March, Noah started playing soccer again with a great group of kids. He loves to play and I love to watch him play. He gets better with each passing season. We celebrated our Kate-Kate turning 3 years old with a big Sesame Street bash with all of our family and a few friends. She was so, so excited about her special day. With March brought sunshine and good weather and the chance to get outside and enjoy it. We took a few hikes and enjoyed the parks. Amie visited and we always love catching up with her, Olivia and Dave. They even got to attend Kate's birthday, which was so good to have them there with us. April saw lots of bike rides, a trip to Clingman's Dome in North Carolina ( we loved seeing the black bears out!), Doug and I got away for a weekend trip to a beer festival and we had a lot of fun. We celebrated Easter with all of our family and had some fun with some good friends. May brought the beginning of Summer, the end of school and the swim team!! We are always so ready for summer fun and swimming. This year we got a membership to Green Meadow and enjoyed it immensely. I'm hoping that will become a regular part of our summers. The kids were super excited to get back in the pool and compete for those blue ribbons! Kate started swim lessons and did awesome! She was swimming on her own by summer's end. We are so, so proud of her! So proud of all of them. June saw more swimming and swim meets (definitely one of my favorite parts of the summer). The kids participated in the summer reading program at the school. Noah and Rachel attended Vacation Bible School at Alcoa First Methodist Church with our little friend Mekenzie. They loved it. I hope this becomes a regular part of our summer adventures as well. We also had a family reunion for the Waycaster side of our family and it was good to see all of our California family and catch up. In July Noah caught his first fish! A bass. He went with his friend Riley to the duck pond in Alcoa and had a lot of fun. There was more swimming goodness and fun at the pool. Noah had orientation for 4th grade at the big Intermediate school and meet the teacher. Rachel prepared to enter the first grade. It was definitely sad for us to see summer coming to an end. In August the kids started school and seemed to enjoy it. Doug and I attended the Maryville/Alcoa game with out good friends Brooks & Laura - it's becoming tradition, and a good one. Sadly, Maryville won the game this year. By summer's end Kate was jumping from the diving board in the deep end of the pool and swimming to the ladder on her own. Yay, Kate! So glad she did so very well in swim lessons this year and big thanks to Miss Elisabeth Belter for all of her instruction. August also saw a new venture for myself. After 8 years of being a stay at home mom, I went back to work. I am blessed to have found a job doing marketing research from home for a company in Ohio. It works out perfectly for us right now and enables us to get a good start on the kids college funding. September saw lots of school activities and Noah started soccer again with a great group of kids and a great coach. They had a super awesome fall season and we are looking forward to playing in the new year with the same group. October saw a family vacation for us at Hilton Head, where we visited Amie and the kids. We enjoyed seeing the area, playing at the beach and journeying up to Patriot's Point in Charleston. It was a wonderful little get away for us. Once back from the beach, we were immersed in Halloween and the festivities of October. Pumpkin patches, Halloween parties and trick or treating. So. Much. Fun. November saw another presidential election and another four years for President Obama. Our Rachel turned 7 years old with an Owl & Peace sign party. She loved having all her friends and family come and help her celebrate her special day. Amie came home to celebrate her 40th birthday - Wow!! and they came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us as well. Good times. Rachel also started gymnastics at TNT, a new gym. We finally, finally had professional family photos made - it's been a good 8 years since we've had that done and haven't ever had them done with Rachel and Kate. I was so relieved and happy to finally make this happen. December saw lots of holiday parties, projects and celebrating of the season. We all enjoyed Christmas with both sides of our family and we once again are grateful for the chance to be here living among our family and being able to see them as often as we please. What a precious gift it is. Doug and I have just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. As I'm sure I have written time and time again, I can't believe it's been 16 yeras. Time has gone by in a blink and I am so thankful to have him in my life and have the family that we do. I love them all with my whole heart and have no idea what I would do or who I would be without them. As we say goodbye to 2012 and hello to a brand new 2013, I wish you joy and peace in the coming year. May it be filled with love, the people who mean the most to you and may it be an adventure to enjoy. Cheers!