Reflecting on Blessings

Well, 2007 was an interesting year. We've been through a lot, if you look over my last year of blogs, but it's been such a year of growth for us. Looking back, I realize that God places people in our lives to make us smile, to help us learn, to aid in our faith journey, and we have been blessed with so many wonderful friends, family members, and acquaintances who have made this past year a great one.

In January I had my first fondue dinner experience with my dear Lifer, Tiffany. Thank you, Tif, for the experience of amazing mushrooms dipped in Coq au Vin and raspberry martini glasses' white chocolate dipped rims. Delight.

In February, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary in a crazy steakhouse buffet somewhere in Kansas. We were spending time saying goodbye to Jake's dad before he headed to Iraq for a year. Driving around on base at Fort Riley brought back all of the memories of saying goodbye to Jake at Fort Hood 3 years prior. It amazed me how fresh those stinging memories felt.

In March, my friend Brian from high school came through our hometown with his traveling cast of Camelot. We sat way up in "the nosebleeds" but it was amazing to see him living his dreams on stage, especially for his hometown crowd. Later that evening as we danced to a jazz trio, I told him what an exciting life he must live compared to my boring, routine, secure life. He said something very important to me. He told me, "Em, we're both living our dreams....just in very different ways." And you know, he was right. He was always my friend who reminded me "Don't worry, be happy," when I got too down or serious.

In April, Jake left for 2 weeks of military training in Arkansas. I busied myself with blood donations, book clubs, dinner dates, and being my brother's biggest fan at his baseball games.

May brought a clear decision for us to pursue adoption. We had prayed and talked and cried and we believe God led us to this decision through many little "revelations" as the way to add to our family. We were embraced with nothing but care and support from our family and friends, and were and are so touched. My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary by jumping on a cruise ship in Alaska and had a delightful time.

In June it was our turn to hop on a cruise ship, this time to celebrate our dear friends, Erin & Justin's wedding! My sister, Jake & I flew down to Tampa on a Saturday, spent time with aunt, uncle & cousin, then with our Florida friends. We had some great laughs, good Mexican food, and some happy birthday cake! The next day we were lucky enough to enjoy a day at Busch Gardens, thanks to their "Here's to the Heroes" program which allows military servicepeople & their families to enjoy a day at the park at no cost! We rode fantastic rides, saw fascinating animals, and had fun spending time together. The next day we were treated like VIPs as we were ushered onto the ship. Erin was a beautiful bride, and we are so thankful to the T family for allowing us to share in their joy (and their honeymoon cruise!). We enjoyed Cozumel & Grand Cayman, Jake's participation in the Fear Factor (Grand Champ!) and Hairy Chest contest (we were robbed!), delicious food, beautiful scenery, and hilarious new friends who shared the voyage with us. We have insisted that the T's have a "reunion" cruise in a few years, as we had such a great time!

In July Jake got his 3rd tattoo, an Austrian eagle similar to his dad's. My mom went to the tattoo parlor, too, and got her first ink in memory of her beloved running dog, Nike. Her brother, JB, got his 2nd. The family who tattoos together stays together?? I still have no ink. My mother in law thanks me for this. We decided on one of the hottest weekends of the year to undertake Porch Project 2007. As you can see from the album, it was a success, but not without the help of our dear families and friends who came out & helped us in the sweltering heat. We have lived in our house for two years, but nothing like an impending home study to light that fire under our butts to get some work done! We began the home study process with our delightful social worker, H, on the 18th, with a second visit on the 23rd.

In August, we took a mini-vacation to Wilmette, IL to visit relatives. We spent hours chatting and reading on the front porch, we splashed in the waters of Lake Michigan at the beach, and we shared delicious meals together. Later in the month, we got our first glimpse at the new police station, and the whole family got to have a first class tour, directed by our very own favorite police officer! We also finished our homestudy, and were officially approved and "waiting" on August 20th. Our "paper pregnancy" had begun.

September brought HOT weather. We longed for cooler temps, but there seemed no relief.

October celebrated my 26th birthday, we both participated in Christian Experience Weekends at our parish (as team members & behind the scenes helpers), and also began going to the 6 week Everyone's a Critic program at the Imax theater.

In November, mother in law & I visited soon to be sister in law & her mom and sister for some early wedding preparations. We look forward to celebrating their wedding in mid-October 2008. After much debate, prayer, and tears, Jake re-enlisted in the National Guard for 3 more years. I also visited my dear Lifer in the great Windy City for the lighting of the Magnificent Mile. We enjoyed hummus, Starbucks, Christmas windows, double decker train rides, Ikea, and a parade. I also finally met (in real life) a true kindred spirit, Joy, who shares a desire to adopt. We were both quite chatty (who me?!) and look forward to a visit in February! Our family shared Thanksgiving in Colorado this year, and it was so wonderful to see all of them. We made some wonderful memories, and Jake left the state with his 4th tattoo. We kept it a secret from his mom for a few weeks.

December brought holiday stress and bad weather (ice, snow, ice, ice, ice, ice, snow & ice, ice). My friend Pauly returned from Africa & his stint with the Peace Corps. I was delighted that, although he has learned new languages, grown and shared some wonderful experiences with people halfway across the world, he is still the "same old" Pauly we know and love. We celebrated soon to be sister in law's graduation, but we hate to see her & brother in law move to Phoenix at the end of January. D, dad & I sang & played for Christmas Eve Mass, and then shared a delicious meal at my parents' house Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

And last night, we rang in the New Year with tacos, friends & family, noisemakers, and birthday cake. It was a fun, festive time! My hubby surprised me by taking the night off and not telling me until the day of the festivities (how did he keep it a secret from me?!), so I had my favorite boy in the world to kiss at midnight.

Our wishes for this year are numerous. We pray God blesses our family with a baby, perhaps this year, but we know in his infinite wisdom and perfect timing, he will. We look forward to the return of Jake's dad from Iraq, our 4th anniversary, a trip to Chicago together to celebrate our love, meeting new friends, celebrating the births of so many friends' new babies and the adoption of new pets, deep dish pizza, beer, more tattoos, transforming our office/junk room into a delightful nursery, celebrating weddings of dear family members, celebrating annivesaries, good wine, new goals, healthier choices, attempting a triathlon, and much, much laughter and blessings.

We hope your new year is filled with joy, peace, and happiness.