* A Belated Farewell to 2008

In my typical listing style I thought I would review the top ten memorable events, changes, what not for 2008. I realize it is a bit late, but I have been quite scattered this January so far. Still painting, but hoping to get the playroom done today. Judah and I are also gearing up to launch a new children's/family ministry initiative with some other folks at church and this has been very time consuming. I am writing this before he gets up this morning because my action item husband has given us some goals for today that did not include blogging. :) These items are in no particular order because my favorite memories are fluid rather than fixed in nature. Therefore I will be using the bullet function rather than the number function. But fear not there will be precisely ten because numbers are still important to me.

• I woke up one morning and was informed we had a blog! This has been an interesting addition to our lives. Not too large, but different. Somewhat similar to the addition of facebook was in 2007.
• 2008 was divided into the first half when Judah was the youth minister and the second half when he was not. We are still here, the teens are still at our house, and we have some college kids as well, but we no longer have an official role now that a permanent minister was hired. This has been challenging, but not unpleasant. We loved our time as youth minister and look forward to the upcoming family/children's initiative.
• Our son lost two teeth! To some this may seem minor but it is yet another symbol of how we are entering another parenting stage. He is in first grade and takes spelling tests and can read books to me. I am so proud of his abilities and amazed at his growing up. I miss my littler guy but adore my little man.
• I went to Africa on a medical mission trip. This was phenomenal in many ways. I am not a big fan of flying( and this is a small exaggeration). My heart has always wanted to go on a medical mission trip. Particularly now that I stay at home - it was awesome to use my profession for God and His people in another world that happens to share this one.
• Judah went to China - A LOT. The previous years he had not gone as much but this year, particularly in the second half , it was more. I believe he was gone nearly four months total, combined over several 2-3 week trips. Blgh. On a high note we have many cool things from the market in Xi'an.
• We planted a garden. This experience was full of lessons. We basically fed all our beans and carrots to the rabbits, the corn to the squirrels, and the pumpkins to the gazillion beetles that showed up to eat them. Eew. We did eat one squash casserole before we lost those too. We are much more prepared this year. (I hope)
• We finally remodeled the down stairs bathroom. This has sparked the radical repainting that is still ongoing. I am so excited to have a bright clean 1/2 bath. The previous owners had cats that apparently used the 1/2 bath for their own. We have had consistent problems with residual smell, regardless of how many times I washed the floor. So we ripped it all out and it is much improved. And we have some adorable homemade artwork in there now, another project that I have wanted to do for a long time.
• My baby girl is gone and has left a little lady in her place, complete with lip gloss, skirts, flip flops, very strong opinions about blue jean color (light only - no dark denim for her, heaven forbid), and emotional turmoil. She truly is a ninja princess. Full of pink fire. She is my constant companion. We entered 2008 with an adorable two year old and left with a much stronger almost four year old. I see the young girl in her how, not a toddler. She cries when her frustrations get the best of her, just like her mom, but she now tries to control it. This leads to some pretty dramatic hurling herself onto the furniture or my leg with her little hands over her face. This is not a temper tantrum, but rather her acknowledgement that crying won't get what she wants, but she can't stop it and is trying to get it under control.
• Our family went on our first mission trip together, a first for Judah and the kids, my first being Africa only a few months before. Truly a year for mission trips. We took the teens to Bayou Labatre, Alabama. A great experience for our family. We particularly loved how much our son wanted to pitch in and work. The only bummer was his febrile seizure on the morning we left, requiring a trip to the ER. A very scary experience, particularly for his dad who woke up next to a shaking little boy.
• This last one if for all the little moments that are so big but just make up the fabric of our lives. Rocking my daughter before her naps, reading with my son, making crafts (and a mess) watching the kids try to use the vacuum independently, dancing with them when the cleaning music is on, swimming in grandma's pool, Thursdays, scrap booking with family and friends (all night sometimes), Saturday morning breakfasts, worship, and family bible study.

2009 looks to be awesome with some new adventures. So look forward to next years post to compare. :)