The Decade in Review

2000-Finished our first year of marriage and my first year of teaching...a difficult year, full of transitions...one of those that you look back on 10 years later in thankfulness for getting through and learning along the way.

2001-We were reeling from my aunt's diagnosis of lung cancer. My parents came and spent 8 months in Nebraska to be with her, thus also being closer to us. It was a wonderful year of memory making. We also enjoyed a summer vacation to Niagara Falls and around the Great Lakes states. Shortly after that trip, 9/11 left us reeling once again.

2002-Traveled to Oregon for my 10th High School reunion...so glad I'm no longer the person I was in high school. It was great to see old friends and reconnect with people I didn't really know before.

2003-After over a year of trying to start our family the "conventional" way, we started looking into the adoption process.

2004-Probably the hardest year of our lives...2 family deaths in the first 2 weeks of the year, then losing my aunt 3 years after diagnosis. To this day, I feel like a piece of me is missing.

2005-After over a year of fundraising, we finally started the paperwork process to find our sweet daughter. On December 7, we saw her picture for the first time; on December 9, we accepted her referral.

2006-Quite possibly the best year of our lives as we spend the first 5 months preparing to be parents, followed by a whirlwind trip to China. Dayna has proven to be a sweet, sweet child who almost makes parenting easy (some days...)

2007-Dealing with the aftermath of being asked to leave a church plant, but finding our purpose and place back at the church we had attended for years. We fell in love with children's ministries, although our roles within it are constantly changing.

2008-Daily surprises as a 2-3 year old learns new things every day...in fact, every minute. Never a dull moment!

2009-Maybe because it's fresh in my mind, but the week in November where we saw $1.00 grow and grow and grow will be close to my heart forever. This year also saw 2 weddings, a baby, and losing my grandmother. Part of me is missing my little girl, but I'm also learning to appreciate the newfound independence that is actually helpful!

I hope your decade has been full of more ups than downs and that you find yourself a richer, stronger person than you were December 31, 1999.