Year in Review

I have one last end-of-year post to make before the ball drops tonight. Before I get into that I do have a good piece of Caulfield trivia for you: exactly 5 years ago tonight Ryan came home from his second deployment to Iraq. We were stationed in GA but I moved back to TN since I was getting ready to have Hannah.  I drove all night to be there when those awesome white buses finally came pulling into Cottrell Field at Fort Stewart. :) It was awesome!

Moving on...just a some tidbits of our life happenings for each month.  It's pretty crazy all that can happen within a year.

January - We just moved back to Clarksville after Ryan's medical retirement.  After submitting several applications and resumes, he finds a part-time job working at Lowe's.  Hannah starts PreK at St. B Nursery School.  She is thrilled to be back in school!

February - The kids and I begins our library routine of going at least every two weeks, checking out at least 20 books at a time. The ladies behind the circulation desk eventually come to know us and always inquire with Hannah about what earrings she is wearing. :)

March - I throw Ryan a Transformers birthday party, which he secretly loved but would never admit it. ;) Thanks to PreK, Hannah goes around the house constantly singing the various tunes she learned.  I got a good number of videos of her little performances. Her favorite song was about monkeys swinging in a tree and getting caught by an alligator. Not as morbid as it sounds.

April - Hannah turns 5, and we kick off her being a half decade old with a panda themed birthday party.  We make the official decision to homeschool our kids, and we wonder what took us so long to decide. :)

May - Hannah graduates from PreK, and I don't think many high school graduates make out as well as she did--complete with balloons and a graduation bear (which is currently in her bed).  I take Autumn to the doctor because we suspect she may have to get tubes in her ears, but come to find out she's perfectly fine. 

June - Summer gets into full swing with taking Hannah to vacation Bible school.  She has a blast and is beyond adorable singing with her class in church.  Ryan quits Lowe's to try out a sales job, working with a roofing and siding company.  Lots of door to door stuff.  We had a rather short hail storm that did a lot damage to roofs in the area, so signs for various contractors started popping up in front yards everywhere, including our house. Long story short, that job was eventually a bust.  :(

July - Hannah had been working on various worksheets we got from her prek class and from a workbook I already had.  It was such a great way for us to prepare for school! She also went to the summer reading program at the library.  Autumn was not so much into the toddler program since all she wants to do is just climb all over the seats. Ryan "gets back at me" by throwing me a Titanic-themed birthday and decorating the house with printing pics from the movie. Hannah has her dental check up and everything is sheer perfection (wish I could say the same for myself :-/)

August - We officially start homeschooling!! Even after the first couple weeks, I know it is going to such a blessing! We started going to Wednesday night church where Hannah went to Team Kid, Autumn to the play room, and I went to the homeschool support group (which I miss dearly!). We also go on a field trip to the fire station with other homeschoolers.

September - Autumn turns 2! Along with turning two she starts sitting in a booster instead of a high chair and sleeping in a big girl bed (well, it was just taking the side off her crib). Such a big girl!  My oldest friend, Jamie, and her husband and three boys came down from Indiana to visit us for Labor Day weekend.  We hadn't seen each other in five years! Our kids all really got along, which is always good. :) We all went to the Nashville Zoo.  I guess none of us really thought about how crowded it would be on a holiday weekend, but it was still fun.

October - Ryan and I celebrate 8 years of marriage! Ryan also accepted a job with Lockheed Martin, working with the Dept of the Navy, which meant we would be moving to Millington. Ryan left in the middle of the month and we would move with him closer to the Christmas once he found a place to live. The kids were both bears for Halloween (the most inexpensive costumes ever thanks to their Grendy! :-D).

November - I participate in what will my fifth Nanowrimo--writing a novel in a month. Great fun. I should also mention that I "won" which means I wrote the require 50,000 words. Both kids had their annual check ups (both late...ooops), and all is well.  We also get their flu shots which was fairly painless.  Ryan was able to come visit us every weekend from Millington, but in the mean time the kids and I are able to keep busy in his absense.

December - The kids and I move a little earlier than we expected, but it was definitely for the best since we were able to get used to the area and our new place before Christmas.  The kids constantly amazed me with how resilient they are.  We made it back to Clarksville for Christmas unscathed and all was well.

What a year. I guess I can say that about any year.  I'm definitely ready for a new one. I'm not going to go into a laundry list of resolutions, but I just hope that I can continue to better myself as a wife and mother following the Lord. 

Here's to an awesome 2011!