2018

This has been quite a year. A year ago we had no idea what changes and blessings God had in our near future. We started out the year with a 17 month old, plans to sell our house and a partially remodeled farm house. We had big plans for 2018! In March, my boss resigned from his position as executive director. That same day I found out I was pregnant. Two weeks later I was made interim executive director. The last week of March we listed our house in town. On April 2nd, my doctor announced to us that we would be having TWO babies. For the next 4 months, I juggled all of the jobs at the office on my own. I struggled with nausea and vomiting with no end in sight. In May, I was offered the position of executive director and through it all I felt so humble and proud of myself. I still feel so honored that those five board members saw in me what they felt was right for that position. A few days before we sold our house. We moved the first week of June to my parents because our house was not ready. So much went on in a very short amount of time and we were finally in by the next week. After a year and a half of renovations it felt good to be in, even if everything wasn't finished.

My sickness drug on and on through summer. I think the only reason it was all tolerable was because of the medicine my doctor prescribed. We took a working family vacation to NACo conference in Nashville. While Judson was in sessions, we spent the days playing and lounging. While Claire was napping, I was working remotely returning emails, phone calls, and studying for my online course. Even though it wasn't a true vacation it was so fun to get away and spend some time together.

When we made it home from Nashville we celebrated Claire Grace's 2nd Birthday. I still can hardly believe that she is two years old. I'm probably a little biased but she truly blows me away with her vocabulary and intelligence. Life with her is just so much sweeter. She is always giving hugs or kisses and telling one of us "I love you." It makes my heart swell with pride that she is so extra sweet. I hope that trait stays forever.

We trekked on through the hot hot summer and then finally fall arrived along with the countdown to November 1st. In July, doctor visits started occurring once a week. The amazing thing about twins is you get to see them at every visit so they can check both heart beats. My poor body was still having a hard time taking care of all three of us and I was constantly on new medications. After months of nausea and uti infections, the thing that nearly broke me was gestational diabetes. For many weeks, I tried to manage it with diet and did very well but my fasting numbers in the morning couldn't get low enough so the insulin injections began. Of course that too made me feel bad...

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary with 27 days until babies! It has been the best adventure living life with this man of mine and I am so excited to see what our future holds. I know we have a lot to look forward to in life. I'm pretty sure October was the longest month. As a lover of October, I was glad for that. I think I enjoyed this October more than any before even though it was tiring and stressful. My dad had surgery on the 15th to be followed by my hospital stay on the 16th. Along with those two exciting events my mom has been battling Meniere's syndrome and we couldn't figure out how to make her feel better. A week later, my dad was starting to finally recover from his surgery and we found a chiropractor that specializes in helping people with Meniere's syndrome. My doctor put me on partial bedrest so I was working from home half of every day. My days were starting to include a nap. My body was too tired to make it all day without some sort of rest. I was counting down the days and trying to enjoy every second I had left with Claire as my only baby.

Claire Grace was a cat this year for halloween! A real cute cat! The next day she met her sisters and I think it is safe to say that she loves them. We weren't really surprised by this because she spent most of the year referring to her baby dolls by her sisters' names. Maggie Rose and Zelda Ruth have changed our lives. I was so scared when the doctor told us we were blessed with two babies. My mind just couldn't figure out how that was going to work. I think it really just gets easier every day. Some days are really hard but my heart is so happy and full that it makes all of the hard times worth it.

As I sit here on my 32nd birthday, holding Zelda while everyone sleeps, I can't believe what a beautiful year God blessed me with. It was personally my toughest year yet but I'm so grateful that I had this holiday season to reset and recharge for 2019. Claire Grace was extra festive and excited for the Christmas this year. We spent many hours discussing baby Jesus and the manger as well as Santa Claus. I have no idea what God has planned for 2019 but I think 2018 prepared me for it. This has most definitely been my favorite year with all of my favorite people. I look forward to a healthy and prosperous new year!