2011

As 2011 comes to a close, I want to reflect on what has happened.. and A LOT has happened.. We started the year off on a sad note in January by saying good-bye to Paul's MawMaw Neel. She was a kind woman with a big heart and I'm so glad to have known her. The ladies had their first Valentine's Day in February and two weeks later we found out that I was pregnant with our third child. We were shocked and excited and shocked some more. We moved to our new home in April and immediately celebrated Jennavieve and Annabelle's first birthday. We had such a good time at their party and we couldn't have done it without all the help that Paul's mom, Beverly, and my mom, Vickie, gave to make it happen. In fact, we'd probably still be living out of boxes if Beverly hadn't been here to help us move.. We went to Florida in June and had a wonderful time with my family at the beach. We came back to Colorado where we met up with Paul's family and headed to Montana to see their family. By this time, our sweet Oso puppy had fallen ill and we were so grateful that our cousin Theresa and her hubby Jason let us bring him to their house to stay with us while we vacationed. We had a great visit with Paul's family and the ladies had a great summer spending time with their cousins from both Paul's family and mine. In August, my Grandma Flo came to visit and we really enjoyed having her here. Sadly, August also brought the passing of our sweet Oso. It was one of the saddest times we've endured, and it was just one year and eleven days after the passing of our sweet Kali puppy which made it even harder. The ladies were thrilled to have so many people to play with during the summer and the visitors just kept coming. In September, my sister and her family came to CO for a friend's wedding and we got to spend some much needed time with them. October seemed to get here super fast and Doug and Beverly came to help prepare for the arrival of our newest little love. On October 21, we welcomed our sweet Lilly-Kathryn Arbana into our lives in a very speedy delivery. She is perfect and the ladies love her. My parents came out shortly after her birth to meet her and, like everyone else, fell in love with her sweet personality. Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving. We celebrated in our semi-traditional manner by heading to Cracker Barrel with our friend, Anna who has been a great friend and a tremendous help since she moved here. Before we knew it, it was December and we were celebrating Christmas with our ladies and our 9th Anniversary. Now here we are, New Year's Eve. Our ladies are running and jumping, dancing and singing, laughing and talking and sooooo much fun. Our littlest lady is full of smiles and the occasional giggle. She rolls over and is sleeping through the night (sometimes) and is just so wonderful to be around. Our lives are full of love and laughter (lots of laughter) and we are thrilled with where our journey has taken us. We are looking forward to seeing what wonderful things God has for us in the new year. 2011 was full of surprises and I'm sure 2012 will keep us on our toes as well. We are so grateful for our amazing families and friends and hope the new year brings great things to all of you. Happy New Year!! 

My First Post..

So, I've decided to attempt a blog.. To try to have some sort of organization to my random thoughts. To keep family and friends updated on our lives.. We shall see how this goes..