The boys and I did venture out with some friends to see Southern Lights, but to our disappointment, they had already closed all the indoor attractions. We went to grab a bite to eat and of course, visit the little boy's room. Here lately, Sam has to test every toilet between our destination and home. And when I say test, I mean poop. Charlie announced to everyone, "Good grief, Sam, you stink!" The funny part is he's never said that phrase before. Add to that his little accent and his shear disbelief that the smell was really that bad. All that being said, it was time to wrap up our New Year's Eve excitement before things got out of hand.
So, 2010 wasn't quite the year I imagined it would be when it started almost a year ago. But who guaranteed that things always go as planned?
God handed us many blessing and many trials during the year, but I'm learning that if I can see God's hand in every situation and allow Him to guide me through each one, no matter how painful, that I can get through even the most difficult circumstances.
January allowed the boys to play in their first snow. They weren't huge fans of the fluffy mess, but it's definitely growing on us. Daddy turned 30 and we surprised him with a new grill for his birthday!
February just provided more snow. And it's such a short month, who really remembers what happened anyway...
March we celebrated the boys first birthdays in America. They turned 7 and 3 and decided that birthdays were so fun, they didn't mind if they came every month. I did have to veto that plan as it wasn't quite in the budget. I also had my tonsils taken out and had to depend on Kenny, Mom and friends to function for the better part of 3 weeks. It was the worst surgery ever (just like they say it is for adults), but it did cure the need for my once-a-month round of antibiotics.
April brought out the competitive side of Charlie. As we tried to teach him the story of Jesus' resurrection, he fought to find the most eggs at the Easter egg hunt. Not worrying about taking out anyone in his path. We've come a long way on our manners since then. We also went on our first family vacation with the Jolly's to Tennessee. Charlie's love for roller coasters grew. And I decided that it's more fun to play in creek than to go to Dolllywood. And cheaper. Remember, I'm frugal. Not cheap.
May is the month I would like to erase. We got a phone call in the early hours of May 8th that Katie had been in a car accident. That day I lost a best friend. A sister........And God has had to teach me over and over again that His timing is best. And while 22 years wasn't long enough for me to have her, He was ready to bring her home.
June brought the boys first trip to the beach and their first wedding when we joined Kenny's family for the marriage of his sister. Thumbs up on the beach for Charlie! Sam just prefers to play in the sand and leave the water to the fish. We also had VBS at our church which is always a fun and exhausting week.
July was spent just enjoying summer and heading to the pool. It was really too hot to even be outside unless you were in the water, but this is the time of year Charlie decided he needed to practice his soccer skills, so almost every afternoon found us outside in the sweltering heat chasing soccer balls. It makes me sweat a little just thinking about it.
August included a second trip to the beach with my family and Charlie started school. He loves school, but won't tell you that. He's really too cool for his own good sometimes. And he has the highest English grade in his class. How ticked would you be if the kid that was on his THIRD language had a higher English grade than you? Yes, I know it's 1st grade, but just let me brag a bit. We also celebrate the boy's 1 year Gotcha Day on August 24th. Join me in being completely blown away that they've been home over a year...
September let Sam start preschool a few days a week. He doesn't have an A in English, but we're working on it. He can count to 30 and recognizes the numbers up to 15. He can spell his name. And he does it faster than I've ever heard anyone else spell Sam. That's just how we roll. Really fast.
October took us on our first family mission trip to Lynch, Kentucky. Introducing the boys to "helping people" (Charlie's words) and missions at such an early age is something we've always wanted to do. The boys had a blast on the trip and really did pitch in and help. And by the way, white paint is terribly difficult to remove from hair. No matter how short that hair is. And Kenny and I decided we still liked each other and are going strong on our 7th year of marriage.
November. November? Did I sleep through November? Between the craziness of October and December, I'm not even sure November happened. Except for Thanksgiving. We did do that. We spent the boy's second Thanksgiving with friends in Southern Indiana. Canaan, to be exact. And he's a pastor. Does anyone else think that's funny? I digress.
December was a blur. I feel like a majority of the month was spent in Alabama with little brother getting married and multiple Christmas celebrations. I'll be honest. Christmas and all that entails without Katie around really stunk. I won't go into details for my own personal sanity, but it was just plain hard... But the boy's had a blast! I'm a little worried since we got started so late on this Santa deal, that I'm gonna have to break it to Charlie when he hits middle school that it's just not as he really thinks. He just got really wrapped up in the whole Santa thing this year and I hate that he missed so many early years of believing a jolly fat man breaks into his house and leaves him presents exactly like what he asked for. Shouldn't we all just believe that's how it happens?
So, there ya go. A quick 2010 Cook Family review. If you've made it this far, I'm assuming you didn't have New Year's Eve plans either. Join me basking in all our coolness.
May God bless you as you enter 2011! Happy New Year!!
2 comments:
Glad I wasn't the only one in bed early...10:30 to be exact!
great post and happy new year! i made it til 12:30! go me!!
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