Goodbye, 2009!

Adios... Au Revoir... See Ya... GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!

For many, and we are not excluded, 2009 was not the brightest of years. Ok, yes, we did conceive in 2009 and our pregnancy has thus far been uncomplicated. But we also experienced some of the most traumatic and testing situations of our lives. We lost a pregnancy right before our very eyes. We watched firemen axe away portions of our home. We learned about cancer... the hard way. We lost a job and a major income source for our family. We even did a couple of those simultaneously!

We wondered at times why we were being tested so much. We experienced frustration.. anger.. fear and depression. We were challenged by friends who, to this day, have chosen to lash out, telling us how we could/should be managing our situations and our lives... and then disappear.

But, among the negative friends, the doom & gloom and depression... we learned a big lession that hit us square in the face, repeatedly: Life isn't always easy, and certainly isn't fair. But we will survive.

We can live on less. We have friends who love us without judging. We have a supportive family. (Who at one point was there with beer ready!) We have each other. We are stronger for having experienced these things together. We will survive.

The destruction of 2009 will not go away over night and we, like many, are on our way to moving past the darkness. Welcome, 2010. We embrace the blank pages that lie ahead and look forward to making them beautiful.