Bring on 2012

For someone who doesn't like change, 2011 sure brought a lot of it. We went from our house in Ohio to Minnesota, with a 2-month stay at my parents house for me and the kids (who knew we would later repeat this stay in the fall?) I left my job teaching middle schoolers for a life as a stay-at-home mom. We packed up our whole house and moved to a rental in Savage, Minnesota...

And then Nate got a job offer back in Cincinnati. And I kind of got my job back, though I did move up to high school English. We house hunted - again. Lived with my parents again. Moved again. Unpacked again. There was a lot of chaos and a lot of moving involved in this year, and I am thankful to the people who helped us through it, mostly my mom and dad. They sacrificed their basement to us for a good chunk of the year and offered lots of emotional support to me.

So my "resolutions" for 2012 are simple. 1) Live in the same house the whole year 2) Be the best mom and wife I can be 3) Appreciate everyone and everything in my life 4) Actually plan and go on a vacation (we haven't done this since our honeymoon unless you count short trips for out-of-town weddings)

We are very lucky we had the opportunity to both move away and more importantly, come back, so easily. Nate impressed Target enough to have them move us out there and he loved me enough to move us back. And for that, I am thankful. I am thankful we could afford to move back (sure, it stung a little and I don't even want to think about what our taxes will look like). But we both have good jobs, we have great, healthy kids, and a lot of love. And for me, that is all we need.
I feel like so far, I've made 2011 out as a not-so-great year, so to be fair, 2011 is also the year Morgan grew from a baby to a toddler. It is the year he started to walk, talk, and communicate. It is the year Tessa and Morgan went from just being to siblings to being playmates and best friends, as evidenced in the pictures I chose for this post.
I love their closeness. I love when Tessa wants to help Morgan do something. I love when he runs over to give her a big hug. I love when they get so excited to see each other in the morning. I love how the daycare workers at the gym tell me my kids are the only siblings who stay together the whole time they are there. I just love them.

Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!