2009-A YEAR OF CHANGE

2009 - what a year!!!

Ups and downs--happy tears, sad tears!!
It was wonderful..
but hard!!

This is how it went:

Last family picture before kids started to go their separate ways..

In January Katy left for Africa...



A few weeks later Nick was accepted to Westminster Theological Seminary!



February was kind of a blur. I was missing Kate so much.
I do remember it snowed though,
and that was beautiful!!!

Nicholas and Shayna got engaged in March...



Mikey turned 18 in April...



There was also an lovely engagement party for Nicholas and Shayna...




May began the graduations and the weddings...
First was Mary's graduation from Eastern University.
Christopher was unable to walk with her, although he was
in the same graduating class
(due to errors on the college's part, although he had
earned the proper number of credits etc. He took a course online,
and did a short internship, managing to get his degree
by the end of the summer.)
Mary received a B.A. in Psychology.




Next came Nicholas. He received a double degree in
Political Science and Philosophy.




Then the weddings. My boys got to know the staff
at Men's Warehouse well!
First was Isaac and Bridgid, with Nick as the best man
...it was May 17rth. A beautiful day!






Next came Michael and Lydia, just 6 days later.
Mikey was a groomsman.
It was May 23rd, another beautiful spring day...






Craig took the boys camping--Last time as unmarried men
, for Nick and Christopher..





June brought another graduation and more wedding bells.
Michael graduated mid June from Brick Memorial High School.



At this point he was still heading to Boot camp
for the Marines,so we gave him a grad/going away party,
rather than the standard grad celebration.



Chris and Shawna Peterson were married on June 20,
with Christopher as a groomsman. In spite of the heavy rain,
it was a beautiful day of love and family and friends.



The very next week our Christopher married his sweetheart Mary.
Chris Peterson was the best man, with Nicholas and Mikey
as groomsmen, along Luke and Mary's brother-in-law Stephen.
We held the rehearsal dinner at a restaurant in Sicklerville, NJ.
Delicious food, wonderful evening.




June 28th--one of the most amazing days of my life!
My oldest son Christopher weds his sweetheart Mary.
The day was magnificent. I was in momma-bliss!



The newlyweds headed to Mexico for their honeymoon,
and Mikey was in his final prep for leaving for Boot Camp..
when the unexpected happened: 12 hours before being picked
up by his recruiter, he was in a bad car accident, knocking out 1 tooth entirely,
and rearranging 2 others. It was horrible.



Our wonderful superhero dentist got his tooth back into place,
straightened the other two, and wired things all together.
Mikey's life changed entirely that day. God spared his life..



That same week, my mom Barbara had open heart surgery
to replace her aortic valve.
It was a complete success!


We gave a New Bride's Celebration at church for
Bridgid, Lydia, and Mary. It was beautiful!





Nicholas moved to Pennsylvania to start his summer
Greek class at his seminary. This was a hard adjustment for me...


The kids came back from their honeymoon,
and moved in with us for the rest of the summer.
The were awaiting their sister Kate's homecoming from Africa!



Michael began dating his little sweetheart
Nicole--what a sweet girl!
She has become part of all of our lives, and only
because of the accident that kept Michael home with us.
God is amazing!




My brother Alan came for a visit, to help out with my mom
while she was in rehab. We had some good times,
in spite of the bittersweet reason he was here.
He had not been here for more than 10 years.



August was somewhat quiet for a while. The married kids were
here, and we shared a lot of good family moments.
They started preparing for their big move out to California,
and I started preparing for the
moment my little girl stepped
off the plane from Africa.

August 24th--THE BIG DAY!!







August 25th she had to go back to college!



August 27th-Katy's 20th birthday,
and the day Chris and Mary left for San Francisco.





August 31st-Craig and I head out on our trek to San Francisco,
following the path of Chris and Mary. We drove Mary's car.

September 1st, 2009 - Our 25th wedding anniversary!!



Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas...

New Mexico, Arizona...

The Grand Canyon!!!



Las Vegas, Death Valley...



Yosemite!



OUR KIDS!!!



Arrived home on September 11th. Safely.
Michael had started Ocean County College
while we were away, with a new attitude,
and a new direction.

Painted our bedroom, and redecorated a bit..very dramatic-I love it!



In October, we did not get to go to Family Day at Eastern,
for the first time in 4 years. Christopher was graduated,
and Kate was in Vermont with her roommate Martha..

November--I became the grandma to Takoda, our new granddog!



THANKSGIVING..no Christopher or Mary.....

Michael's teeth are ALL fixed! Look at his smile now!!



Family bridal shower for Shayna..

December. The Christmas tree!



Wedding plans...wedding plans! Missing Chris and Mary!

The Very Big Snow!!



Christmas! Happy..sad..missing Chris and Mary..happy to have Nick and Shayna!
and Katy..and Mikey and Nicole!






December 28th-Chris and Mary arrive!!!! YEAHHH!!



Same day, the bachelorette party!



Happy New Year!!!

The rehearsal, and the dinner!







January 2, 2010
My second son becomes a husband!
Another of the top amazing moments in my life!
More momma bliss!



And I get to be a mother-in-law AGAIN!

January 3, Disneyworld, here come the honeymooners!



January 6-got my new camera! This seems silly,
but for me a very big deal!
No more blurry pictures!!

January 11 - The newlyweds get the key to their very first apartment!!





And here I am, it is 2010, and I am full of every emotion!
I am so blessed..
I feel the absence of my sons...but I LOVE having daughters-in-law!
I am still not sure what happens next--when the kids are all gone away.
I don't really want to know quite yet.
Looking forward to being a grandma in the next few years, if the Lord allows...
Thankful to have a job I love...
Thankful for my home...
Thankful for my silly dog...
Thankful for my husband...
Thankful for my friends..
Thankful for the year spread out before me,
full of hope and promise and opportunity!
With God's strength within me,
I am looking forward to seeing what comes next...