2011 in Re-Cap... bring on 2012

Well this year has been full of ups and downs for sure. We began the New Year 2011 with my Daddy passing away from lung cancer on January 3rd.  We learned how to navigate through funeral arrangements and questioned 'why' many times. My Dad was 60 and had no health problems except that he was a smoker for years. I have learned that I  hate cigarettes and I hate cancer.  A few weeks afterwards my Aunt Jane was diagnosed with rare uterine cancer. We were shocked. We stayed positive and we rejoice and praise God that she has finished treatment, had surgery and is cancer free. My sister moved back to our home town! I learned that I missed her a lot; now we talk at least 2-3 times a day. We worked on my Dad's estate with our lawyer and accountant and had to learn a lot very quickly. I started managing my Dad's businesses and taking care of the leg work of the estate while my Aunt went back to Georgia. I became very familiar with LLCs. We became debt free... what a blessing. Eli turned 1. We started cleaning up our property to get ready to build and we searched... and searched.... and searched for a house plan. Found several we liked but not exactly what we were looking for. I began to have heart palpitations... too much stress! They hooked me to a Holter monitor and found out that I had a run of something I can't remember so they put me on heart medication (which jacked my insurance up). I then went to cardiologist and they took me off of  the medication and they went away (duhh... stress!). I went down to working part time at school to have more time with Eli (Tues, Wed, Thursday). I learned that sometimes going to work is much easier than handling a toddler all day. We finally decided on a house plan and started building. I learned about soffits, gutters, 20 yr vs. 30 yr shingles. I learned that straight edges are much less expensive than rounded edges. I learned that the price of rock is ridiculous.  I learned that there are all sorts of muttons and window color. Trim or no trim? We learned about HVAC systems, lighting, sheet rock, and plumbing. Oil rubbed bronze is pretty but it's of course more expensive. Josh had a wreck and totaled his car. I had a wreck and did 6 K of damage to mine. Isaac turned 11!! Yikes! Josh and I went on vacation alone.. I got pregnant! I learned that I get pregnant very easily (actually I knew that). My baby nephew, Camden was born. He had a brief stay in the NICU but is now healthy and happy. We found out that we will have a daughter (still hard to believe). I learned that it's not easy but you have to keep on keeping on no matter what situations arise and it doesn't do any good to worry about tomorrow. Looking forward to all the new things to come in 2012!