Hello, 2013

Where to begin?  I can easily say that 2012 was the most eventful year of my life.

January started off with the news of our pregnancy, and there began the changes and transitions of 2012.

I began preparing for the sale of our home in Peoria in late winter, with final paint touch-ups, decluttering, and for sale by owner research.  We knew that having owned the house for only three years, that our profit margin would be tight, so selling it ourselves was a challenge we wanted to attempt.  I had no idea how time-consuming it would be!  In the end, it was well worth the stress.  We sold our house exactly three years after buying it.  We came out ahead of renting and were able to enjoy such a beautiful home.

While working to sell our Peoria house, Joshua and I spent a couple of days in Monticello shopping for a new home.  We began the search thinking about renting, but we were soon too excited about buying.  We closed on our new house (just a five minute walk from his dad's house) at the end of June and began moving in the following weeks.

During this time, we also took our annual vacation to visit Joshua's grandparents at their Wisconsin lake house.  Joshua hasn't missed a year!  We had a great time (although I spent too much time thinking about closing on the Peoria house, which happened the day after we returned from Wisconsin.).  While we were there, Joshua's cousin Nick and his wife Nicole and their two children were visiting as well.  They were a fun group to spend time with, and it's always nice to see Grandpa and Grandma.

That brings us up to the end of July and the beginning of Joshua's work in Monticello.  This was a fairly easy transition because he had spent a rotation here at the end of residency doing all of the orientation necessary.  Overall, he has enjoyed his time in practice here and is so glad to be done with residency.

August's major event, of course, was the arrival of Forrest, and what an experience that was.  I think I will leave it at that :0)

Since then, we've continued to settle into our new house, new routines, and new family life.  The transitions have been challenging, rewarding, and ongoing.  I still miss our life in Peoria.  I miss living so close to Shaun and my parents (although I still see them frequently).  I miss our house.  It was nice having everything just how I wanted it.  Settling into the new house and making it our own has taken longer than expected.  I don't move as quickly on projects as I used to.  Forrest's helping is not always very helpful :0)  We've also decided to put off finishing the man cave until we get our student loan debt under control.  That's a daunting task.

Despite my nostalgia over things we left behind in Peoria, I hardly want this to be a negative post.  How many wonderful things can I say about our changes as well?  We love our little boy.  It's a joy to be living so close to so many of Joshua's family members.  Joshua is so fulfilled to be practicing in a small town after so many years of hard work.  I feel blessed to be able to stay at home with Forrest.  I don't know how working mothers do it!  We are a very content little family.

So, on to 2013, which is a bit of a mystery.  With so many years working toward specific, time-sensitive goals, our lack of goals currently is very strange.  College, grad school, med school, residency, jobs, and starting our family were all parts of a carefully constructed plan, and we have achieved it!  What should we do now?  What should we strive for?  This is what Joshua and I are thinking of as we begin 2013.  What a fantastic position to be in, to know that the world is ours.  We can do what we want, with the hardest part being figuring out what that is.

So, with this in mind, we begin 2013, focusing on enjoying the present, slowing down, and thinking of the future.

Hoping you are as optimistic about 2013 as we are!