Dear 2010

(I got this idea from Mel...I LOVE it and thought I'd give it a try this year.)

Dear 2010,

What a year you have been!

You have brought both stress and joy.

You have brought some restful times, but mostly...craziness!

You have brought both death and new life.

Though there have been many exciting times this past year, you have been quite difficult, therefor I am not sad to see you go.

Let's take a look at the moments we shared!

January

We started the year off with an amazing baby shower thrown for me by Heidi and the girls.

Though I was expecting my third baby, it was my first girl. So we had lots of fun preparing with pink!

Jeff and I also got away for a weekend on a Marriage Retreat in Pacific Grove. It was so nice to have time dedicated to one another and to reconnect. We truly felt blessed and ready for anything...little did we know that we would come home to find the next 5 months trying to help Dominic overcome some serious coughing attacks which were accompanied by many emergency room visits and 911 calls...all while toting around a newborn and 3 year old.

February

We celebrated 2 birthdays- Dominic turned 14 in the beginning of the month and Emma Katherine Schwab joined our family on February 27th. What a blessing to our family!

March

Jeff headed up a huge Steam Fest at the railroad where he volunteers. It took him a way from the family for several days, but was a HUGE success!

We also celebrated my....32nd birthday. Nothing big this year, but we did get out to dinner with my mom and dad and Scott and Shawna. Dinner out is not like it used to be before 3 children!

April

We celebrated Easter as we always do...with all the family. We also attended the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the park next to Bunga and Papa's house.

May

I threw a bridal shower for my then-sister-in-law-to-be, Shawna. We invited all the special ladies in her life. It was a complete success and a lot of fun. I should have recognized that she wasn't drinking the margaritas or Coronitas...

because a week later on Mother's Day, she and my brother took my kids in the bedroom at my parents house for a little bit, and came out with this announcement...!!

June

Scott and Shawna got married and I finally have a sister! I love that girl and so look forward to the many times ahead. All 3 of my boys and I were in the wedding. It was an amazing day!

We also celebrated Dominic graduating from 8th grade with a 4.0 GPA! We are so proud of him and all of his accomplishments! This also marked the month of his last coughing attack.

The very next day we sent our "baby" off to New York and Washington D.C. with a bunch of his peers from school for a week-long trip. So hard to believe he is old enough for a trip like this!

July

Connor turned 4 and we threw him a train party in the park next to Bunga and Papa's house...it's a great park! Hard to believe it's been 4 years since we first fell in love with this little guy.

August

Emma Kate was dedicated to the Lord this month. We had a nice ceremony at church, followed by brunch at the house.

Colossians 1:10

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Dominic also performed in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and started High School!

September

Connor started his second year of pre-school. He loves it and also met his first girlfriend...Tessa!

October

On October 17 we threw a baby shower for Shawna at my mom's house. Two hours before the shower began, we got news that my grandfather had passed. He had been sick all year and we were expecting it. He died peacefully in his home a couple of miles away from us. He lived a full life, fathered 5 sons and 1 daughter. He also had 11 grandchildren and 6 great-granchildren. We will miss him.

November

This is always a busy month for us...several family birthdays and of course....Thanksgiving. Jeff also worked nights all month long, so I felt like a single mom of 3 most of the time. Thank God that's over with! One benefit to him being home during the day is that we both were able to attend Connor's singing performance at school. Those pre-schoolers are so cute!

This month we had 2 more births...L. gave birth to Anna! And Elisa had her second son, Ethan! L. and I have been friends since pre-school and it is so exciting to be now having daughters of our own! And Elisa is a friend I have just in the past year or so grown close with from church. I LOVE these new babies!

December

Jeff's mom turned 60 this month and she decided that instead of her usual fancy dinner out with the family, she wanted to celebrate in Maui! We were happy to oblige! So we spent the first week of December in Hawaii with Jeff's parents, sister, husband, and kids. We had an amazing time!

We celebrated Christmas with the many blessings that this season offers.

And finished the year off with a bang when Baby Harley was born. Scott and Shawna were very ambitious as they braved taking a 2-day-old-baby out to come over for New Year's!

As I look back, I thank the Lord for blessing my family with a lot of love, grace, and strength this past year. He has certainly taught me to trust in Him no matter what is going on in my life.

I love this time of year...reflecting on the past...and looking forward to what the next year has in store for us.

As my kids and husband like to say (from the rides at Disneyland)...

"Hold on to your hats and glasses folks, cause this here is the WILDEST RIDE IN THE WEST!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!