End of 2011

Another year is over, and it's true, the older you get, the faster they go. Christmas came and went, and once more, I didn't get a Christmas card/letter in the mail. So what happened to the Atkinson's in 2011?

We turned 30. Yup, officially old. Ok, maybe not, old, but we have permanently left those carefree days. Can't stay up late. Need coffee to get going in the morning. Spicy food brings heartburn. Anti-wrinkle cream. Mini vans. Old. It's not actually bad, just different. Like when I changed my hair style and suddenly looked more like my mother. Kevin's birthday was low key. I went away for two nights and had a glorious good nights sleep.

Grandpa went home to be with Jesus. We had a great celebration of his life but I still get sad. I started crying during a tv show a couple of weeks ago simply because the old man on the screen made me think of Grandpa.

Lily turned a year old; yay! she and we survived that first year. We had a great celebration with family.

But probably the biggest change to our family this year was me quitting my job. A great job I was really good at and had been doing for 8 years. But we both knew it was not my forever job. On Kevin's and my very first date, I told him all I wanted in the world was to stay home and raise babies. Suprisingly, it didn't scare him off. It is the most wonderful job I have ever had. However, next time you talk to a working mom, you tell them you appreciate how hard they work at both of their jobs! (I almost got up on a soap box there . . .) But quitting my job did mean a huge change to our finances. It has become almost a full-time job learning to pinch pennies (and I mean pennies, not just dollars.) Kevin and I have made huge sacrificies this year and I am doing a lot more at home; things I didn't even think about doing years ago simply because it means saving money. I did a handful of posts this year about things we have done to save money. This has included cutting cable, letting the gardner go, and making almost all our food from scratch. One day I'll post about how we cut our grocery bill in half while still eating healthy. Kevin has been working a lot of extra hours and at times this has meant he didn't get to see Lily, or sometimes me, on some days.

God continues to take care of us. He provides in sometimes the strangest ways. Family and friends have randomly given us gifts at just the right time. Clothes have been given to for Lily. We have received gifts of turkeys, car seats, dog food, fruit, and so many other things just as we needed them. It seems so strange to think of things like dog food as a blessing, but God knows just what we need. And beyond gifts of necessity, our family continues to spoil us with gifts, trips, and even babysitting.

So what's new for 2012? We don't really know. We hope to eventually grow our family, but as with all things, this falls under God's timing. My go to verse for 2011 has been Proverbs 19:21; Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord purpose that prevails. We plan, but only as a dream. We hope to do a little traveling this year; hence all the overtime Kevin has put in allowing us to save up. As he did in 2009, Kevin has some travel for work planned and we hope to tack on some vacation to such exotic places as Kettering, Ohio, Lorton, Virginia, and El Segundo, California. So maybe it isn't so much exotic and different from Riverside and a chance to get away and see something new. It may not even happen; you never know with the government.

We are actually hoping 2012 will be much like 2011 for us. Calm. Simple. Family and friend focused.