Year in Review: 2010

January
*We held our annual New Year's Day party with friends. (Thankfully no one was sick, so we didn't have to cancel like in 2009!)

*I got the boys started with their own blogs. Unfortunately I didn't follow through with encouraging them to use it. They blogged a few times each.

*I resigned my position as a Pampered Chef consultant. Very freeing!

*Memaw passed away from Alzheimer's complications a few days after her 83rd birthday.

February
*Jacob celebrated his 7th birthday on the 6th. Billy celebrated his birthday on the 16th.

*Caleb participated in the Kaufman County Spelling Bee.

*We got about 7 or 8 (or more?) inches of snow. It was nice the first day. The second and third days, not so much.

March
*Caleb celebrated his 10th birthday on the 13th.

*The boys took turns passing some fever virus back and forth, postponing their spring break twice.

*I did several things while the boys were gone for spring break (finally): got my teeth cleaned, got my hair cut, colored it, planted shrubs in the flower bed, went to Dallas Blooms for the first time, ate at Ali Baba (Mediterranean buffet), and discovered the Mediterranean Wrap at Jason's Deli, among other things.

April
*I blogged my 300th post with this site.

*Billy got a new Mini Cooper. We traded in my van, so now I'm driving the Rendezvous. It felt big at first, but I quickly got used to it. I don't miss the van at all.

*Jacob had a bike wreck that left me feeling woozy. It turned out to be minor scrapes. Adrenaline rushes are not my friend.

*We took a field trip to Grapevine, TX, to see glassblowers and a metalsmith. We got lucky and were able to visit a bronze sculptor, too!

May
*We took a road trip to Louisiana for Mother's Day (and so Billy could break in his new car). We visited Yvonne and the boys at their farm/ranch and played with the miniature horses.

*The boys spent a few days with Billy's parents. We met at Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX, so I could bring them back home.

June
*Since we got a later start beginning school, we finished up a week or so into June.

*The boys took a quick trip to visit my parents.

*The boys spent a week with Billy's parents.

*Mama and I took a wire-wrapping course in Tyler, TX, from a master artist from Hot Springs, AR. Fun! It opened up new doors of jewelry-making for me and left me with a desire to learn more about the process.

July
*We were too busy for me to blog in July!

*We met some other moms and kids from the neighborhood at the pool!

*The boys took swimming lessons from Kathy Self again this year. She does wonders with them!

*Mama came for a visit so we could practice more of our wire-wrapping.

*We had a week of cowboy-themed VBS. I was in charge of games this year instead of just helping with them. It worked out well, but I was exhausted every day. Thankfullyl the boys' swimming lessons were still going on, so I was able to get in the pool and cool off.

*Caleb went to pre-teen camp - and LOVED it! Jacob was beside himself the whole week because his brother and best friend was gone, but we did some special things with him so he didn't feel so left out.

*The boys spent another week with Billy's parents.

August
*We started back to school - on time - and got into a really good routine.

*We spent lots of time at the pool.

September
*We went to the Smoky Mountains for a later summer vacation. We visited Chattanooga and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for a week. Our days were jam-packed and we were exhausted when we got back home. The boys said it was their best vacation ever. Their favorite thing was riding the rides (especially the bumper cars!) at Dollywood.

*We began a two-month period of hosting our home team and leading it in a discussion of various themes in The Lord of the Rings. We had some great discussions and some fun LOTR-themed snacks!

October
*We went back to the Fort Worth Zoo for their annual Home School Day.

*We took a field trip to Cici's Pizza. Fun and tasty!

*We finished our two months of hosting/leading the home team.

*We also hosted the missionary dinner, part of our church's annual International Missions Conference. The Spaughs (Guatemala, with CAM) were our missionaries for the evening.

November
*I celebrated my 41st birthday on the 11th.

*I went to a SWIM seminar on Bible study methods, led by Dr. Howard Hendricks himself.

*I learned how to make baklava. Delicious!

*The boys started playing basketball with Lake Pointe Sports.

*I finally got to taste the much-raved-over (by Billy) roast that Dave makes every year for Billy's office's annual Soup Day (the week of Thanksgiving). I must have more!

*We traveled to Louisiana for our annual family Thanksgiving gathering. It was a lot of fun, but the crowd was smaller. Hopefully it'll be back up again next year.

December
*I made a sweet potato cheesecake - the first real cheesecake I ever made. It looked horrible because I didn't realize it needed to refrigerate for more than an hour or two before serving. It fell to pieces! It tasted great, thougn - and it was even better the next day! I can't wait to make another one.

*I made lots of handmade/homemade things for Christmas gifts this year: wire-wrapped pendants, a ring, an afghan, 17 caps for my Cubbies, and baklava. The boys painted some ceramic mugs at a local shop to give as gifts.

*I read 44 books this year!

I wonder what 2011 has in store...