Trying Times

Hi blog! So sorry we haven't updated for awhile. The end of 2009 ended up being a very mixed experience for us. We had a wonderful time reuniting with Mom's family in AZ, our first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's beautiful retirement home. The girls got to meet their cousin Jimmy for the first time, and we all got to meet little Emerson Hayes Engle and see Evan and Kim's beautiful home for the first time as well. At the same time, Mom has never experienced such a trying time traveling by air ever before in her life, and I hope we never go through anything like it again. I don't want to belabor an already well known story, but girls, in case you forget, remind Mom to tell you about the year it took us two day to get out of DC, two days to get back (including flying to CA to get back to DC) and dealing with delays, cancellations, vomiting, and (sorry if this is too explicit) explosive gastrointestinal issues. Mom spent the entire flight from Phoenix to San Francisco running back and forth to the bathroom with Hannah PRAYING that there was one that was not occupied.

The worst of it all, however, were the people that we lost over this holiday break. First and foremost, we lost Great Grandpa Wright. I am glad that the girls both got to meet him, although it makes me sad that they never got to spend much time with him. It makes me sad that I never got to spend much time with him either, although I know enough from my interactions with him and the stories my aunts and uncles and father and mother have told me to know that the world is poorer without him. I also take great comfort knowing that he has been reunited with Grandma. In addition to Grandpa, we lost friends to a shocking and reprehensible act of violence that has left me mostly numb. This is the first time I have personally felt the human loss behind a news story and it is terrible, and my heart goes out to the families of all involved.

Life however goes on, and we are slowly but surely getting back into our routine. The girls are happy to be back with their friends and teachers at school, and Mom is continuing to try and get the hang of her new position at work. Dad as usual continues to do amazing work at his job and receive praise from all concerned. We are very very proud of him.

So here is hoping that 2010 will be a better year all round and all through. We will have several milestones this year, including Hannah starting Kindergarten in September, Molly moving into second grade, Mom's first class graduating in April, and Dad inching closer to the big 5 -0 (OK, Mom is also inching closer to the big 4-0, but let's just focus on Dad for now, shall we?). Hope you all had a great holiday break and are this far having an excellent New Year. The Packers losing today is an inauspicious start to mine, but if this is the worst thing that happens to me all year, I'll be OK.