2010 in Review

I have heard so many people talk about how tough 2010 was for them, and, unfortunately, it is hard to not relate. 2010 had it's ups and downs for us, too. I am definitely ready for a new beginning and have a lot of things I would like to change. But first, here is a brief recap of OUR 2010.

We are a family who LOVES movies. We go to a lot of them (when we can). This year, we had some pretty EXCITING movies that came out in theaters that were our favorites.

By FAR, the ones we MOST anticipated were:
and
Despicable Me was EASILY the best movie we saw this year!! It was funny and just fantastic.

Daniel turned 5 at the beginning of 2010. 5! It hardly seems fair....

With turning 5 came the inevitable....he had the absolute audacity to begin Kindergarten in August. He was more than ready for this new phase of life. He has been excelling in school, as we knew he would. Kindergarten is so much different than it was even a few years ago when Sierra was in Kindergarten. It is amazing what he can do!! He has the best teacher I have ever met...and I have met a lot. She is absolutely AMAZING and I am grateful that he has had such a positive start to school.

He got stung by a bee in September and he had a slight allergic reaction to it. This was a roller coaster ride for us as we became terrified of what this would mean for us. We had to get epi pens to give to the school and to keep for ourselves in case he went into anaphilactic shock. In the end, the allergist has come to believe that he does not have a serious allergy to bees. We are equipped if it becomes serious, but we are not living in fear.

Really, Daniel's 2010 has been a good one. He has hardly gotten sick at all...he lost his first tooth....he started school....and he is a boy without a care in the world.

Sierra's year has been a bit more....well....challenging. The first 4 months or so for her saw her having strep twice (once while we were on vacation) and a sinus infection once. Over the summer, she ended up having her tonsils removed.

Sierra has no fear when it comes to needles or surgery and was very excited about having the surgery.....until it was over. I think it is safe to say that she will not be so enthusiastic about surgery again. It was a ROUGH week and a half or so. However, she has not gotten sick since (minus some intense growing pains and painful molars....which is sadly how she was ending her year).

She also had the audacity to get a year older. She turned 11 in May and was all to happy to get older.

She ended her 5th Grade year with a bang...she had the best teachers ever (outside of Daniel's K teacher, of course). Her summer was filled with time spent with her BFF, her surgery, Splashtown, and Preteen Camp (after which she came home glowing after having such a great experience conversing with God).

Besides having her tonsils removed, her biggest change this year was school. She begged with me to allow her to be homeschooled. She had many good reasons why she should be and Matt and I decided we would try this...a risk when your child is in 6th grade. So far, I see nothing but benefits in this decision and she is loving being homeschooled.

2010 for me has been a roller coaster of highs and lows. The highs have been many...and I do not know if I can list them all. My kids and their growth has been a fun thing for me this year. I joke about how I do not like them growing up...but in reality, it is fun. I cried when Daniel started Kindergarten and my heart jumps when I watch him walking into the school. Our situation is different than most. Neither of my kids were ever in daycare or preschool or Mother's Day Out. Where I went, they went. Where they went, I went. It is quite surreal to all the sudden one day lose that time together.

Don't get me wrong, though...my heart also swelled with PRIDE as I watched him go into that school...into his classroom....such confidence he had. He never had a doubt in his mind that this is where he belonged and each morning he is excited to get up and go to school.

Sierra is quickly getting closer to teenager and it fills me with GREAT pride to see who she is becoming. I see other girls her age and how they treat their mothers and Sierra is simply not that girl. She would come home from school telling me how the kids thought it strange that she would actually talk to her own mother (perish the thought). Sierra and I are very close and the older she gets, the better our relationship gets. This is a good thing seeing how now she is home with me all the time. lol

I had the great privelege to go see Wicked with her this summer...the single best show I had ever seen. Sierra and I were awestuck and I found myself kicking myself for supposing it to be a bad show simply because it had a witch in the poster. I am counting the days till I can see it again (the number is infinite since I am not sure WHEN that will be).

We have had some financial issues this year that has been difficult at times, but God is always faithful and we have never done without. I am a whiner, though, and so I am sure I did not make it easy on the family. I hope to make things better in this area in 2011.



Matt's year was the biggest roller coaster ride. He was taken off of one client (one he had been in for years) and put with a different client (a move he cautioned against) and than moved back to his original client. It was a yo-yo affect that caused a bit of stress for him. Soon after he was settled again in his old client team, there was a big announcement at his company...it had been bought out by another company. THIS scared me as you always here about layoffs in these situations. Matt was assured that those in his position were safe because this new company did not have anyone that could do these jobs. They have held true to this...there are no plans to layoff Matt and this is good.

Other than the job rollercoaster, this year has been pretty standard for Matt. He is easy...he floats along on the waves without much of a care.



There are many more things I could talk about. Some negatives I could list, but I won't. This year is almost done....next year is another one (kinda sounds like Dr. Seuss saying). We have hopes for bigger better thing for our clan. We have hopes and dreams. But, all in all, I can't say 2010 was bad...not even close to bad. It had it's moments, as every year has....but many of those moments were GREAT!!!!

So, from our house to yours, Happy End of 2010 and Happy Beginnings to 2011!!