State of the Family 2009

We've had quite a year.

One of us lost a helmet, gained a rounder head, learned to walk, got a mouthful of teeth, started to say words, and learned to keep a hairbow on.

One of us visited both the ER and Urgent Care, learned to write some letters, started to write his name, learned to make extremely symmetrical and surprisingly intricate Lego ships, and discovered a (not surprising) affinity for "the bad guys."

One of us graduated from preschool, started a new career as a student, got bitten at kindergarten, continued to love being a big brother to a baby sister, started reading chapter books, and graduated to a "big" Bible.

Two of us learned to ride a two-wheel bike.

Two of us celebrated 11 years of marriage.

Three of us read some letters from Mom, started sleeping in a little more, and all looked at the camera at the same time for our Christmas card.

One of us almost cried with happiness. (See above.)

Five of us went to the beach with the grands, went to the zoo with an aunt and uncle, and stayed home for Christmas with each other.

All of us welcomed a new baby cousin/niece.

All of us had a birthday.

All in all, 2009 was a pretty good year. We are all currently healthy. We are grateful that Steve has kept his job with all the Wachovia/Wells Fargo goings-on. We are glad that our family dog has made a couple miraculous recoveries and is still camped out on our kitchen floor. We are part of an awesome small group with our church and are growing deeper together through prayer, discussions about some thought-provoking and heart-changing sermons, and a shared love of obsession with "The Office."

We've been thinking of some individual and family goals for 2010 and will post on that later. For tonight, we'll discuss those goals together, eat some crab legs and mac and cheese (not together), make smores, watch "The Incredibles," and say a fond farewell to 2009.