2010: In Review

I have good intentions of getting a fancy slide show up of some memorable photos from 2010.  My goal is to get to that 'little' project (let's face it, nothing is little with five kids in the house) completed by the end of January.  Instead, you get to read my writing.  Lucky, lucky you.

We began 2010 with so much hope.  Hope that the worst of Luke's ordeal with that nasty NEC (the horrible infection he contracted in the NICU that took away 16cm of colon and 16cm of small intestine in two surgeries) was truly behind us.  Hindsight allows us to see that we couldn't have been more wrong.  In the midst of juggling a fragile preemie, we also had four very needy children at home.  And a needy husband and wife while we're counting.  Sadly, my grandmother passed away just after the new year.  It's a sad day when you realize that your father has no more living parents.  I'm trying not to think of what that day will be like for me.  Love 'em while you got 'em, people.

John Paul's fab sixth birthday party had to be cancelled and rescheduled because little Luke went into surgery at Dell...again.  Four more hospital stays (only one planned!) would round out Luke's love affair with the children's hospital.  That, and 10 specialists and a mountain of medical bills.

Through it all, though, we learned to trust.  We learned to live in the moment.  Because, quite honestly, we don't know how many moments we really have left.

Will did splendidly in spring basketball, even though we weren't able to make many games.  His budding defensive side really blossomed and I couldn't have been more proud of his sportsmanlike conduct.  I love watching Will on the court.  He may not be the star when it comes to points on the board, but he is a leader.  And a handsome one at that.  In between vacations at Dell Children's and major sleep deprivation, we managed to squeeze in a little normal, and a lot of fun.  There was SNOW, a ridiculous amount of late nights up watching the Olympics, a visit from the greats, a spectacular Games2U birthday party, the annual bluebonnet photo (they were spectacular!) and a few remodeling projects (here, here and here).

Just before school ended, we had to say goodbye to a really amazing family.  Darn you Tucker's.  We know they're living it up in Washington, the state.  But it sure was hard to say goodbye.  Anna-Laura turned FIVE and graduated from pre-school.  Where did those years go??

Life lesson learned?  Time goes by too quickly, just when you don't want it to.

Throughout the summer, I was recharged with some family reunions (gasp, I just realized I never blogged about the second reunion - HELLO sleep deprivation!), Clare's birthday, an awesome family vacay, one last surgery for sweet Luke and then school started in a flash.  I sent three to school and I am still in healthy denial about that fact.  The fall was awesome, filled with fun memories, Luke's big day, great holidays and a freaking boatload of therapy appointments.

As I scrolled through all those posts I got a little nostalgic.  There was so much happiness, so much fear, so much joy, so much heartache.  In hindsight, I think all of us has a year like that.  I think we just tend to focus on the joy or the junk, depending on our perspective that year.  And, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, it's ok to have a joyful (or a junky) year.  The point is, you HAD a year.  You had sweet days full of memories.  Whether we choose to remember the good ones or the bad ones is up to us.

I posted on facebook last week that I am hopeful for 2011.  I'm hopeful that I won't use things like "Luke" and "surgery" in the same sentence...or "ER" and "John Paul" (hat tip to Shannon for the reminder).  I'm also hopeful that...

...our family won't have any surgeries in 2011

...that I will keep true to my promise of writing down all the prayer requests people ask of me and putting them in my Bible.  Since our Luke experience, I find GREAT joy in praying for other people.  It's a reminder that so many people need those prayers.  I felt them once - ok, lots - and now it's time to share the love.

...that I will always be true to self.  No matter how hard it may be.

...that I will not drink as many Dr Pepper's.  Oh, 23 flavors how I love thee.

...that I will yell less, and love more.

...that I will cherish each and every day I have with the people I love.  This year has reminded me, as we've witnessed so much loss among family and friends, that we aren't guaranteed any amount of time on this earth.  Life's too short to be petty.

...that I will take better care of myself - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

...that I will keep blogging about all the crazy things in life to keep things in perspective.

May your 2011 be your BEST year yet.