Another year...

This year sure has gone by quickly. Certainly better than 2009. I think partly that is why it went by so fast. As of May we found out we would be adding to our little family. The baby is due in 2 weeks, but I have a feeling she may show up any day now. Tom started teaching as a grad student in Linguistics and I've done some moving around at work too.

Let's see... other big things for our family this year: In April I got to help with a fundraiser for the Wildland Firefighters Foundation. We were able to raise about $11,000 to give to the Foundation. My brother won a big bronc riding this fall and I believe managed to stay out of the hospital this year. Like I said Tom is back in school and is now a seasonal worker for the airline he works for. As of when I started my maternity leave I'm now working on building the technical publications department for the company I work for. A lot of tedious, page-by-page reading of technical manuals etc but I really like doing that. It is amazing the information you can come across.

Bear has had all sorts of things change this last year. He's gone from just starting to talk to being a non-stop chatter-box. As a baby he was only a little cuddly. He is still super independent with his demands of, "Bear turn" but he is a bit more snuggly. I love the spontaneous hugs and I love you's I get now. He loves to play trains, give his dog hugs, and scratch animals. He has a thing for cows. ???? Always has. Any time we are at a fair he wants to be either at the petting zoo if there is a calf or in the steer barn. At least 4-H and FFA kids are usually pretty good about letting a little kid come scratch their prize steer and the steers are usually tame enough to let a little kid safely do so.

On Bear's independence: I love it. He cracks me up. Even as just a little guy working on learning to pull up to a stand he would push help away. I don't mean to sound like I really want my kid to be off on his own yet. It is just that it seems as a parent a kid's independence is what you strive for. Sure it is nice to be needed/wanted, but ultimately the kid has do be able to do for themselves. I've known too many kids that never gained those skills and at 30 plus years old are still relying on Mom and Dad for a lot.

It is just nice to see that Bear doesn't have the personality to do that. I can see him being a good leader somewhere down the road. I hope we can instill the integrity into him so that he uses those skills to better people and not tear them down. My biggest worry for now is that he lets being a clown cloud everything else. Anything for a laugh. If there is something I don't want him doing I'd better not even crack a smile. If he gets even a hint that it might be funny he will push that button more.

Hmmmm... Somehow I ended up a bit side-tracked. I was going over our year. I think it went by so quickly that it is pretty blurred to me. We have been truly blessed. We have great family and friends, a cozy home, a nice town, and stable jobs. And above all we have each other. Other than a couple of minor changes (like how much of a particular vegetable to plant or if I should expand the garden) I think we'll just keep working on maintaining our current lifestyle.

Here's to a good year. Let's hope 2011 is just as good if not better.