Goodbye, 2009: You’ve Been Good To Us!

2009 brought us more blessings than we could ever ask for- and more than we deserve! :) Here are some highlights from the psat year as we look forward to a wild and wonderful 2010 as a family of three (well, five if you count Rebel and Mocha)!

January:  John and I finally did something we have always wanted to do- took the Rangemaster gun safety course. John has gone on to take Level 2 and get his permit to carry.

February:  John moved from Morgan Keegan’s Downtown office to the East Memphis office to join the Mortgage Finance group.

April:  We took a “babymoon” to the Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood, MS, and enjoyed the spa and a Viking cooking class.

May: We celebrated our third anniversary on May 6th. On Memorial Day, I was 9 months pregnant and feeling awful, so John went to Sonic to get me a cherry limeade. A few hours later, Helen Grace arrived- surprise! Be careful what you drink! ;)

August:  After 12 weeks of maternity leave, I started back to work at Vaco on a part-time schedule (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday).

September:  John and I dedicated Helen Grace’s life to the Lord and promised to raise her in the Catholic faith.

December:  Helen Grace’s sixth month has brought all kinds of fun new adventures- waving, sitting up, and her two bottom teeth!

Last weekend, we celebrated a late Christmas with our cousins, Cam and Hanley, and their girls, Hayes and Hastings. Hayes is fascinated with HG, and she helped Helen Grace open her Christmas gift- which was a big hit! On a lunch date with our friend, Karen, who will welcome Baby Jack into the world in just a few short weeks. Babies are truly such miracles. Helen Grace’s first time in a big girl stroller. She LOVED riding around the mall and getting to see where she was going. Her feet never stopped kicking….well, until she finally passed out. Shopping is hard work! Ringing in 2010…at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve…with Uncle CB. These guys have been friends for over 20 years: John, Thomas Mullins, Larry Mullins, Billy Egner, Chris BrownHappy New Year! We were trying to coax Thomas into giving Helen Grace a kiss, but he wanted *nothing* to do with it. Grody girls- ha! 

We are all packed up for our trip to Dallas this weekend to see the Rebs play in the Cotton Bowl. We fly out tomorrow afternoon and come home Sunday afternoon. I swear it was more difficult to pack for HG than for me. There are so many different scenarios to think of, and I am tying so hard to keep her in her normal routine so that she won’t notice we are gone. Wishful thinking maybe? I am mentally preparing myself so that I don’t have a breakdown tomorrow when we drop her off. I’m feeling good so far, but I will have some Kleenex on hand just in case. I know she will be in great (and VERY capable) hands with our parents. I am definitely looking forward to seeing some very special family and friends there and making memories. Here’s to having a good time together and returning rested and refreshed!