What a Year!

Here we are about to close out another year. Each year as the calendar flips to January first I think about how far away December sounds, but it never fails to return a little bit faster than it did the year before. 2012 is no acception. We celebrated the New Year in Ohio with my family last year. This year will most likely provide less eventful since we elected to stay home through the holiday season. But as Always (pun intended) God gave me a song - the same song at church this morning as he did last New Year's. It is "Always" by Kristian Stanfill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzJH4YeqfuQ

We did some traveling in 2012. We flew to South Carolina at the end of May after missing the trip in 2011. It was so great to see old friends and family and of course, spend some time at the beach. The kids and I drove back to Evansville, IN at the end of June. I coached at the throwing clinic (shot put and discus) I have done for the past 4 years and we visited will some old friends and our UE family. We then drove on to visit my family in Ohio for the 4th of July. To our great big surprise, Tyrone flew up a few days after we arrived to surprise us and spend some time relaxing with us at the farm. He had convinced me that his summer school schedule and an important meeting would keep him from traveling at all. We also took a 2 day trip to Branson, MO right before Christmas to enjoy an indoor water park, dinner and a show, and too much other good food.

Last winter was quiet with no snow and very mild temperatures. It was a wonderful way to settle into our new home in NW Arkansas. January wrapped up with the celebration of Lydia's first birthday. She was walking by that time and was full of personality although she had very little hair. Now as we approach her second birthday, she has a full head of crazy, curly hair and continues to surprise us each day with her vocabulary and "grown up" way of doing things. Most recently she has taken a great interest in playing dress-up with "Esha" (rarely she will get out the full Maiesha), mothering her baby dolls, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and saying prayers to Jesus at meals and bedtime. We hope to wrap up potty training around her birthday and transition into a toddler bed so she can come to us during the night rather than yelling "Mooom" or "Daaad" from her crib.

Maiesha was completely immersed in a wonderful preschool experience last winter. For the first time, she had a group of best friends and one "sister", Hadley, that she really enjoyed playing with. They all went on to different schools in the fall, but we have been able to keep in touch and make time to play with them inspite of preschool graduation. To our pleasant surprise, Maiesha went off to kindergarten without shedding a single tear that first day. She has made some great new friends and loves her teacher. Her reading and math skills are starting to blossom and she read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" to me before bed last night. She has a very sweet spirit, but has struggled with some teenage-like emotions particularly when she is tired. She continued with dance again this year adding Jazz with the Ballet and Tap. She had a wonderful recital in the spring and they did an extra Christmas performance December 1. She loves making crafts a jewelry in her free time at home.

Jeremiah had a wonderful first grade experience last year. He wrapped up the spring with a super fun 7th birthday party here at home with lots of friends, and giant Harry Potter cake and homemade ice cream. In August he started taekwondo right before school began. He has already moved from white to orange to yellow belt and continues to catch on quickly. The instructors say he has natural talent and does a great job. He hopes to attend his first tournament in January. Jeremiah was thrilled to begin second grade, but by September was clearly not enjoying school. He has really struggled at times throughout the fall semester with a number of teaching changes and learning how to deal with his emotions. He still loves to read and does very well, but is otherwise not so interested in school right now. He does seem to be developing an interest in traveling the world and is still full of personality with a crazy ability to talk anyone's ear off. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Tyrone has had a very eventful 2012. He has been awarded 2 grants, has a lab full of hard working students, including 2 PhD students, and has made a ton of connections with other professors across campus that he can collaborate with on various research projects. He continues to enjoy teaching, but has to take a more balanced approach now that research is such a big part of his resposibilities. He hopes to get his first 2 research papers published this spring as well as continue to look for more funding to keep new projects flowing. Tyrone has been able to devote more time to being home now that his first year is in the books. He has enjoyed spending more time doing family stuff and taking Jeremiah to lots of his taekwondo classes. He hopes to join in once we have some extra money since he did karate as a child. We have joined a community group at church and have also be able to connect with some other families outside our church.

I volunteered at the University as a track & field official last winter and spring. It was a wonderful experience and a great way to stay connected to the sport I love so much. I hope to be there again this year, but probably a little less often with the new responsibilities I have going on. I really enjoyed hosting "Lunch at Lynette's" once a month through 2012. It was a great was to connect with other stay-at-home moms and use my gift of hospitality.  I started my new part-time job at our church as the Children's Ministry Director at the end of July. It has been a great experience so far and I am looking forward to lots of great things especially as we prepare to move our church to a new larger facility in 2013. The biggest surprise of all, after working through some marriage issues at the end of summer, is the new life God has birthed in me. Yes, we are expecting a new baby in July. As we start to plan and prepare for this "icing on the cake" miracle it really is a symbol of new beginnings for our family as we head into 2013.

As one of my dear, old friends put it, "Congrats on a full quiver." It comes from Psalm 127:4-5.
 "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court."