2009 in retrospect

2009 started quietly  in Arkansas with Brian's parents (his sisters had gone out without us), then quickly worked itself into a fury.

Early in January my Grandma and Grandpa Munson (Gram and Grump) got in a car accident in which they both fractured vertebrae in their necks, and Grump also fractured one in his back. Although their injuries could have left them paralyzed or even dead, God knew there was no way our family could live without them, so thankfully they were spared and healed pretty well. February was mostly quiet, thank goodness, so we could have time to visit Gram and Grump at their care center.

Then March came and with it brought an aggressive brain tumor to my sweet Grandma Eileen. She was gone within three weeks. She was a wonderful woman and has been truly missed. I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with my Tonkinson side of the family while we celebrated her life.

When I returned from home from Florida I came home to a flooding bedroom. We had foundation damage which caused us to move most of our bedroom furniture into our living room and we moved into the spare room. In April Wicked the musical to Salt Lake (amazing!), Brian had a seizure and his much loved dog, Schubert, was put to sleep. Both were not great, but the fact that they happened on the same day, which was his birthday, made it even worse. May brought  my 25th birthday, the birth of a dear friend's baby and end of year testing for my students. (Any teacher who says that time of year is not stressful is a stinkin' liar!) My school was also closed for a very short period of time due to the Swine Flu. June came in pretty peacefully and Brian and I spent our one year anniversary seeing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the musical ( I loved it, poor Brian was miserable), and staying at the bed and breakfast that had double booked us for our honeymoon. The room was free since they had ruined our honeymoon, so we took full advantage of every amenity they offered! It was wonderful! July was beautiful and Brian and I watched the final fireworks display at Sugarhouse Park from our front yard. We also had wood laminate flooring installed, which we love!  I spent the summer teaching summer school so we could pay for the wood laminate flooring, definitely worth it.  We were able to move back into our bedroom in early August, but it was not all fully repaired until October. August was a fun month filled with a community BBQ, a BBQ with my roommates from my first year of college, a Depeche Mode concert, and a Cirque De Soleil show. Yes, we spoiled ourselves! August also meant back to school and on to a new grade for me. I had spent my first three years teaching in 2nd grade, but I really wanted to teach 3rd grade. Lucky me, I got what I wanted! but whew, I got a tough group of kids.

In September we got to go to Florida to visit my Grandpa Tonkinson and My Great Aunt Bev and Uncle Jim. It was great getting to spend time with family! We spent a day in St. Augustine and climbed the lighthouse, visited the fort, and visited the Alligator Farm there. It was a wonderful vacation.

October brought a friend's wedding, in which Brian was a groomsman, and trip for me to the Endocrinologist. I found out that I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis which basically means my body is attacking my thyroid. I will have to be on thyroid hormones for the rest of my life, and if my thyroid is killed by my body, it will have to be removed. Kind of a pain in the butt, but it is something that I can live with, and for that I am grateful. In November we went to Ely Nevada to spend Thanksgiving with the Munson side of my family. It was so much fun to cook together, play games, and just visit and have fun. In December we got to go to Denver and one of my life dreams came true, we got to go see the Cranberries in concert!!! We stayed with some of our friends there and had a great time! But of course, we forgot the camera. I took some video of the concert with my cell phone, but it just didn't do it justice. Here is a link to the song Dreams, recorded by my cell phone.Cranberries concert  December also brought another seizure to Brian, but this time he stopped breathing, which sent him into another seizure. I have never been so scared in my entire life. But he is doing fine, and we pray that he will be better about taking his meds and getting enough sleep, which should help keep the seizures away. We spent Christmas in Ely Nevada with my family and had a great time again. I can't help but think that we are some of the luckiest people in the world to have the families that we have.
So here we are at 2010. 2009 had some crappy moments, and some really crappy moments, but it also had some great moments. We hope this year will bring us the chance to spend time with our families and friends, and also some more fun times with each other. God bless and Happy New Year!!!!