Happy New Year!

2012...wow...I can't believe how fast 2011 went by. This time last year we had found out about Parker two weeks ago, the morning sickness was just starting to kick in so we spent NYE at home and then went to Dennis and Gloria's at 11:30pm to celebrate the countdown, Mike was working at Pacific Monarch, the girls were at Riverside Christian Day, I was blonde and we had a sh*t-ton of dogs. 2011 was a good year for us and even though we were making less money than we would have liked and didn't ever get new bikes or anything fun and fancy, our lives changed for the better at every turn (even if we didn't see it that way at the time). I think my favorite things from 2011 are (in no particular order) finally getting to meet Parker, that Mike quit that awful job, getting closer to my parents, learning how to live within our means and learning how to let the small things go a little bit. My hope for 2012 is that Mike will continue to be motivated to go back to school, that I will stay positive at work despite my frustrations and that I learn how to slow down a little and enjoy life as it comes even though the little things aren't perfect, that Parker will continue to be the amazing, healthy, happy and adorable baby that he is, that Hailey will continue to blossom into the deep, kind hearted and loving young woman she is becoming, that Tristan will find confidence and the strength to endure the heavy burdens life has already thrown her at 7-years-old, that we as a family continue to grow together instead of apart, that we stay committed to returning to our formerly active lifestyle and that we find a church that fits us. I hope that friends and family find what they are missing and that 2012 passes as smoothly as 2011.