2009 in review

Yep, it’s that magical time of year when we reflect on the year behind us and look ahead to the new year.

2009 Bullets of (Mostly) Awesomeness

• In 2009, we started the year living in a sweet little 1920s home in Minneapolis.  We spent January planning a kitchen remodel, since our kitchen had no appliances when we moved in.

• In February, Jason was offered (and accepted) a job in Michigan.
• March and April were spent staging our home in preparation for our move.  The bathroom in our old house got the best makeover, and left us wondering why we didn’t mess with it earlier!

• Jason moved in mid-April and began house-hunting in Michigan, while I stayed behind to get everything packed up and moved out of our Minneapolis home.
• We were fortunate to sell our house quickly, and were able to turn around and purchase our current home at the end of May.  Barley and I moved at the end of May.



• In June, we remodeled our only full bath, while living at an apartment that Jason rented temporarily.  It was chaos, but in the end, worth it to have a pretty bathroom!

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• June, July, August, and September were spent painting and moving into our home.  I’ve now painted almost every surface in the house!  Of all the work we’ve done, the kitchen (and bath, of course) transformation is my favorite.




• We lost two very important people this year.  My uncle passed away in July after a brave fight with Leukemia.  Our friend, Carrie, passed away unexpectedly in September.  It’s hard to put into words the ways in which these two have impacted our lives, but we are fortunate to have known them.
• We took our very first non-working and non-family-visiting vacation together in September, and had a wonderful time exploring the emerald isle!  Ireland was beautiful, the people were friendly, and we couldn’t have had a better time together.  (See recaps here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)



• Also in September, we adopted a new puppy – Jezebel!  She is growing so fast, and we love having her around.



• In October, we celebrated a full year of marriage.  Yay!
• November was spent trying to figure out what to do with the billions of leaves in the yard (we do live in the middle of the woods).  We also spent a week in Philadelphia, and had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with Jason’s family and seeing friends that we don’t get to see very often.



• And December?  December was a whirlwind of joy and activity, culminating in a wonderful Christmas celebration with my family.

It’s hard to believe that 2009 is coming to a close.  We faced quite a few challenges and heartbreaks this year, but we also have felt so lucky to have had all of the opportunities and blessings that we’ve had this year.  And we’re looking forward to even bigger challenges and opportunities in 2010!  We hope you all have been similarly blessed, and will continue to be in the new year!

(Our 2008 in review can be found here)