Hello 2012!

Another year has passed us by and I am once again amazed by the blessings we were given through the year as well as the challenges we faced.

Once again, we were challenged this year by a loss close to our hearts (and our home) when we lost Piper in January, followed in quick succession by having to put our beloved Sweetpea down at the beginning of February.  We still miss them both daily, but our hearts are slowly healing and there are more good memories than sad ones as time goes on.

From there the year lightened up on us, thankfully.  In March we found out we were having a baby boy and began work on transforming the spare room into Sophia's big girl room so Collin could take over the nursery.  Sophia turned three and continued to amaze us each and every day with all that she was learning.

April and May were spent enjoying the amazing weather and loving our last few months as a family of three.

In June Sophia started soccer and loved it, although she goes back and forth on whether she wants to do it again this year.  I guess we will see when the time comes.  Either way she was ADORABLE in her gear!  She also started solo swimming lessons and loved almost every minute of it.  Every time we drive past the turn off to the pool she asks when they start up again.  We will definitely be registering for lessons again this year.

July was, of course, the biggest month for us this year with Collin's arrival and adjusting to a family of four.  We couldn't possibly feel more blessed and truly feel that our family is complete now.  Sophia is still very much in love with her little brother and is so very good with him.

In August Sophia started preschool and dance.  Its amazing the advancements she is making at school and all the new little friends she is making.  I'm so proud of her and hope she follows in Brad's footsteps to go on and be a life long learner.   She also loves dance and has been severely missing it the past two weeks while they are on Christmas break.  I can't wait until her recital in June!

At the end of August/beginning of Septemeber we discovered that little Collin couldn't handle dairy, which meant I got to go dairy free.  In the beginning it was challenging, but now that I've got the hang of it its really not that bad.  I often think about whether I'll ever go back to eating as much dairy as I was.  I'll be the first to admit I can't wait for a nice, thick, cheesy slice of pizza once I'm done nursing or he can tolerate it, but I'm thinking it will be a more occasional treat versus a daily part of life.

In October we had Collin baptized and got to celebrate with lots of family.  I also decided to get back into running and attempt a half marathon this year.  More on that later! ;-)

November was a pretty low key month, ending in a nice, long trip back to Hospers to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Beltmans.

December, of course, was filled with excitement over Christmas and lots of planning, buying presents, and baking .  Brad also accepted a position with a new company and will be leaving Farm Bureau at the end of this week.

All in all our year started about as horribly as I can imagine, but ended on a definite high note.  I'm praying that we can go a year with no losses this year as the last two years were exceptionally hard on all of us.

As for resolutions, here goes:
1.  Read 35 books this year.

2.  Continue with my 12 new recipes per year goal.

3.  Complete a 20k and/or half marathon.  At this point the plan is to start officially training next Monday, the 9th, and participate in the Dam to Dam 20k on June 2.  Notice, I didn't say RUN.  At this point my only goal is to finish.  I hope that I will be able to run (well, jog) the entire thing, but finishing is finishing in my book!  If that goes well I'll consider doing the half marathon portion of the Des Moines Marathon in October.  If it doesn't go well, then hey, I can say I did a 20k and then go back to 5k races!  Again, all of this will be dependent on my supply, but as of now I'm doing good with the small amount of running I am doing so I am hopeful that as long as I keep myself well hydrated and eating well I'll be able to maintain a good supply.

Happy 2012 to all of you.  I hope you have an amazingly blessed year and reach any and all goals you have set for yourself!