Wow 2013 was such a bitter sweet year for us. Ben and I both thought that 2013 was going to be like the past 4 years. We didn't even say to each other that "This year we WILL have a house" like we had previously.
January was typical in our family with hospitalizations of at least one of our kids. January seems to be the month of severe sickness in our family. (YIPEE) was a joy to look forward to.
February was incredible with a trip to Thailand for Ben and I. What an incredible place to spend our 10 year anniversary.
March: I can't really remember anything that happened that made a significant impact.
April: We lost my uncle due to an unexpected illness. I shock to my poor mom and her family. I had my first life saving experience at work that will forever stay in my mind.
May: I started to teach a fitness and nutrition class at work to kids age 3-13. It was a huge success and I loved it. It made me feel important and I got to use my degree (finally) besides my every day life.
June: We lost another uncle (my dad's bro in law) to suicide. Very very shocking for the entire family. We lost my grandma unexpectedly to Alzheimer's a week or so later. Another blow for my mom and her family. It was a numbing thing for me. I took care of my grandma for 3 years before they had to put her in a care home. We were very close. I miss her tremendously. I had ups and downs with job interviews. Brynlee turned 5 and started seeing a pediatric endocrinologist. On June 7th, we finally got to have our own house. A tremendous blessing!!! I finally got my baby grand piano after a lifetime of waiting.
July: We lost Ben's grandma unexpectedly to kidney failure. By this time I was done with death, but 6 more people we knew would pass away before the end of the year.
August: Aiden turned 8 and was baptized. He finally got his tarantula spider after 3 years of waiting. Ben decided to get one a couple weeks later. (they are kept out of my sight at ALL times).
My position changed at work, which has become a nice change from last year at this time. This kids started at a new school. Brand new to everyone. Finally a charter school that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math. My baby girl started kindergarten. Super hard for me for some reason....and her too.
September: 3 months in our house has just flown by. I started new projects to finally be able to decorate my own place. Ben and I did more photography shoots together. I love being able to share something with my husband that we both enjoy.
October: Ben spent most of October out of town including on my birthday. The beginning of October I decided I wanted to try a new hobby and paint. Not just furniture, but artistically on canvas. I learned it was really calming and such an amazing coping skill for me and dealing with stress. I have learned mostly from youtube. It has made me look at the world in a whole other perspective.
Novemeber: Nothing too thrilling.
December: Went way too fast. We did get all of our Christmas shopping done on black friday. I'm not honoring my recovery day this month which was on the 29th because of my massive relapse last year that nearly killed me. I don't remember when exactly I decided I was going to get on top of the disorder without the help of treatment. I did however, beat the illness again and I am now at a healthy weight and have my life back. It's all up hill from here. One day at a time.
My kids and husband are amazing. I honestly think I would be dead if it wasn't for them. I can't even say in enough words how lucky I am to have such an amazing, patient, and loving husband. He is incredible. I am very thankful to Heavenly Father for helping me through this year. There were so many ups and downs and everyone has, but it seemed a lot different to me then most years. Maybe because I have promised myself to try something new every year as a way of dealing with life's curve balls.
