2009 in Review

Since we didn't get an update letter out in our Christmas cards, here is what we've been up to in 2009!

In May, Joel and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. We can't believe all those years have gone by already, but we are enjoying the ride!

Joel continues to build theatrical scenery and travel the world. He spent time this year in Finland, Sicily, Alaska and the Caribbean. His biggest job was working for three months on a little ship called the Oasis of the Seas. (Maybe you've heard of it--it was on a few small TV programs like Good Morning America!) It is the largest, tallest, widest, heaviest and most expensive cruise ship ever built. It is five times the size of the Titanic and as long as the Empire State Building is high. Other fun highlights this year were creating a ten foot working (Co2) can of hairspray for the musical Hairspray, and cutting apart a 1956 Caddy and reassembling it for another theatre production. He enjoyed his first hunting trip last year and also takes advantage of the cost savings of riding his Honda Superhawk whenever he can! Even after all his adventures around the world, he says it all pales in comparison to his joy in returning home to his family.

The girls had a busy year enjoying new experiences at lots of museums, attending children's plays at the Victoria theatre, seeing the Ringling Bros Circus, Disney on Ice, and the Wiggles. Tess was also very ecstatic about just attending her first professional ballet.

Tess who is now five years old, is thriving as a Kindergarten homeschooler. She started a year early after our school district decided that it would be harmful to make her wait until she was "officially" five to go to kindergarten (she only missed the cut off by 6 weeks.) She is the first child in eight years whose high IQ combined with emotional maturity warranted early entrance. So we decided to give homeschooling a try and she loves it--she is even doing some first grade work! She also took third place in our library summer reading contest and had fun taking an art class at the library as well. She enjoys attending a Homeschool Co-op once a week, is active as a Sparky in the AWANA program at our church, and looks forward to taking ballet lessons in the new year.

Gracie Rose turned two in September and has gone from our baby to such a little lady this year. She loves ladybugs, learning sign language and reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar book over and over and over (which she can quote word for word!) She's full of spunk and continues to embrace life as much as a two year old can!

I'm so blessed to continue as a stay at home mom, and am busy discovering the world of Homeschooling. I also try to squeeze in some kind of creative outlet whenever a rare second will allow. I've been active this year as co-secretary for our church's AWANA club, nursery coordinator for our Homeschool Co-op, and spent some time as the social coordinator for our local Stroller Fit group. One highlight this year was doing some sign language interpreting, which reignited my passion for pursuing it more thoroughly in the future.

Also in September we found out I had an enlarged thyroid with multiple growths (nodules.) With my mom having two different types of thyroid cancer at 35, we knew we couldn't take it lightly. I underwent multiple core biopsies which looked ok but decided to have a second opinion with the doctor who treated my mom's thyroid cancer 20 years ago She immediately found problems with the initial pathology report (after looking at it a second time, the pathologist said he wasn't 100% confident the growths weren't malignant.) I then had a Fine Needle Aspiration, which in the end was thankfully benign. So after all that, everything looks normal but I will be retested in a year to see if there are any changes--especially in the largest nodule that is already the size of a marble in the front of my throat.

We appreciate so many of you who kept us in your prayers through Joel's trip and also through my thyroid situation. We are continually amazed at how God cares for us and has blessed our lives in such numerous ways. We look forward to what 2010 holds!