'08 Proved to be Great!

We can't complain. 2008 was a good year to us. Mat started off the year by being promoted to an AVP at work. We leased a new car in February. We looked forward to the summer ahead as we were saving money for IVF procedures. There were no summer vacations as we were both working diligently on our Master's degrees....Mat in Finance at University of Tampa and I in Elementary Reading at Nova Southeastern. The summer proved to be a VERY busy one as Mat became the Branch Manager of the new MidFlorida branch the exact same week that our IVF was taking place. Talk about stress....thank goodness Mom was able to fly down to help out! There were several appointments, MANY emotional moments and a lot of stress, but we got through it, and CONCEIVED! What amazing news it was! We then both graduated in August and took a little down time to enjoy together and just savor the pregnancy. The school year began and I headed back to work. We went to Coconut Grove for a short "babymoon" and celebration get away in early fall. I was awarded Teacher of the Year, Mat began looking into Doctoral programs in Finance and exploring career options, and then we began preparing for the holidays. We traveled to St. Louis for Thanksgiving, enjoyed a baby shower with many close family and friends, and then welcomed my parents to Florida for Christmas!

Many years go by with the blink of an eye and you're left wondering where did the time go? That didn't seem to be the case this year. It was a good year.....a year with many blessings and obviously one HUGE one, but it was a challenging year emotionally. Balancing work, fertility, and both of us in school wasn't always easy. There were many lonely nights while Mat was in classes or long days spent on the computer as I researched and prepared papers. There were many trips to and from Celebration and Orlando and afternoons of waiting with baited breath for a phone call from the fertility clinics. Through it all though, we came out stronger and more united than ever. Looking back, I'm surprised we made it through it all as well as we did! Everything in life seems to happen for a reason and we're so thankful for this currently calm time in our lives as we prepare for the birth of our son. After all this waiting, the timing truly does seem perfect. Mat's at home in the evenings and weekends now and is able to continue working on home improvement projects. I'm able to spend much less time at work and take more time for our home and myself. We've been able to spend a lot of time together just enjoying each other's company and relaxing...something we'll probably be even more thankful we did a few months from now.

I know that our lives are about to change drastically in 2009. I don't think you can ever really be prepared for just how different life will be until you're actually experiencing it, so I won't even pretend to understand what lies ahead. But we are both so ready and welcoming of this next step in our lives and all that the year ahead has to offer our family. I imagine that this time next year I really will think the year has flown by. I'm sure he will grow so fast and like most mom's, I'll be left wondering, "Where did the time go?" But I prepare my heart and my home for this baby boy and ask for God's guidance in the year ahead. I pray that we are both the parents we are capable of being and that 2009 is happy and healthy year for our family and friends!