Hello 2012 !

2012 is in full swing. I love a brand new year mainly for one reason. I love to make New Year resolutions. Quite honestly I hardly ever succeed at them but I love to make them. Each year I wistfully say to myself, "Maybe this year I'll do it....."

Last year I thought the key to success was being very specific in my resolutions. This year, though, I think being a bit more open-ended might help me meet the mark. So some are very specific and some aren't.

A couple nights ago I watched The Biggest Loser for the very first time. First of all... I'm hooked. Second, the mantra for this season is "No Excuses". This really hit home for me. I think it just might be my mantra for this year.

1. Blog/Write more....watch TV less. (Darn you Grey's Anatomy on Net Flix!!)

2. Lose 20 pounds by summer, 25 by our trip to Hawaii then keep it off. (Yes, you read that correctly. Hawaii in October.)

3. Move more with my kids....walks, excersize. This should help with #2.

4. Read 12 books. Why 12? One a month. Even though it's taken me 2 months to read The Help I'm really looking forward to this one.

5. Learn to sew.

6. Be more consistent in my quiet time. Now honestly, I fail miserably at this one every year. So my strategy for this year is to commit to going to a weekly Bible Study. This keeps me accountable and gives me a weekly goal to work towards.

I feel like these are actually attainable goals. So here's to 2012 and No Excuses.

2011 Rewind

Happy New Year, friends!

I have a confession to make..... my tree and all the decorations are still up. I know, I know.....we are almost a week into the New Year! Putting away and purging our Christmas stuff is on my to-do list tomorrow. I'm itching to put all the Christmas gear in the garage.

Before I forge ahead into 2012, I must take a look back at 2011. It's amazing to see how drastically different life can be from one January to the next

2011 was an exciting, scary, intense, exhausting, amazing, miraculous, and character stretching kind of year. Though I wouldn't trade any of those experiences or wish them to have never happened, I'm really hoping 2012 will be much less eventful. I'm just being honest. A girl can only handle so much.

One thing I've learned from 2011 is to expect the unexpected. So, while I will try to not be surprised at any surprises God has in store for our family, I will be secretly crossing my fingers behind my back hoping for just a little calm.

So let's take a quick look back at 2011, shall we? Get ready to hit the rewind button....now.

January

Andy started his 5 month field training as a Sheriff Deputy, working the graveyard shift, carrying a gun and driving really fast after bad guys in his Deputy's car.

I found out I was pregnant on January 1^st at 2 a.m.

Lily turned 3.

Februrary

Andy spent this month working swing shift. That was super fun.....not.

I was tired, nauseous and already starting not to fit in my clothes, yikes!

Andy and I took a weekend vacation to Sonoma for some alone time. That was really fun.

March

Andy switched to yet a different schedule for this month.

We spent lot of this month being sick. The doctor thought Lily might have whooping cough. Fortunately she didn't.

April

I turned 3....well, it doesn't really matter. We found out we were having a boy. During the ultrasound we also found out that Henry had an enlarged kidney. Thankfully this resolved iteself afte he was born.

May

Andy was in the toughest part of his training at this point.

I was huge, really huge. School ended and I hung up my recess whistle and wooden apple necklace for the forseeable future to be a stay at home mom. My coworkers threw me a fun shower at Flavor restaurant.

June

June 3^rd I was put on bed rest at home. 2 weeks later I was sent to the Roseville Kaiser to finish my bedrest there and be at a level 3 NICU in case Henry came early, which he did little stinker. June 29^th Henry Christopher Bauer (though he was only called Pickles at this point) crashed onto the scene and turned our world upside down. He was just a little early at 30 weeks and 3lbs. 10 oz. All my kids come early. Lily came 4 weeks early.

On the day I had Henry, my mom had a stroke and had surgery to unclog her carotid arteries. It was a successful sugery but my parents were not able to travel to see me or Henry and wouldn't see him until he was 3 weeks old.

July

Andy's field training had been put on hold in June due to the hospital stay. We spent almost everyday visiting our little guy in the NICU, watching him grow, falling in love with him more and more each day and praying we could all go home. Oh, and we finally named him Henry. After 3 weeks of staying in the Roseville NICU, he was able to be moved to our Santa Rosa NICU. Lily was finally able to meet her baby brother.

Henry's cousin, Landon, was born just 10 days after Henry.

August

Andy and I celebrated 11 years of marriage. We spent out anniversary getting the house ready for Henry to come home on the 6^th.

School started up again for Lil as a Purple Parrot.

Andy started training for his new job as a Dispatcher for the Sheriff's Department.

September

We had a due date birthday party for Henry on the 6^th. Family and friends came to celebrate Henry's life. It was amazing to see him doing so well and we were so thankful to the Lord for his good health.

October

This month we enjoyed pumpkin patches and trick or treating. Lily was her favorite princess, Cinderella. Henry was a cute little monkey. We also enjoyed getting a little more sleep.

November

We celebrated Andy's birthday this month and a very fun visit from my college room mate, Karri.

This month was very monumental because Henry started sleeping through the night.

December

We saw a lot of family this month due to Grandma Joyce's failing health and her passing away on the 15^th. She was so special and such a wonderful grandma to us and our children. We miss her everyday.

This was Henry's first Christmas and very fun Christmas with Lil. We wil call it her "Princess Christmas". Castles, Disney Princesses and pink sum up most of her gifts.

Andy neared the end of his training this month and looked forward to being a full fledged dispatcher in January.

So there you have it. Are you tired? I am.

I thank God for this crazy year! It brought our family closer together and to Him. Every moment with my kids, Andy, family and dear friends made this year the most memorable one yet.