Jump for Joy!

So it’s the end of the year, the last hour of 2012. New Year’s Eve has never been my favorite holiday; it always seems anticlimactic. I like New Year’s Day, because we almost always go to the beach, like my parents and grandparents did most years.

But I do like year-in-review summaries, so here goes.

*We moved into our new home last January and paid our first mortgage payment on our first house.

*We watched our tiny baby grow, smile, roll, inch, crawl, eat, toddle, speak, hug, drool, push things around, crawl on top of things, and start sleeping through the night, at which time the sun broke through the clouds and we feasted and celebrated with joy for weeks.

*We spent a lot of weekends watching Netflix.

*Chris trained a lot of student pilots in that cute orange helo that looks like the pet of the helo he flew in Japan.

*I wrote a couple more travel articles for publications nobody cares about but mostly chased Isaac and partied with the neighbors and Bible study girls (and babies). We continue to log hours at the awesome park near our house.

*I started a year-long fast from shopping to live in greater thankfulness and appreciation (The Technicolor Dream Closet blog). In conjunction with that, I’m reading through the Bible chronologically in a year and FINISH THE OLD TESTAMENT TONIGHT!!!! WOOOOO!

*In March, we did a ton of landscaping. We bought two citrus cocktail trees, a million bags of mulch, dug flowerbeds, planted an herb garden, accidentally stole a cherry tree which rightfully died and had to be replaced, lawn fertilizer and a lawn mower, etc etc. Somehow related to that lawn mower box Chris made a joke about otter rotating which continues to make me giggle.

*Chris waged war on the nasty swarms of bugs that kept up a months-long infiltration campaign in our yard, AND HE WON! He also caught a little snake in our yard and jogged past a five-foot rattle snake nearby. He also killed a black widow spider on our porch.

*I killed about one brown recluse a week from my birthday through Christmas, plus another small black widow on the porch and a HUGE one on the sidewalk nearby.

*We introduced Captain Goodbaby to the adventures of the Pensacola area: the lovely beaches, the Blackwater River State Park, Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, the new baseball stadium on Pensacola Bay, local harvest festivals, and things like that.

*Our friends the Bayers and the Floyds stayed with us, plus the O’Shays, my parents and Chris’ parents all visited us twice!

*We celebrated Easter, Independence Day and Thanksgiving here with friends, and Christmas here with Han, Justin and Ezekiel.

*Chris and I both lost a bunch of weight—yahoo! And Isaac gained a bunch—even better!

*We went to Colorado for Grandfather’s 90th birthday reunion. The Goodbaby and I also flew to Houston for a weekend when Chris was out of town this fall.

*Chris did cross-country flights to Savannah and Houston. He also upgraded his private pilot’s license.

*I’m on the board of Chris’ squadron Officer Spouses’ Club, which involves writing absurd newsletters and making speeches every few months.

*We received a surprise inheritance from my old mentor and editor.

*Isaac’s favorite toys are his lawnmower, toy train set, Cozy Coupe, and his books. And hand-sized cars.

*Our Goodbaby went as Hurricane Isaac for Halloween—a big hit.

*We completed the new membership process at Grace Community Church!

*And about three weeks ago we found out the little Goodbaby will almost certainly need heart surgery within two months, which means taking him to Atlanta for 3+ days in the hospital. So that’s what we’re heading into in 2013.

After the constant stimuli of the last three years in our previous station, a (mostly) slow and steady 2012 in Pace, Florida, is JUST what we needed. Happy New Year’s Eve, truly  I’m starting to come around to this holiday—there might be something to sipping cheap spumante together in front of the fire while the baby sleeps!