2008 Revisited

I like to look back.
I love memories.
I love remembering (or in many cases being reminded as my memory fails me more and more) about things that happened, places I've been, people I've met, things I've done and not done and how I have changed and stayed the same. I love to see how I have learned or progressed and can appreciate even those things that have not changed or progressed...yet. There is so much potential learning in looking back. I find that sometimes the most gratifying lessons that I glean are from taking a good look at myself. I wrote myself a pretty little note that I had stuck in my calendar all year. The situation that I found myself in January of this year called for action, a goal, an inspirational thought to carry me to the end of the present challenge. I have found that it not only carried me through that deployment/pregnancy but has served me pretty well throughout the entire year. It read: "Rise up. Overcome. Learn. Nothing shall be lost but all can be gained. It is what we are intended to do."
So in the past year that has seemed to fly by and taken a million years at the same time....2008.

January
The first part of 2008 was rough. We started our year out in Utah where we had gone to live with my parents in October for some extra help during pregnancy #4 and Clark's deployment (I'm not sure what number we are up to for that.) By January we were 4 months into the separation, 7 months pregnant and very tired...but we were surrounded by awesome family, lots of moral, emotional and physical support, and all the delicious food you could handle. This is from our Christmas card last year.And this is when we voted Mo off the island and made her stand outside of her own house that had been taken over by three energetic little girls and one bossy yet tired Mom.

February
In February my parents went on a trip to Israel so I somehow convinced my pregnant sister to come up from Las Vegas to sleep in the same bed with me so I wouldn't be so afraid of the dark. (We like to compare pointy stomachs.) Mia wrapped up all of her binkies and mailed them to Baby Shamu. We played with cousins and all three girls got strep throat (not from the cousins.) We endured lots more snow, laid around in my black velour jogging suit, grew a baby and finally welcomed Clark home for a few short visits before we could join him back in Connecticut.


March
In March our home in Texas finally sold after an entire year on the market--it would have been more of a relief if closing costs didn't require an arm, a leg and our unborn child. Really most of March was spent getting bigger, and bigger causing semi-permanent nerve damage in my right hand. I couldn't feel my finger tips for nearly 4 months. My blog seriously suffered from this unfortunate loss of typing capabilities...just kidding, I totally know where my priorities are. I absolutely love this shirt but wearing it now would just make people uncomfortable.
We enjoyed Easter, adored being with our cousins and ate ham. Papa was there with notebook and pen in hand to make sure all the eggs were found. Mia took one little trip to the ER. *See March's entries to re-acquaint yourself with the rules regarding small children and treadmills. Just for the record, her lapse of judgment, not mine.April

April was, of course, the month we had been waiting for for nine months. Clark came back to UT for a visit that was supposed to welcome a baby. One failed induction and one week later, she finally graced us with her presence. (In the meanwhile, Clark got to miss a little underway to stay that week until they could try inducing again....I love this picture because it pretty much sums up what I did nearly every night of my six months there...if you look close enough, you can even see my swollen feet no doubt from all the hard work of being a mother...I'm sure it has nothing to do with the popcorn that my Mom and I ate by the case-fulls...or the unlimited supply of soda in the fridge downstairs.) This is another favorite picture because it's also what we did for six months...love and be loved by my parents. I won't ever be able to express my gratitude for what they provided for us...a loving, comfortable home with many hands to ease my burdens. What a special time for us, really and truly....
Where was I? Oh yeah, we had a baby in April...this could be a long post indeed.
I was lucky to have two of my sisters and my Mom there at the delivery. They fed me ice, rubbed my back, applied long lasting lip color and made wincing noises when they felt sorry for me. Alone with your husband is special for giving birth, but on two occasions now we have loved our little cheering squad of attending angels.

I felt this event deserved a few pictures. And suddenly we were a family of six...until Clark left the day I came home from the hospital. We decided to wait until Hazel was old enough to make the trip and allow Haley to finish up the school year (to avoid a second switch in one year.) So we settled back into my parents house for another month or so. They helped me ease into juggling four kids. The baby was skinny and the healing was rough. But they continued to ease our transition. My Dad even retired to be around more...just kidding. He did retire but I think it was to eat more popcorn. We even pretended that Spring was here by eating dinner on the porch in April...remember that? Good times, good times.

May
Abby turned 5, Haley finished school, we blessed baby girl #4 and finally headed back to Connecticut to rejoin our missing husband/father. But that meant driving away and saying goodbye to our home and family for the last 6 months. Were there tears? Oh yes. That was a busy month of moving in (though Clark had done most of the work before we even got there, bless him.) And dear Mother in law made the drive from UT to CT in a car. with three little girls. lots of potty stops. lots of public restrooms. and helped unpack so that I could fly in comfort. through Houston. to sleep in her house while she was doing my Motherly duties elsewhere. and I ate Los Cucos. then flew in comfort once more to CT. She must really love us. a lot. And we really love her. a lot. What?! You want more details! OK. My first impression of Connecticut happened to be me getting off a plane with a newborn, finding a new car that I had never seen before in a wet parking lot (the number of which my husband had forgotten) getting lost on the way home in the pitch black forested streets of rural New England with a cell phone that decided to die right at that moment. Did I mention that I was driving to a house that I had never before seen or been to? I had no map and the newborn was crying with hunger. I literally made it there on a prayer, a very frantic prayer. But then things got totally better. Oh yeah, also this month: Abby graduated from preschool, ate salmon and Haley had a boy at school tell her that she was an alien and he had a crush on her all in the same sentence. And I may or may not have tried to drink Los Cucos green sauce up through a straw. (I promised you all the highlights, didn't I?)


June
Clark and I celebrated 8 years, I made a really pathetic cake and we took lots of kissing pictures.Then we played. Sometimes we did worksheets so their brains didn't totally turn to mush. And sometimes I took pictures of their increasingly dramatic and entertaining fits.
Hazel laughed, we went to the zoo and played on the trampoline. Also, we did some landscaping, Haley got taller, we celebrated Father's Day and we got rid of our barbeque grill after a mouse decided to have babies in it.









July
Are we there yet?
We celebrated Independence Day on the mall in Washington, D.C. with Spencer and Sho (my babiest brother and his wife whom we adore, doesn't everybody?) Hazel laughed some more, I got a wicked big kidney stone, we took a family picture (photoshop gave Clark an extra chin) and Clark tried to eat the baby.
Also, we went to the beach. a lot.
And oh heavens! Can't forget that Clark's little sis Sadie came for a visit. We did the beach, New York, church history sites, Hill Cumorah pagaent, Niagra Falls, Six Flags and lots of ice cream. We didn't want her to leave. Come back. No really, come back.



August
I turned 30 and Haley turned 7. We went to a family reunion in Utah and had a blast with the fam. They are pretty awesome. Clark was able to come for a few minutes before the boat decided they just couldn't live without him. He is pretty special. Oh, and Mia got four stitches.
September
The kids started school, Mia turned 3 (she got sparkly shoes that didn't come off her feet for 2 months), Clark turned 31 (doesn't he look happy to be 31?) and my two best friends from high school came to visit. It made me very happy indeed. Then fall crept in and CT was on fire with color.
Either September was boring or I am tired of this post.

October
Spencer and Sho came for a visit. They took super hero pictures. The girls were all super heroes for Halloween. They were cute even though they ended up looking a lot like Nacho Libre. I sewed so much that my sewing machine isn't speaking to me right now. We also picked some stuff.











November
Aaah November. I cleaned the house and had lots of guests for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful.









We got a Christmas tree. Can I just leave November at that? It was nice.






December
That brings us to the end. We finished off our year with a trip to Texas for a wedding and wonderful Christmas with the Scharman clan. It was everything it should have been (that's good!) The girls have been earning money for a Wii for about two months and they finally made their goal. So when we got back from Texas we equipped ourselves with all the necessaries and spent our last week of vacation laying around in our pajamas, eating whenever we wanted to, playing in the snow, and perfecting our golf swings in the living room. Now it's back to school and the Wii in moderation lest we all begin the new year thinking that Abby can really bowl a 160 and I can beat Clark in a boxing match. It's been a truly happy year of lessons learned.


Happy 2009! I need a nap.