Ten on Tuesday: 2013 Highlights

Since this year is ending on a Tuesday it seems only appropriate to send it out with a Ten on Tuesday list.  Technically, this is the last Ten on Tuesday list, because next Tuesday starts my collaboration with Lisa from The Golden Spoons and out #TuesdayTen.  We'll be linking up New Year's Resolutions, so I hope you check back and join us.

2013 was an interesting year around here.  Most things stayed pretty steady for us; no new jobs or kids or houses, but I like steady, so that's a good thing.  I can actually go back and recap a lot from 2013 because this was the year that I got serious about my blogging and kept up with it really well.  This post is actually taking forever to write because I keep going back to read posts from last year and getting stuck in a rabbit hole!

So, now that I've got that mostly out of my system, here are 10 noteworthy highlights for 2013:

1. Benjamin turned 3, gave up his pacifier and started wearing underpants.  That's a pretty full year for such a little guy!!
2. Henry turned six, started reading fluently and got really good at soccer.  He hasn't stopped sucking his thumb yet, but he's doing it less and less and I try not to bug him about it too much.
3. Frances turned 10, made huge improvements in violin and ballet and has become such a young lady that it shocks me to look at her.
4. I turned 35, started Zumba and actually bit the bullet to request (and receive) a raise at work.
5. Ken and I celebrated 12 years of marriage (and 17 years of togetherness).  The cool part is that from our anniversary in June until Frances' birthday in October, we had been married for 12 years and our kids were 9, 6, and 3.  Math nerd!!
6. Our family had a big trip to Disney World with Ken's dad, brother, sister and their families.  It was my first trip as well as the kids' and we had a blast!
7. My old van bit the dust and we got my dream car: a Honda Odyssey.  It is the same make, model, year and color as my mother's van.  We're twinsies!!
8. Blogging-wise I bought my own domain, finally installed an interactive commenting system, got my first paid sponsors, did my first guest posts, and started doing product reviews and giveaways.
9. Also related to blogging, but so much more: Together with 29 other awesome bloggers, I was published in a book. An actual book that you can buy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. And out of that have come away with some really awesome new friendships as well.
10. My friend Julie finally talked me into attended a Cursillo retreat and I am ever so thankful for her. I had always said I would attend this retreat when I felt like God was calling me to.  As it turns out, God sometimes sounds an awful lot like my best friend, Julie, and the timing ended up being just perfect for me to get back in touch with Him.

Still one of my favorite pictures ever!!

2012 in Review: A to Z

I wanted to do a year in review and I thought an alphabetical list would be fun. So here are some of my favorite 2012 moments:
A--Apple Picking in Charlottesville
B--Benjamin turned 2!
C--Calming Caddy for Henry
D--Dance Recital for Frances
E--Eucharist-As in Frances' First
F--Frances turned 9!
G--This giraffe story is still a favorite in our house
H--Henry turned 5!
I--"Ice cream" and other words we can't say in our house
J--JMU is the place to be and I spent a full year at this amazing job!
K--Ken is teaching the kids how to dance
L--Laundry, laundry, laundry! Does it ever end!?
M--Meals and menus made a big difference in our evening chaos
N--New schools were started this Fall
O--Ordination of Fr. Joe
P--Pumpkin patches were visited (3 times!)
Q--Quiet time was much appreciated
R--Riding horses was one of Frances' favorite summer activities
S--Strawberry picking was a blast!
T--Triathlon fun for the boys
U--Unlucky numbers were mine for the PowerBall jackpot
V--Violin lessons were started by Frances:
W--Wedding chaos ensued (3 kids in one wedding was more fun than I thought possible!)
X--Xpress, As in Candy cane Express-The fun train we got to ride on
Y--Yummy recipes can be found here

Z--Zoo fun in Richmond

Goodbye 2007!

It was a good year and it is almost over. A list of the highlights of the year:
Henry arrived! He was somewhat late, but well received. We are completely in love and delighted at what a wonderful big sister Frances is.
Ken and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. If I remember correctly, we took Frances and 2-week old Henry to see Shrek the 3rd!
Frances started dance lessons and has now gone through two cycles. She loves the classes and her teachers. She sings and dances all the time and is happiest in a princess dress or leotard. Speaking of Frances, we took her to a Wiggles concert this Fall in Roanoke. She LOVED it and still talks about it now. The tickets were a gift for her 4th birthday. I cannot believe that my "baby" is 4-years old! (And finally potty trained!)
Henry is sitting up, eating baby food, and getting ready to crawl. He likes to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. His teacher at school said he actually crawled a few steps a couple of weeks back, but we haven't seen him do it again.
Ken was promoted at the ABC store and is now the Assistant Manager. He has been more working more hours than he had previously, so we tend to see him less often. Then nice thing about this job is that the store is closed Sundays, so we usually have that day together (even if it is mostly taken up by church activities).
I am teaching a class of very young 4-year-olds this year, one of whom is my own daughter. That part has worked out much better than I thought, but is not totally without it's problems. I do truly enjoy spending the day with my daughter. And I can still nurse Henry whenever he gets hungry.
Youth ministry is going well. We have made some successful changes in the program this year, and some kinks are still being worked out. I am truly blessed with a wonderful group of catechists to work with.
As we end this year, I am happy to say that everyone is healthy and well-provided for. We have much more than we need or deserve and I hope that we can continue to remember that.
May God keep blessing you in the coming year!!