Goodbye 2009!

every year, during the last week of the year, i enjoy sitting down and taking a trip down memory lane via posts on my blog. if it wasn't blogged, it didn't happen right!? oh, how i wish that was true. believe it or not, there is a whole lot more to my life than what gets written in this little space here. as much as i try to be open and honest and raw and real, there are just some things that are better off left unsaid.

as i said at the end of last year, it's been a wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) year full of twists and turns and lots of unexpected. much growth, more understanding, a pinch more patience and an increased understanding of who i am and what i stand for.

(note: every story mentioned is a direct link to back the original blog entry. so you if haven't been a reader for the whole year, you can click on the orange words to read the backstory)

now for the things that defined my 2009 or made it way more memorable:

i started out january with my viewpoint of what i like to call lofty goals (aka: resolutions)---i still feel the same to this day, but i might make a small list of things to work toward for 2010. i'm thrilled to say that i have NO feelings of failure--Go me!

the remainder of the month was spent designing samples for CHA, going on our very last family date to Don Pablos, teaching my first ever online class at Get it Scrapped! (which i'm excited to say is repeating in Feb 2010!), and i completely summed up the story of my life in just one post!

then, i also asked my readers to promise me just one thing. doug called 911 & didn't get punched in the tenders...phew! you learned all about me, according to my daughters, we were treated to a night out at Disney on Ice, we added to the already overflowing treasure box, and i taught yet another online class called In Loving Memory.

Spidergirl continues her never ending battle with being sick, the Princess chopped her hair--8 whole inches, there's proof that i'm not seriously serious all the time, and i got some awesome letters in the mail that i still haven't responded to. boo. someday, i will.

the Princess make us proud with a second place trophy in the spelling bee, and had her first artshow. we marked another "must visit" place off our list when we took family pictures at the Jeffrey Mansion in Bexley.

june started off with a smile plastered on my face when i took my most favorite pictures to date of Ashlyn. and we put a master summer plan in place to map out new and exciting ways to discover our hometown. i taught a third class on cardmaking--my favorite thus far!

then, i introduced my family, greg & kristin invited the girls to be flowergirls in their wedding and they were the cutest couple ever (with the cutest flowergirls, heee) when they got married at the Park of Roses.

amazingly, all the willis' were in columbus at one time! my pain suddenly became easier to describe, and the little one faced another surgery. the mr. & and i celebrated our 14th year on the great adventure--our most difficult year of marriage yet.

i got to feel like a silly screaming school girl rockin' out to the most fantastic show put on by my boy crush--mr. david cook! unforgettable!

somehow i crammed in teaching yet another class called Scrapbooking with Fabric. and was elated to have a feature on Ali E's blog. somehow found time (and money) to escape for a weekend to go on an adventure with the adventurers: take 2 where i finally commited to getting my nose pierced. then took the plunge on a long talked about idea and opened an etsy shop, which has sadly been neglected in the past 2 months.

the very next day chemotherapy became a part of our vocabulary as we got a new opinion from ashlyn's doctor.

october was loaded with nothing but scrapbooking, scrapbooking and MORE scrapbooking. then spidergirl when and gave herself a haircut. oh, and cute kidlets dressed in costume.

found the most hysterical short story in ashlyn's bookbag, started a family sketchbook, added a (fake) cat to the family lovingly named Lulu Fluffers. threw the party of the year for Spidergirl's 5th birthday complete with a mock photobooth. and sat center court, on the floor at the OSU basketball game!

and much, much more that didn't get documented.....some of which should have, i suppose. the best thing for me: going to counseling again.

once again, it's been a wildly crazy, busy year, full-of-life and laughter and lots of tears. i wish i could say they were mostly happy tears, but lots of them were the most painful tears yet. so, once again, i'm ready to close this chapter of my life and be thankful that i have a new year full of new beginnings to look forward to.

i'm hopeful that 2010 will be a year full of healing--both emotionally & physically, brand new beginnings, forgetting the past and being present and alive more than ever. i will live with intention.

goodbye 2009......thank you for all you've taught me.