Year in Review

2010 has been a year of change for us. Late in 2009 God started us down a path toward something new even though we didn’t recognize it yet. We began to evaluate our current scenario with both Logan and I working full-time and the needs of our two growing toddlers. It was obvious that in the very near future what had been our “normal” was not going to be maintainable. We were also keenly aware of the fact that life didn’t look how we wanted it to, nor did we feel like we were doing the things that fulfilled our greater purpose. We began making a lot of major financial changes – sold cars and most of the big items of any value in our house, gave away a dog, put our house up for rent, and cut many things out of our budget. Thanks to all these changes we were able to pay off everything except our mortgage which freed Logan up to quit his job in June. This opened up the possibility to begin pursuing something new.

Early in year Logan’s passion for audio was reawakened and he began looking into attending school to explore that route. I began looking for jobs in Florida so we could make the transition. At the end of May our house was rented and we moved everything into storage. In July we began hotel living in Florida while I worked toward a permanent transfer to the area. Logan started school online in October and now as we close out the year my job in Florida has become permanent (almost) and we have moved into a house again!

As we look forward we are excited to see what the next several years will bring, but we are also very aware that it will not be an easy road as I continue to work full-time, Caiden and Rylan continue to get older, Logan works through a strenuous school schedule and we welcome twin boys to the family. If we think too much about the details it becomes over-whelming but I know that the God who took care of a million details to get us to this point will also take care of us in the future. For now I am happy to have come this far and am glad to be settling into our new “normal”.

As excited as we are to look ahead and see what 2011 will bring, I also want to capture for a moment what our kids were like at the end of 2010:

Caiden is an energetic 3 year old. He is very sharp and can remember an amazing amount of detail about things he may have only seen once, including places he’s been or movies he’s seen. He loves to talk – all the time! Even though he is a tough kid and most certainly “all boy”, it’s obvious that he also has a very big heart for other people. Everyone he meets is his friend, he jumps in to protect and help his little sister (or anyone else that appears to be in need), and he frequently gives out hugs, kisses and words of encouragement completely on his own. Whether by personality or environment, he is great at organizing his toys and likes to keep things cleaned up. More recently his imagination has begun to take off and it’s fun to see the creative things he comes up with.

Rylan, 21 months, is going to do well as an only girl with three brothers. She is one tough girl and is rarely phased even by things that seem like they should really hurt, but she’s also all about the girly things. She loves to dress up, have her hair done, and is all about her baby dolls. No doubt she will own her position as the princess of the family. While Caiden insists on doing everything himself, Rylan would be happy if someone else did everything for her and she already knows how to work her brother and us so well that she often gets away with it before we even realize it. She is still pretty small for her age and doesn’t talk much at all, though I’m convinced the lack of talking is completely by choice. When she really wants something she suddenly has no problem saying whatever words she needs. That’s not to say she’s quiet - she still vocalizes her thoughts and opinions quite loudly! Rylan loves music – she breaks into a dance when she hears any song and appears to actually be quite good. At the end of each song she claps and cheers for more. She loves her big brother and trys to do whatever he is doing at the moment.

The twins – though I am adamant with myself that they won’t forever be one unit labeled “the twins”, it seems like the most logical way to put it right now. I am 29 weeks pregnant and can already tell you that these are two busy, busy boys! Guess they fit in well with our other two children who aren’t exactly known to be calm and quiet either! They are growing well and are both measuring right on track with each other and with singleton babies at the same place (twins are usually a little smaller). I can feel or see them moving most of the day and while I’m trying to be patient and keep them in as long as possible, I also can’t wait to be done being beat up from the inside!

2011 promises to be another exciting year of change!