Whew! What a year 2008 has been. We seem to say that every year, but we think it is truer this year than ever and pray we don’t have another year like it again.2008 started out pretty rough. In February, Eric’s mom, Linda, lost her battle with cancer. She was a kind woman who loved her family and friends. We miss her but are glad she is with the Lord. We have been blessed through the love and support of others, especially in seeing the care given to Eric’s dad through this difficult time.
In April we began the six month long process of adding onto our house. We had been in the early planning phase of the project when we found out that we were expecting and ended up just “going for it”. As with most projects of this magnitude, there were some tough points, such as spending August and the beginning of September without a kitchen or dining room (really not fun with a toddler and two month old) and having our major move in just as school started, but we fared pretty well. As Heather put it, having a baby makes your life 75% crazy, adding on makes life 75% crazy, so by combining the two events we got to 100% crazy but saved ourselves 50% of the extra craziness! Fortunately, our contractor, Dave Durston, always tried to make things as comfortable for us as possible. We were only out of our house one night and that was because of paint fumes in Carter’s room. Now we have a new master suite, a new family room with the fireplace Eric’s been desiring for so long, a basement, and a remodeled kitchen/ dining room. We love the new space and feel relieved to have more storage for our bigger family. We look forward to sharing it with you!
The most joyful happening this year was the addition of Carter to our family. He was born on June 5th by emergency c-section. He came a week earlier than his scheduled c-section but was a healthy 6 pounds and 12 ounces and had no medical concerns. Thankfully, he was delivered the way he was because his umbilical cord was wrapped twice around his neck. He is a delightful little guy! Now 6 months old, Carter continues to have a cheerful disposition, is a good eater and a pretty good sleeper (usually at least 9 hours at night before waking), and, we think, will be on the move soon. He has been rolling over since early in his 5th month and can sit on his own for at least 10 minutes before losing interest and falling over, so it’s only a matter of time before he crawls! He looks like Eric but has Heather’s dimples, and he has the cutest, chubby baby smile. We are so happy and blessed to have him!
Ashlynn is now a busy and talkative 3 year old. In September she started preschool, which she attends Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. We know she likes it because when you ask how her day at school was, she always replies, “Great!” She enjoys making new friends, creating art projects, playing dress up, and sharing time on Fridays, plus she loves her teacher, Miss Eileen. She is a great big sister to Carter, although her “advice” for him sometimes sounds a little bossy, like, “Carter you cannot play with that toy! It isn’t for you. It’s for big girls!” We’re working on it and she’s already learning to word things more gently. She continues to amaze us with a fantastic ability to communicate. Sometimes we find it easy to forget that she’s just 3 because of it, and have to remind ourselves of that when we become frustrated by behaviors that are truly normal for her age. Some of the things Ashlynn enjoys are Disney princesses, playing dress up, painting and coloring, swinging, splashing in the tub, singing, dancing, being silly, and being a helper. She also likes to point out all the things she’s going to do when she’s “taller”, like go to elementary school, put on make-up, and drive a car. We don’t want her to grow up too quickly!
Eric has had a heck of a year! Losing his mom, adding onto the house, becoming a dad for the second time, and having sinus surgery in October have exhausted the poor guy! The week that Carter was born was the craziest of the year (maybe his life!). The day Carter was born Eric was supposed to have Open House at his school. Heather called him 5 minutes before school began to say her water had broken. In a matter of a few hours Carter was born. The next day, while visiting us in the hospital, Eric’s dad, Phil, mentioned having chest pain. Eric encouraged him to have it checked out and the next day Phil was admitted to the hospital on the floor above Carter and Heather for observation. Eric spent that evening and the next day traveling between the two floors. Tests revealed that Phil had a number of blockages and a few days after we came home from the hospital with our newborn, Eric was back at the hospital while his dad had an angioplasty. While Phil has made an excellent recovery, we, especially Eric continue to worry about him! In Eric’s free time he keeps in shape by running three days a week, which he doesn’t always enjoy but appreciates the importance of doing. He does enjoy continuing to fix up the house, playing with his kids, going to UCLA games, and enjoying fires in his new fireplace.
Heather is a busy and happy wife, mom, and teacher. She is enjoying her third year of job sharing a second grade position and is so grateful to be able to be at home with the kids and bring home a paycheck. In her 12th year of the job, teaching is still enjoyable and it has been wonderful getting to work with a great partner teacher, Tracey Black. Motherhood is more of everything with two kids now (except maybe patience or relaxation!). Heather adores her little ones and loves watching them grow up and seeing their own unique personalities develop. She still takes many photographs and has fun keeping in touch with others through the internet, but hopes to find more time for other activities like reading, getting out for walks, dates with her husband, seeing friends, and, someday, traveling.
The final member of our family, our dog Cali, has also had a challenging year. She lost unlimited access to her beloved backyard for many months during construction, had many strangers in her house and yard during construction, had another one of those crying babies join her family, and didn’t get nearly as much attention as she once did. Now six years old, Cali still enjoys going on runs with Eric, playing ball, barking at squirrels, birds, and mailmen, and cleaning up human food that gets dropped by a certain little messy eater.
Despite the challenges this year has brought, we feel so blessed to have our wonderful friends and family, happy and healthy children, a less cramped house, and jobs during these trying economic times. We are hoping for an easier 2009 with more relaxing and enjoying life and just less drama! We wish the same to you!
Carter learned what a Christmas tree feels like. I'm sure if he could have, it would have gone into his mouth!
Adding Carter's first Christmas ornament.
Snuggly in bed (Carter woke up early so we decided to visit Eric. Hee hee!)
Penguin kisses at the LA Zoo.
Ashlynn and I went to a Christmas party for the playgroup we never go to anymore (it's on her school days). She had fun decorating cookies... and licking them.
