So, I always love reading highlights posts, but I've never gotten around to writing one before. This year I decided to go for it, and I was surprised to see that most of what stands out to me as significant about 2012 wasn't even covered on my blog at all. Partly because I didn't write about even a tenth of what I wanted to write about, but it is what it is.
When I look back at the year overall, it feels very tumultuous. It was full of big changes for me and for people I love. There was a lot of moving and packing and unpacking. There was a lot of loneliness and sadness and stress as we tried to make big decisions, like which job to take and where to live, and said good-bye to people that we loved. But there was also a lot of peace and happiness and joy throughout the whole process.
Somewhere along the way we began to make friends here and stopped needing to look up directions every time we went out. We are still a work in progress and I still feel very new in my Pennsylvania life, but we are sending out a few roots and enjoying ourselves. And most importantly, every day I hang out with two of the most amazing little people in the world. They go where I go, and we have a whole lot of fun together, no matter what side of the country we are on.
On to my recap.
January: After three months of not having a car (ours had been stolen), we bought a car on the first day of the year! Woot woot. And we got one with stick shift. I was fully supportive of our decision to do so, even though I wasn't at all confident in driving a manual, but I won't deny that I was depressed I couldn't even drive our car home . . . and that my mother and my brother-in-law both got to drive it before I did. After a few weeks and lots of stress and tears, I finally learned how to drive well and now I'm a master. A master, I tell you!
February: Madeline turned three! We also went to the zoo after one of Madeline's CF appointments, one of our favorite traditions. Violet started army crawling. For some reason nothing else stands out to me about February. There was definitely that constant underlying stress of job hunting, but seriously: We were happy in our Provo life and we were really, truly enjoying our time there. We knew it couldn't last forever so we just soaked up our house, our friends, our nearby family . . . our life.
March: I helped my parents pack up their house in Preston . . . so sad and surreal. When I left town, I drove around some of my favorite places with tears streaming down my cheeks because I just love it so much and I didn't know when I would ever be back. I planted a spring garden with the girls and got excited about life in Provo during the spring and summer. Then after months of applying for jobs, Dave suddenly had two job offers in hand within two weeks. We decided to accept one of them and started packing, packing, packing for our upcoming move to Pennsylvania.
April: Provo in the spring? Yes, please! We were blessed with amazing weather all month long, so we spent a lot of time outside, enjoying our beautiful yard and its crabapple tree with gorgeous bright pink blossoms. We spent as much time as possible with family and friends and hit up a few places in Utah that we'd never seen. And of course we kept packing. Oh my goodness, it is the process that never ends! Finally we got it all done, waved good-bye to our moving truck, and spent one last night in our dear little house before flying away to our new home in Pennsylvania. And that car we bought in January? Yeah, we sold it.
May: After a week or so of staying with Dave's mom, we moved into our new house (which we are renting, just for the record). Dave started his shiny new job, and then I spent the rest of the month unpacking. Oh, and planting a garden.We had to get it into the ground within a week or two of moving in, and although there was still tons to do inside, it was SO NICE to take a break from the boxes and enjoy the sunshine! My dear sister Hannah also spent eight days with us, and we had an amazing time hanging out at home and seeing some of the sights in Philadelphia. Also she helped me start painting my house. Sister of the year.
June: I spent a lot of time unpacking, playing with the kids, and working on the garden. June has to be the best month of the year, and we tried to enjoy it by going to the park and playing outside a lot. Our backyard was a little hard to play in because it's TINY and Violet just wanted to crawl straight into the garden or straight up the steps (from which she could easily fall down onto the cement). We also visited our new CF clinic in Philadelphia for the first time, and we are pleased as punch with Madeline's new care team.
July: Violet turned one! She started to walk shortly after her birthday and hasn't stopped running since. We met up with my family in Williamsburg, Virginia, and spent a glorious week seeing the sights down there and having fun with my family. Madeline started to really, truly read at some point during the month. I still can't believe it, even though she's been doing it for well over six months. So much fun.
August: Um, August? It was hot, we spent as much time outside as we could, and I continued to unpack. Are you ashamed yet that I was still unpacking at this point? Well . . . it takes forever. Madeline fell in love with theater after we saw a musical production of Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, and we acted it out approximately 7200 times at home. Oh, we also bought a car--a wagon this time! And yes, it's another manual and I am rocking it. We also bought an awesome bike trailer and have loved it.
September: Madeline started a ballet/tap class that she adores, also giving Violet and me some valuable time to play one-on-one. We also discovered a fabulous nature class for preschool-age children at a local heritage center. The girls and I canned a lot--tomatoes, peaches, and applesauce. We also danced in our kitchen a lot (no really, not being cheesy here) and discovered some new favorite songs.
October: Did not go to Asia as this picture suggests. Instead, we enjoyed an absolutely glorious fall here in PA. We jumped in massive piles of leaves and seriously spent as much time as we could outside. It was so, so beautiful. We went on a buggy ride with some Amish friends, trick-or-treated in our new neighborhood, and experienced our first hurricane.
November: We took the girls to vote in the presidential election and celebrated Dave's birthday. Then after nearly six years of working as an editor for the Joseph Smith Papers, I finished my last project for them. Definitely a bittersweet moment. I also went up to Staten Island to help with the clean-up of Hurricane Sandy, and we of course enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in Lancaster. It's so great being close to Dave's family.
December: We started out the month at Sea World in San Antonio, Texas, with my family! It was so wonderful to wear shorts and flip-flops on the first day of December . . . oh, I can't even describe the bliss. It was just a great trip all around, complete with a 2 a.m. jump into my family's new pool in freezing temperatures. And then the rest of the month flew by with the holidays, and that was that: 2012. Gone.
4 comments:
cute. cute. cute. and more cute. yay 2012!
I love how you just briefly mention that you experienced your first hurricane. hahahaha Fun highlights - so glad you posted!
This makes me tired to read. But, it was a great year! Too bad the pool photos weren't posted. I LOVE YOU GUYS!
What a fun idea. Glad you're starting to feel settled. It takes awhile. I had to smile to myself about learning to drive stick shift. It was an adventure for me, too! We also love the book Click Clack Moo. It would be neat to see a theatrical presentation of it.
Hope 2013 treats you and your family well. As you know they like to say here, "Have a good slide!"
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