Happy New Year!

It's 2009! Another year is over and a new one is in front of us full of opportunity and hope. And, by hope I'm not referring to Obama's campaign slogan or him for that matter. Ha! Before diving headfirst into the new year, I wanted to recap some of the highlights for our family in 2008.

2008 can be summed up in one word for us – William. The first half of 2008 was spent preparing for his arrival and the second half was spent with him in our arms. The year has flown by and brought more changes then we ever could have expected and yet brought us more joy and love then we ever could have imagined.

We moved into our new house in January. We were blessed with numerous friends who helped out in the effort. Thank you to each of you. Nate was truly my hero during the moving process as he handled the majority of the details and work. We moved at the end of my first trimester and while I wanted to help I was not operating at 100%. I was and am blessed by his commitment and his desire to take care of our family. February brought about another anniversary - we celebrate our 5th here in a few weeks!

In April, I started having pregnancy related health issues. I had always been high risk due to PCOS but in April my blood pressure stayed dangerously high and I was showing signs of Preeclampsia. I was only 22 weeks at that point so our world and pace as we knew it ceased. I spent much time on house “arrest” over the next several months and had to take a leave of absence from my job to focus on taking care of the baby and myself. We began our childbirth classes at the end of May and oh boy was that an interesting experience! Apparently Nate and I were the only ones who saw humor in a bunch of strangers sitting around in the dark, listening to calming music and inhaling and exhaling together in rhythm. It was educational though and I swear that the breathing techniques I mocked helped me tremendously later.

Then came August - beautiful August. I was determined to not sit around and stare at the clock waiting for the time to come so the week leading up to his birth was busy. My friend Desi took me to the mall so I could walk that baby out – we walked and walked and walked. Well, she walked and I waddled. At our Thursday doctors appointments the midwife gave me some exercises to do to get that baby boy moving. I unknowingly had my last girls day out sans a kid to worry about with my friend Rachel on Friday. Saturday we were at Rob and Robin’s birthday party. Sunday I didn’t feel so hot so I skipped church while Nate went. Sunday evening my water broke. Monday at 3:20pm there was the most beautiful baby boy in my arms looking up at me with these precious little eyes. Our lives are forever changed.

The months since have been full of Will as we watch him grow and develop from newborn to our big baby boy as you have witnessed on our blog. I resigned from my job after he was born so I can stay home with him which is a blessing that I appreciate. Nate still enjoys his job and we never waver that this is the right career for him. Although, Will and my favorite part of the day is when we hear the garage door go up which means Daddy is home. Nate and I both are still members of our individual Bible Studies and are still involved at our church. We are always aware that our friendships there are truly a gift from God to us since moving here.

We hope your family has a blessed 2009. You can keep up with us and our adventures here on the blog. We look forward to sharing stories, laughter and memories with you over the next 12 months.

Happy New Year from our family to yours!