Happy New Year 2009.

Another year behind us...another year lies ahead. I, myself, can't believe we are in the year 2009 already. I still remember the year 2000 so clearly! =) Time really does seem to move so quickly from year to year. I love wrapping up and looking back on the past and grabbed a few pictures to post with my thoughts today from 2008.

It was a year full of the usual ups and downs, fun times, stressful times and of course, surprises and joys. I had no idea at this time last year that I would be nuzzling a new member of our family on this New Year's day. Crew is such a great addition to our family and I have loved kissing on him and getting to know his personality the past few months. We never imagined him in our lives last January, but now we can't imagine life without him. He definitely was our biggest surprise in 2008 and we are thrilled to have him in our family.

There were moments we wish we could have skipped- like the seizure episodes that Wyndham had and the illnesses that came with that last Jan/Feb. She has bounced back so well and we are so happy that she has been healthy and thriving for many months in a row. Her birthday is in just a few days and we hope to celebrate with her being healthy and happy and watching her grow and learn and just be herself.

We've enjoyed most of all our times with each other and family and friends. There's just no such thing as too much time with loved ones- our kids are missing their family in Minnesota already. We send love and think of them all often.

I have enjoyed looking back over this blog and seeing our year in stories and pictures. It makes me want to blog even more- if that's possible. =) I also love that scrapping and recording memories is something I enjoy and have the opportunity to do at SIStv. I just got a copy of Memory Makers magazine in the mail (the Jan/Feb '09 issue) and have a mini album featured in one of the articles this month. I posted the whole book to my SIS gallery here for those of you who want to see the whole thing. It's titled "Wide awake and Dreaming" and it's a tiny book about anticipating Crew's arrival. I was honored to be asked by Claudine Hellmuth to be a part of her new book project and this recent article too. I'll blog more about that soon!

For this year I hope to focus on the idea of intentional living. I want to really weed out stuff that zaps my time and energy, and also focus on the things that really are important in life. I want to notice the details and listen more and encourage more and not just say stuff, but actually follow through more. I hope to look back on this day in 2010 and say, "Wow...in spite of all the ups and downs, it was another amazing year!".

Here's to new starts, opportunities, growth, challenges and everything in between.

Happy New Year to from me to you!