We began 2009 with me in my final year of my master's in nursing program and in a very similar state as now....pregnant! Elias endured his first urgent care experience in January after a bump at Nana's house to his right forehead. Little did we know that this was only the beginning... This trip required Dermabond, a product we would come to be quite familiar with (does anyone know how to invest in their stock?)
In early February, we headed to the VA mountains for some skiing and vacation with our favorite Ammon fam, planning a week of fun in the snow and a big 3-year-old birthday celebration for Elias. Things turned out a little different for us there....Christopher caught some horific GI bug which forced us to keep him quarantined in a rear bedroom. He skied ONE day. Katie and I went through approximately 4,976 clorox wipes, but successfully kept the rest of the Ammon clan from getting sick.
Then we began a journey through a valley we hadn't visited since before Elias was born, but one whose pain is never forgotten, once experienced. And we had experienced it twice already. During this winter vacation, I began to miscarry our baby, after 12 weeks of loving her and even after seeing her heartbeat. This time was different...this pain was deeper. We named this baby Ellie and said goodbye with a private little ceremony by the river. Even as I write today, tears flow, thinking that though I will never hold her here on earth, I will kiss her sweet face in heaven someday. And sometimes, in times of grief, that is what God gives...hope for the future.
After the last late snow in March, Spring appeared and we spent a lot of time outdoors. We took a long weekend trip to Myrtle Beach and made a couple trips, as always, to Charlotte, this time to celebrate Katiebug's birthday and meet a different Katie's Eli. We traveled to VA, canoed the Eno (my first time ever!) and enjoyed the new life Spring always brings.
May was a busy month with visits from Papa T, Nana T and Aunt Ash. We had friends over for a campfire in our newly fashioned fire pit. We also found ourselves in the ER this month with a boy vs. bench incident. We again, met our friend, Dermabond. We also took a big trip to Florida. This was not Elias' first plane ride, but was definitely the first he would remember. We had a blast with the Brutscher side of the family (Christopher's mom's side).
Summer included lots of slip-n-slide time and Christopher's solo trip out to Oregon for our dear friend, Kimary's 30th. I would have joined him, but we were making plans (and saving PTO!) for a new baby on the way! Could excited, hopeful and nervous even begin to describe how we felt?!
We took another trip to the beach, this time to Edisto Island with Nana and enjoyed some some SC sun. The potty training began after this trip and we entered a whole new world of big boy underwear, encouraging independence and no diapers! What a roller coaster that has been and one I think we will be riding for some time. It's no easy task to grow a little boy!
In July, we also spent more time in the emergency department, this time graduating to a little sedation and many stitches. And we were on a first name basis with the ED staff. A trip to New Orleans in August was filled with streetcars and lots of eating, topped off with a case of food poisoning (Elias).
In September, we celebrated my 29th birthday and discovered that our family would be girls: 1, boys: 3. That's right, we saw a penis on the ultrasound and so I had to start erasing all my dreams of pink tulle and ballet slippers! We settled on the name Ethan (still working on that middle name) and began planning for another boy in our lives.
Fall brought changes to both the beautiful trees that surround our house and some changes in our family's journey. We had to make some big decisions as we faced my graduate program ending and this new baby boy coming. It was a monumental time in our family's history as we set priorities and talked about the sacrifices we would need to make in the next several months. It came down to some number crunching and soul searching (not sure if these two always happen at the same time, but they did for us!) and we made some HUGE decisions. And here, they are, in no particular order....
1. Christopher will leave his job as a park ranger when Ethan is born to be a stay-at-home Dad.
Ok, yeah. Maybe you should just let that sink in.
Next...
2. Because Christopher's job includes a house, we had to buy our own! We closed November 16 on a brand spankin' new house and will move in soon...mid January-ish. Pictures to follow...we'll do a whole separate post on our new place.
3. Finally, though I am the proud owner of three new letters after my name (MSN), I will continue in my job after the baby's born and will stay at Duke to meet the work commitment of the tuition reimbursement I received.
If you are not saying WOW by now, then something is wrong with your shock and awe meter. Even if you are already in the know, you can appreciate where this year has brought us!
The end of the year has been kind of a blur, I must admit. It seems like October rolled through here like a steam engine (which we saw LIVE at Day out with Thomas this year) and now we find ourselves at the end of December. My posts on our more recent happenings, including Christopher turning 30, joining our church, dedicating Elias, are probably more recent in your mind, though just as monumental for us. These last few months have been a slam-bang finish to a very big year! Click HERE to go our shutterfly site to catch up on all the pictures and some video from Christmas. I have added quite a few albums, including our Thanksgiving with the Ammons (and Grandma, Grandpa and Granny K!) and all our Christmas activities.
We hope to see many of you in 2010...you'll want to say happy birthday to Elias (4 years old on Feb 6!) and come meet Ethan, of course (he's due to arrive sometime around Feb. 17-ish). And we'll save a spot for you on the futon at the new house...but hurry, reservations for 2010 are going fast!
Have a blessed new year and may your reflections on 2009 create both gratitude and joy as you see how MUCH we have to be thankful for and how truly good God has been to us all.
Little Tikes Classic Racing Tire Toy Chest
