a new year

I know, I know. This is a few days late. But I'm sure you'll all get over it. Somehow.

We celebrated a quiet New Year's Eve. Our family enjoyed an evening toast with sparkling cider, but we headed to bed at our regular hour. I knew I stood very little chance of staying awake until midnight, and besides, Owen is relentlessly consistent about waking up around 6:30 AM. And this mama is a much more cheerful soul when she's had a good 7 or 8 hours of sleep.

I know, I'm boring. It's okay. I've known for a while.

This must be said, though: I can't remember ever seeing a year out with quite so much glee. It's true: 2009 nearly did me in. I can't remember a more difficult year. But through it all, the Lord was faithful. And praise His name, we made it through.

The new year looks promising from here. I'm welcoming it with open arms.

Speaking of promising, don't count on hearing from me much this week. I may throw up a few little nuggets here and there, but I imagine I'll be pretty busy. Once again I'm living in a cardboard jungle...but this time, with joy. We're expecting to sign all those closing papers (I'd better rest my hand up, if memory serves correctly), get the keys, and move in over the next weekend. We are excited, to say the least. It's hard to believe that in a week, we're planning to be sleeping in our new bedrooms, having breakfast in our new dining room, etc.

I'm thankful for the help we'll be receiving throughout the moving process. We have wonderful friends and family. The boys will be spending much of Saturday at a friend's house. (I did give Ben and Kyle the choice of being at the new house with us, but when they heard where Owen was going, they got excited about the possibility of going over there, too.)

In other promising news, I had another wonderful visit with my midwife (Sonya Esme) yesterday. And guess what? Little Bit is head down! I'd suspected that might be the case, but it was so wonderful to have it confirmed by people with experience. We also got to meet another midwife who'll be helping Sonya. I'm delighted to say that I really like her, and felt very comfortable with her. Such an important thing for labor!

I'll close with a short list of goals for 2010.

Hopes & Dreams for 2010~
1) Learn to make cheese with my new mozzarella and ricotta kit. (Thanks, Jamie & Trish!)
2) Figure out my problem with making sourdough.
3) Find a rhythm with homeschooling as it relates to having a new baby in the house.
4) Remember to call people more.
5) Learn to love people better.
6) Be a better housekeeper.

...and last but not least,

7) Avoid complaining about the apartment dishwasher any more while we still live here. It's a good thing I only have a few more days to make it through, though. That dishwasher makes me nutty...


Happy New Year!