Our '09 Faves

Happy New Year!  Before we get too far in to the hustle and bustle of 2010, I wanted to be sure to stop and reflect on the very life-changing year that 2009 has been.  Dyl and I both agree that many parts of '09 were a blur (especially April May June);  obviously '09 brought us a lot of change and transition, but we can't deny that it was another year full of beautiful blessings, pleasant surprises and memories that drew us closer to one another, our friends and our family.  We have so much to be thankful for.

To Officially finish off 2009, here's a quick recap of some of our "'09 faves":

10) I began a new position at Vanguard in January.  This was a good change and a great opportunity, but I'll be honest that it wasn't necessarily an easy one.  I learned a lot about myself and my work.  I'm a better person for this experience.
9) In March, Dylan was accepted to The University of Texas' Environmental Engineering program.... this ended up changing our lives.
8) We were once again given the opportunity to work closely with high school and college students through our jobs this year.  We hold very dear the memories that we made with so many of these remarkable people.  From beach bonfires to hosting students in our home, we LOVED this opportunity.
7) In May Dylan graduated with a Master's in Education from Vanguard... he looked so good in that cap and gown:)
6) In 2008 we had a lot of close friends move away, but in June a number of them came back to visit for the Bagwell wedding.  That weekend was memorable in so many ways, including a baby shower for Joe and Kristel, a couple of bbq's, the beach and wiffle ball (of course).
5) Sometime late spring/early summer (this is when the blur of '09 occurred) we made the official decision to move to Austin, Texas.
4) In August, we officially resigned from our jobs in the midst of this grand recession.  We packed up our home and moved ourselves half-way across the country.  Some people questioned our decision and thought we were crazy (and often we were convinced we were crazy).  This was an extremely hard decision but one we don't regret (most days;))
3) Dylan's sister got married in November and made we made our first trip back to Cali since we had moved.  What a weird trip it was to travel back "home" but then not stay...
2) On October 31st I fainted and we went to the doctor.  They ran a bunch of tests on me but the only one that came back positive was a pregnancy test.
1) Yes, you read that correctly, and this is certainly our #1 highlight of '09.  We're going to have a baby in 2010!

Here's to another beautiful year, full of many more unexpected surprises and lots of great memories!