Year in Review

I don't always do the whole year in review, looking back, see how far I've come thing. But I feel as though this year warrants such a walk down memory lane. Last year on this day I was in Nashville with my entire family eating dinner at Aquarium Restaurant, having a lovely evening but perhaps wishing we were on our missed cruise enjoying New Years Eve. This year I am sitting in my parents living room eating brownie batter and watching television, fully intending on going to bed before midnight. Last year at Christmas we gave my parents a card telling them that we were pregnant with twins and jokingly saying they would have to move to Palatine to help us out or we would have to move in with them. Funny how life works out sometimes. One of the major changes in our lives this year, and there were a few, was moving in with my parents. But let's start with the beginning of last year. Our major project going into the year was to go through our house and clear out and reorganize all in an effort to make room for two more babies. We worked really hard and had this pretty much accomplished by springtime. I spent the months before the twins birth feeling huge and exhausted and relying on my friends to help me out a lot. I also spent a lot of time at the Y sleeping in the women's locker room. I actually was in a spin class for a while and walked on a treadmill until it was just too tiring. After that I just used my two hours of free childcare to let Jack have some good play time and me get a good nap. Then July came and one of our biggest life changes happened. We gave birth to twin boys. Right at that time we were also in the process of getting our house ready to go on the market. Paul had interviewed at Caterpillar and received an offer earlier in the summer. So the week my mom spent with us after the babies were born she helped us pack up lots of boxes for storage and helped us take care of three children. It was a crazy time and I'm so thankful for all the help, love and support we received from our family and our friends. In August we moved in with my parents for what we were hoping would be only a couple months while we waited for our house to sell. A couple months has turned into more than we had hoped for as the market is not so conducive to selling a home right now. Thankfully, my parents have been more than gracious and generous to us and life back in their house is going smoothly. I know it will be hard when it comes time to move out again. As much as we love being around my parents and love the extra help, we would also love to be in our own space again and really settle in to life in Morton. Also this year we welcomed our third nephew, George, who's only 2 months younger than the twins and already bigger. The coming years promise lots of exciting times and adventure for our boys and their cousins (including another one due this spring). So that was our year. I'm hoping 2011 isn't so crazy and has fewer major life changes. However crazy 2010 was, I am thankful that our God was with us. He calmed our fears and anxiety about being pregnant with twins. He allowed a long, healthy pregnancy and a smooth delivery. He watched over Paul in all his travels and provided friends for Jack during those months when his mommy couldn't be everything he needed. He aligned all of the many details for Paul to accept a new job at Caterpillar. He's provided us with everything we've needed through the incredible generosity of our family and friends. And we continue to trust that now, during this time of waiting, he is arranging all the details for our next step.