Reflections from 2009 and Wishes for a New Year

(Pardon the brief "language" in the following sentence)

This morning a friend of mine mentioned that part of him would like to tell 2009 to go to hell, but that he grew too much as a person for it to be all bad. I echo that sentiment exactly.

2009 was a huge rollercoaster and I can't say that I'm entirely sad to see it go. But I am reminded of the saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and it is definitely true for us. I almost went into a detailed story about our year's tribulations, but instead decided to focus on each of individually and have some fun with it. Enjoy.


Nathan turned one at the very beginning of the year and it was a little hard for mommy. He is definitely no longer a baby, though we have yet to cease referring to him as "baby". He can carry on a conversation quite easily and we enjoy seeing what his new word or sentence he's going to learn each day. He is potty training, although it's not going quickly since he still has timing issues. We know he'll be faster than his brother though! Nathan is looking forward to entering preschool in the fall of 2010. He has already learned his ABCs and can count to 20. He also looks forward to learning to ride his new tricycle....as soon as his feet can touch the pedals.

Aiden began his 2nd year of preschool with a brand new teacher this fall, turning four years old soon after. He loves every bit of it! His communication (which concerned his former teacher) has improved drastically and he's growing into an adventurous little kid more and more every single day. He learned how to ride a bicycle over the summer and has become quite a train expert. He enjoys creating works of art (on both canvases and walls) and often hums classical music while doing so (I'm not kidding). In 2010, he will start his 3rd year of preschool, but will be in the same mixed age class that he's in this year. He also plans on attending some summer day camps that his school offers. Both boys look forward to having a backyard to play in and a bedroom that is not used for storage, hopefully early in the year.

John turned a grand ol' 27 this year. He is finishing his degree and looks forward to being done with OIT....so he can start his MBA. This is still being discussed with his wife. After losing his job in early 2009, he spent some quality daddy time with the boys over five months and was re-hired by his employer in August. He was accepted into an engineering internship program at U of O during the period of unemployment, but was rehired the same week, so he declined. He enjoys spending snuggle time with the family cats that he allowed his wife to talk him into in early January. In 2010, he looks forward to being a homeowner so that he can do as many "upgrades" as he pleases.

Carrie began the first real job that she'd had since being pregnant with Aiden (the paper route was not a real job - more like torture with a small paycheck) in January. After six weary months, she moved on to a better job and is still very much enjoying it. She discovered painting and crafts as a means to relieve stress and in early December, put together a Christmas bazaar for the church. She suffered a two week long asthma scare in October, which turned into what is believed to have been swine flu. October also brought the thrill of her life when she was able to see Mikhail Baryshnikov perform here in Portland. She sat in the 2nd row and cried from sheer joy. She turned 26 in November and thinks she's a little young to be on the verge of knee surgery, but when she trips over one of the cats and severely injures the same knee for the 10th time, can she really expect anything less? In 2010, she also looks forward to finally becoming a homeowner. John plans for her to head back to school as soon as he is done. She also plans on coordinating another bazaar for the church - with more help.

As we come to an end of 2009, we are still struggling with some things, but we have great hope that 2010 will bring us closure with these struggles. I don't know about John, but I am a very different person that I was this time last year. I honestly can't say that it's all good, but the journey to self improvement is staring me in the face. I just need to be willing to take it. It was an odd mix of personal damage and maturity that happened at the same time over the course of the year. Maybe that makes no sense to anyone but me. But hey, it's really all between me and God anyway.

No matter what 2009 brought you, we want to wish you all the best for 2010 and we hope that your Christmas season was filled with joy.

Happy New Year from the Minthornes!

My Child is Incredibly Strange

This isn't Christmas related and we do have pictures and stories to post, but I have some items from today that we need to remember.

Aiden is an interesting child and comes up with many odd things to say. Sometimes these things give us laughter, sometimes we worry about what on earth he's thinking. Today was no exception.

At dinner: "I want to eat a cat. But when you get the white hairs in your mouth, then I think it would be disgusting."

At bedtime as John began to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: "NO!! THAT SONG IS A LIE! ALL THE SONGS ARE LIES!!"

I've now decided the a four year old's mind is a scary place.

Merry Christmas!

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Christmas Prep

This will mainly be a jumble of things, but I had to write something out or else I wasn't going to be able to focus on anything that needs to be done today.

I spoke to the real estate agent yesterday. Not much is happening yet and he said to not really expect anything until the first week of January. I figured with the holidays, we wouldn't hear anything, so it was basically just a confirmation of what I was thinking. During our conversation, I came to the conclusion that he's more frustrated than we are. I'm just happy we have someone who is willing to put up with all of this for us. We've been more than pleased with the service they've provided. He's even stopping by this evening because he "has a little something" for us. He's been giving us gift cards to various places since August, so it will be interesting to see what he's bringing us that couldn't fit in the Christmas card he sent. John thinks it will be a fruit basket.

Now, I've had a bit of disappointment with not being in a house for Christmas this year and it's been affecting my Christmas spirit. I can see that the boys are very excited and I am looking forward to watching them open their presents, but I haven't found that overwhelming Christmas mood that has brought me so much joy in the past. In order to remedy this, I made the decision that we will load the boys up in the car after dinner this evening to go to Winter Wonderland at Portland International Raceway. We haven't gone on any Christmas light viewing adventures yet this year and I've always wanted to go to this event, so it seemed like a good time. Hopefully I can get some pictures, but we will be in a moving car and it's cold outside, so I doubt I'll have the windows down!

In good news, I can say that I have happily been finished Christmas shopping for over a week now. I still had to get diapers at Target two days ago and that wasn't the most fun experience, but I survived. :^) The presents aren't wrapped, but I have kept my Christmas tradition from high school in regards to wrapping: On Christmas Eve, I gather all the presents and wrapping items in the living room and I watch A Christmas Story as I wrap everything. It's definitely something I look forward to every year. It also keeps wrapped presents out from under the tree until after the kids are in bed the night before, so there's no temptation for them.
But before all the wrapping happens, I have to get this place clean, so that's what I will be doing today and part of tomorrow. I get a Christmas present tomorrow afternoon....a little trip to the salon while John watches the boys. Nothing beats a fresh hair cut for Christmas!