Top 10 in 2010

2010 has been a big year in our home. My friend Christin just blogged about her Top 10 in 2010, and I'm copying her idea. I'll list the big moments chronologically because it's way too hard to rank them. Geez, it's just tough narrowing the list down to ten. Wes suggested I only use three for baby related events, but I told him that wasn't possible seeing that we found out Reese was on her way only four days into the new year, and she's pretty much been the focus of 2010. You will notice, however, that I did include several non-baby moments so that our lives don't appear to be so completely encompassed by the birth of our daughter. Ha. That means that I had to take out Reese's first time to church, her first holiday, and a few other baby moments in order for us to look like we have a life outside of Reese. And indeed we do; it's just that when I think of the best moments of the year--preparing for, the arrival of, and loving on Reese just take the cake. She outshines the other things that happened this year in our lives. So I guess if I had to rank the moments, Reese's arrival would be at the top. Regardless, enjoy the list...

(Beware: A lot of pictures are to follow.)

**Well, this one is actually the last picture taken of 2009, so it didn't make the list. I just think it's a neat addition to the post. Wes and I went to Copeland's on New Year's Eve and enjoyed discussing the decade we had been together. We talked about the big highlights of each year and tried to predict what the future would hold. Hehe. So fun.

1. We are having a baby!! (January 4) The extra week of Christmas break due to the snow storm was also known as the greatest week of all because I found out I was pregnant on Monday morning and was able to have an entire seven days to get out my excitement via googling baby stuff instead of being tempted to tell my co-workers at school. Really, this was a great moment. I couldn't believe God had really given us this blessing of expecting a child.
(the beautiful snow from our front window)
(my first prego week-by-week shot...week 4 I think)
(our first glimpse of B-Dub)
(announcing the news to family...yes, they look happy here, but just wait to see their faces on September 18th.)

2. The Kitchen Makeover (March). After enjoying the brick red walls and dark brown cabinets for 2 1/2 years, I was ready for a major change. Green walls and cream antique stained cabinets have completely opened up our kitchen and made it so much brighter. Since then, we have added hardware that completes the look so well.

3. It's a girl! (April 20) I really had convinced myself we were having a boy simply because I have an older brother, and I just assumed that's the order our children would be. However, when we found out we were having a girl, we couldn't have been more excited. My mom brought up the first of MANY loots of girl stuff the next day before we left for a Dallas wedding.

4. Four Weddings and Four Babies!! (April through September) Two of my best college girlfriends were pregnant alongside me this year (Lauren with twin boys and Brooke with a little girl), and we got to support another bestie Beth at her wedding in April. I also had the major honor of being a bridesmaid for three best friends from my childhood. It was such a special year of celebrating babies and marriages of such incredible friends.

(Lauren with Hudson and Thomas in there, me with Reese, and Brooke with Stella) **And a few of my dearest friends here in NWA had babies this year, too. I don't know where I would be without their friendship and encouragement.
(Beth's wedding in Dallas)
(MP's wedding at Greene Chapel)
(Liz's reception at Hendrix)
(before Brittany's wedding at Greene Chapel)

5. Fabulous high schoolers. (All year) Well, now they are in high school. Last year, they were eighth graders, and not only did I teach 110 of them English, but I coached 12 in cheerleading, and I led (and still lead) a load of them in a Bible study. They easily make the list because they brought so much joy to my life and made my job so incredibly fulfilling. I am very thankful that I still get to see so many of these special guys and girls often at cell group events and around town now that they are driving. Yikes.
(Mrs. Walker's homeroom)
(Two of my incredible girls, Maris and Chelsi. These two, along with several others, were some of my cheerleaders and are now some of my favorite people on earth. We get to meet almost weekly and talk about what God's doing in our lives and make each other laugh A LOT.)

6. VACATION!! (June 27-July 3) And this will be the last one with just the two of us for a while. We thoroughly soaked up every moment of relaxing together and exploring the Naples area for a week thanks to the wonderful family of one of my students.
(Well, I guess it wasn't just the two of us, but Reese was very easy to take along on this trip.)
(Captiva Island)

7. Generosity of others. (July) Woah. Wes, Reese, and I were showered beyond belief. I don't think Wes and I have had to buy one thing for Reese using our own money until this month. Thank you so very much for the extreme generosity given to us this year. I know I can't ever thank everyone enough. And I need to give a shout-out to the generosity showered on us during our stay in the hospital. It brings tears to my eyes to think about the love, prayers, visits, and food we survived on for those 12 days.
(Some of the aftermath of the Conway shower)

8. Reese's Birthday! (September 18) I don't think I need to say much here, and I know several of these pictures have already been posted, but they are worth the extra exposure. The pride and love I saw on these people's faces after learning that Reese had been born make me so happy.
(That's one proud new daddy.)
(And four extremely joyful grandparents.)
(Definition of happiness.)
(A moment I will always remember. Reese had been taken back to the ICN for oxygen treatment, so my parents came in to see me for the first time. What a reunion.)

9. Taking Reese home from the hospital!! (September 30) I remember sitting in our room waiting for the nurse to bring Reese to us so that we could take her home like it was yesterday. I was going to be able to hold Reese for the first time without any cords or wires, and I could hold her any way I wanted. I fed her, got her dressed, and then I just stared for a long time.
(She was staring at us, too.)
(Home. Sweet. Home.)

10. The Holidays. (December) You just read all about our Christmas in Conway in my last post, so I'll stop here.

(These five older cousins adore her, and it was so fun to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season with them.)
(Our little family.)

**Tonight, New Year's Eve 2010, Wes is taking me out to Bonefish Grill for another wonderful dinner date. It will look a little different than last year's date as we will have a 3-month-old in a car seat next to us, but it's guaranteed that a good time is to be had with lots of really great conversation on this big year that's coming to an end.