I think most people will agree, 2009 flew by so quickly. I wish I had blogged more in the last half of the year to document what's gone on in our lives but oh well. I hope this quick recap will help me to remember the special and meaningful things that happened during the year.
FAMILY...Overall, we have remained healthy and doing well in our immediate family. Jose continues to enjoy retirement, working on his photography, being a fabulous, hardworking "Mr. Mom", and doing small projects all over the house. Joe finished his freshman year at Whittier College and decided to transfer to a junior college as a sophomore because of the $34,000 tuition at Whittier College. He continued to work at GameStop and ran many errands for us, including late night pick-ups of his brothers from movies and friend's homes. He became even more interested in screenwriting and film, buying himself a large screen TV and adding to his expansive DVD collection. He's still a huge reader and shares many books with Matthew. Matthew continued to excel in school, earning straight As his freshman year. He's anxious to finish school and get out of a traditional classroom setting. We've had many discussions of "non-traditional school" options. He noticed a hearing loss this summer and saw specialists. After extensive testing and an MRI, it was noted that he has a permanent hearing loss in his right ear (about 25%) while is probably due to some virus or illness. We can't figure out exactly when it happened. He's still a serious vegetarian and a passionate reader. Michael has grown tremendously in his faith and is actively involved in school. He's on Annual Staff, a member of Comedy Sportz, and involved in several Christian youth groups and bible studies. He went to two camps this summer and wants to volunteer at a three week camp in summer 2010. He enjoys reading devotional or spiritual books and keeping up with his Facebook page. He's still a big sports fan but doesn't have as much time to park himself in front of the TV and be a fan. Kristina started a new job with the state of CA in San Diego and began commuting from Hemet each day. Natalie started kindergarten at a private Catholic school.
TEACHING...I made a big move this fall from third grade to fifth grade. I love teaching fifth grade but it is a lot more work. The connection I feel with the kids is well worth it. I'm also in charge of the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program at our school and head up the Yearbook staff. Lots of learning going on for me and the kids!
SPIRITUAL LIFE...Finding a church home where I love to attend services is one of the biggest things that happened to me personally this year. I look forward to attending each Sunday to see what I will learn about God and how my relationship with the Lord can grow even more. I attend an adult Sunday School class after the morning service and have made some new friends there. Volunteering at Vacation Bible School in the nursery led to a monthly volunteer slot with the two year olds. In addition, I volunteer monthly in our church's food pantry ministry. I've attended Wednesday night bible studies and learned so much from them as well. I was fortunate enough to attend a women's retreat with my sister through her church. I've tried to be an example of the Lord's love and kindness to others.
TRAVEL...Our family vacation took us to Portland, OR in August. The main reason for going there was so that I could meet my dear online friend, Trish Bloom, after being friends for 10 years. We were going to meet at the first Sock Summit and spend some time together there. Instead, her first grandchild made an early appearance and she was unable to come. So I met her sister, Diane, and Diane's friend, Becky, and had a lovely time with them. While in Portland, we used public transportation the whole time (what fun it was!), went to the Oregon Zoo and International Rose Gardens, OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), the Saturday Street Market, Voo-doo Donuts (major yumminess), and just had fun exploring the city. I also visited a cool yarn shop and had Thai dinner with Diane and Becky. Joe didn't join us on this trip and it was our first family vacation without him. I was able to travel to visit friends on my own and visited my best friend, Charlie, up in Oakland area in April, Rose in Vegas in July, and Ann in San Diego in mid-October. It was fun to have this time to reconnect with friends.
HOBBIES...Didn't get much scrapbooking accomplished but I read quite a bit and knit a few things too. Maybe I'll do a separate post on that one day!
HEALTH...Unfortunately, I gained quite a few pounds back over this year. Exercise and healthy eating were not a consistent priority and I have some work to do in 2010 to get back in shape. I am going to go further with testing for my sister's kidney needs. I'm not a match but I can donate my kidney to someone else and their donor can donate to my sister if there is a match.
Those are the highlights of our year. We were blessed to have many opportunities to spend the time with family, friends, and learn more about ourselves.
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