2009 in Review

As I sit down to write this I hardly know where to start. This has been a momentous year for us. The beginning of the year was pretty standard for us, we were expecting our first child and anticipating her arrival. On January 8th we were scheduled for our 20 week ultrasound. I had scheduled it for Tyson's day off but a riot at the prison prevented him from being able to come. We talked about putting it off, but in the end I just couldn't stand to wait any longer. Anyway, we had been thinking that it would be a boy, but every time I imagined say "It's a..." "girl" would always follow. Turns out that bit of intuition was right, we were told that we would be having a baby girl.
In February Oscar decided that it would be a great idea to tear apart one of his favorite toys and eat it. After a couple days of him refusing food and water we took him to to local vet and found out that the bit of toy that he had swallowed had become lodged in his intestines. Our only option was surgery. Oscar came though it like a champ though. Poor guy had his belly completely shaved and has a rather large scar, but is healthy and happy as can be. We also set Oscar up with a local dog trainer to help prepare him for the baby. He still is a little energetic around strangers, but he loves his little sister and it wonderfully gentle with her.

In April the courts finalized the adoption of my six youngest siblings. They have certainly become a big part of our lives, and a trying part as well, but we love them. They are sweet kids and we are thrilled to have them as part of our family. In June we all got together to be sealed and then we took a family vacation up to Cascade. It rained the whole time, but it was so much fun.

Also in April we celebrated our one year anniversary of home ownership. Our house is still a work in progress, but we have come a long way in one year. We are excited for all of our future projects and we are grateful at this time to have a home. We were luck yo be able to buy when we did and to be able to buy one that will fit our growing family.I enjoyed getting the house ready for Lily's arrival. I spent a lot of time working on various crafts and projects. In April I was placed on bed rest and Tyson and I started making bi-weekly trips to the doctor which were so much fun. After a bit of a bumpy road and a few little scares we welcomed Lily Ann Hansen into our family on May 12, 2009 at 10:42 pm. We are so grateful for her. She is such a sweet little thing with loads of personality. We always knew that we wanted to have a baby, but I don't think that we every came close to realizing just what an amazing adventure we were embarking upon. It has been difficult and ever arduous at times, but it has been more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined.

In July we took a short trip to go camping at Redfish Lake in Stanley, ID. For anyone who hasn't been there, add this to you list of places because it is beautiful! It was Lily's first camping trip, she was almost 2 months old.While it was still rather cold she handled it well. We went for some wonderful hikes up the mountains and enjoyed the lake views. It was a little cold for us to put her in the water. Maybe next year.In August I decided that I was getting tired of typing out recipes and emailing them to people over and over so I started up a blog for some of my favorite recipes. It is still a work in progress, but I have enjoyed working on it. It helps motivate me to keep trying new things which we both enjoy. Thankfully I have a husband who will eat anything so I am free to mess up all I want.

In October my twin sister Liz married Eric Roundy. It was fun to help plan another wedding, but I forgot how much work they are. Thankfully my next sister in line is only 7 so we get a bit of a break. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful and it was wonderful to be together as a family again.
Also in October we got to have fun with another first for Lily, Halloween! I had far to much fun making a costume for our little girl. Sarita and I took Lily and Junior to Boo at the Zoo and had a great time. She was a little too young to take her out trick-or-treating so we stayed home and passed out candy to all the neighbor kids.
In November we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. It is interesting to me how quickly time can pass and yet how it can seem like more time has passed. It seems like we just married, but at the same time it is like we have always been married. I'm very grateful to have such a wonderful husband and fantastic father for our baby girl. I could not possibly ask for better.
And as with any year, this year ends with Christmas. I don't think that I have been this excited for Christmas in all my life. I know that Lily is young and certainly won't remember this year, but I will. On Christmas Eve we were sitting in the living room at my parents house while my dad read Luke chapter 2. I sat there cuddling my baby girl and couldn't help but marvel at the birth of the Savior.After writing this rather long entry it still seems like such a brief review of such an eventful year. This has been a wonderful year for our little family and we are looking forward to a great new year to come. We have a lot of plans for 2010 and some new challenges heading our way, but we can't wait to face them head-on.

Happy New Year to all! Our best wishes to you and your families!