End of Year stuff New Year stuff

So last year we left off the Naming with some changes needed. I'm still not entirely happy and I've decided to retire this story until I can get with my writing circle to hammer out some ideas and a stronger time line. I'll probalby keep writing pieces of it here and there as the inspiration comes to me but; and this makes me very sad; my life is becoming very full. I guess I shouldn't say sad so much as stressed. I'm a glass half full kind of person and even my optimism has been stretched pretty thin lately. I'm still optimistic about my families future for this year. There are a lot of good things coming up things that are really huge and if they happen like they are supposed to happen our family will be in a much better situation financially and that kind of peace of mind is priceless!!!

So a recap of the year 2010!

Gavin the Mischevious had his first school friend birthday party in November. It was a real "big boy" milestone for him and I was very pleased and proud of him. We also had our first birthday party with one of our SLM friends at the Whittle Railroad and again Gavin was very excited and pleased to be invited.

Magnus the Great learned how to walk and eventually learned how say Mama..I was thrilled for about three days and then the magic of it all wore off after hearing Mama Mama Mama Mama over and over and over hour after hour. Now he is trying on new words like Dog, and pup pup, as well as Andrea and Gavin. No is his favorite answer to everything and he still loves to eat eat eat. At the close of last year Magnus was 29 inches long and 18lbs even.

Andrea turned 14 on the same day that I turned 32. If your counting that means we're exactly 18 years apart..lol. Andrea is often the daughter of my heart and if she keeps up the dramatic sighs and eye rolling she'll move from being the daughter of my heart to the royal pain in my ass! After having a year of teenage dramatics and hormones I now completely understand homicidal rage and why some species eat thier young. I've been a mother figure to this girl since she was five years old and I have to say the relationship we have now is a complex one. It would take a novel to explain it all. She can infuriate me one minute and then say or do something that shows her vulnerability and i'm instantly transported back to High School and can remember what it was like to be the "new kid". If you're the parent of a teenager just repeat this mantra "this too shall pass and patience is key". It's a challenge having a teenager in the home but at the same time it's a more mature and fun relationship. I do love the exchange of ideas as well as the more in depth conversations her and I get into.
Andrea finished her first semester at Parkway North Middle School with a 3.7 GPA. She was upset about the B's but as I reminded her it could always be worse and a 3.7 is not too shabby. Andrea was also reccommended for Honors English and Honors History at the High School level. We are both very proud of her academically and spiritually she continues to grow into a strong christian woman. She has worked hard to catch up to the rest of the confirmation class and is set to graduate with the rest of the confirmands. this is no small feat as she missed the entire 7th grade year because she was living with her mom in Tennessee. Andrea also chose to be baptised this year and there was not a dry eye in the church.
The new year brings new challenges for Andrea one of which is keeping up her grades at school and of course the continued adjustment from a slacker household to the ship shape one that Phil-do and I run. No judgement on her other mom either different strokes for different folks.

So what's new with Phil-do and I. Well last year was the roughest year we faced as a married couple. There was betrayal, loss of trust, and mucho counseling. We found out that Phil-do has adult ADD, which just means he had ADD all along but they didn't diagnose him till he was an adult, lots of counseling and adjustment of meds later we have a much improved Phil-do. I won't say he's "grown up" any as i'm pretty sure he'll always be a big kid but at least he's not running from responsability anymore and we're communicating and working together in a way we never have before. I can think of better ways to cry out for help other than having an affair but being the glass is half full kind of person that I am i'm just grateful for the improved relationship period. We went from having two kids full time under the age of five to having three kids ages 14, 4, and 1. We still struggle to balance the age gap between them all but i've found we are not the only ones in this boat..lol. The end of last year found us moving from our cramped two bedroom apartment into a spacious three bedroom house :-) complete with basement playroom/extra bathroom/and laundry room!!! Unfortunatly the New Year has found us without a vehicle..booo. I'm having faith that the Lord will provide for us as he always has. When we needed a bigger place to live he provided us with a house not a bigger apartment so i'm faithful that he will provide us with a safe and reliable vehicle for our family's needs. As they say in the bible Praise God from whom all Blessings Flow!!

That's your 2011 update peeps!!

Peace i'm out!