Ups and Downs

Tom, Carrie and I just returned from Chicago.  The saga continues.  I don't want to get into it onto here, until we know this chapter is closed.  So, for the full story and the heartbreak- just ask someone in my family. 

On a happier note....

Christmas was wonderful.  It was so much fun watching Michael figure out how this whole thing works.  By next year, he will be a pro!  We spent time with my family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then rounded out the Holidays in Wisconsin with Tom's family.  I can honestly say that this was the most excited I have been for Christmas in a long time.  I have always loved this season, but to experience it again through the eyes of your child takes it to a whole new level.  I can only imagine how much fun it will be next year, when he really understands what is going on. 

New Year's Eve was spent in Chicago.  It ended okay with a lovely dinner out and some cocktails that were greatly needed.  Carrie, Tom and I were so beat from the day's events that we were in bed by 10:00.  Let's just hope that 2013 starts off better than 2012 ended. 

Sorry for the "Negative Nancy" post, but we are feeling a bit deflated.  I hope everyone brought in 2013 surrounded by loved ones and happy memories from the year before.

Quiet

I have never been a person that jumps at the opportunity to get started on my day at 6:00 am, but I am finding myself doing just that more and more these days.  Tom and my life has gotten so chaotic with this mess in Chicago and chasing around a toddler that it is nice to just sit in the quiet of the house, all by myself, and have some time to just be.

So, here's to you, 6 am!  I think we will be great friends!

Speaking of 6:00 am....  I am writing this from a condo in Breckenridge, with the fireplace on and the mountain outside my window.  It is delightful!  Tom and I booked a trip out here last August, figuring that it would be nice to come back to where we were engaged 5 years ago (how can it be that long?!).  We spent a day at Keystone and also gave Loveland a try.  Snow has not graced these mountains yet this year, so runs are few and snow is man made.  Nevertheless, we have gotten enough runs in to feel it in our quads, and to really enjoy that "take off your boots" euphoria.

We drove up to Vail last night, and ate chocolate right under the Christmas tree that Tom popped the question by.  After, we dined at Kelly Liken, enjoyed a very nice bottle of wine, talked about what the next five years may look like for us, and just enjoyed being together.  As much as we miss our sweet little boy, we have loved being away, just us two.  It seems that life continues to get busier and busier, so taking some time to leave it all behind and just be with the one you are building a life with seems all the more important.  I love you, Tom.

Now.  Is it time for me to be home to kiss my little man all over his sweet little face?!

Yikes

It has been brought to my attention that this blog has not been updated since June....  This comes from a Mother of newborn twin girls, who has found time to update their blog.  Yikes, I am a slacker! 

Summer was great for all of us.  We spent tons of time at the Cabin, surrounded by family and friends.  Michael started learning the joys of relaxation in the woods, and dipping his cute little toes in the lake.  It also brought the news that he will have a Cousin, who will be born right around (or on) his 2nd birthday.  I am so excited to see another miracle join this family, and for Michael to have a built-in playmate at all family gatherings. 

 Michael's first ride in the tube.  He thought it was boring.

 Getting messy with Finger Paints

 Relaxing at the Lake with Grandpa

Fall has been very busy for us so far.  We feel like we are constantly on the go, with weddings, trips and work.  We witnessed Betsy and Dave, who might as well be siblings to us, welcome their beautiful twin girls into this world.  They are adorable and perfect in every sense of the word.  Michael will have lots of kids now to teach all sorts of mischievous tricks to- sorry guys!

 At a wedding for one a cousin of Tom

Despite the how chaotic things feel, we have managed to get out and do some things as a family that will be memories for us forever.  We took Michael to the Apple Orchard, and he was even quite helpful this year.   He loved pushing the wagon around, and throwing out all of the apples that he didn't think were good enough to eat (which were most of them). 

Last week, we gave him his first try at carving a pumpkin (or, just scooping out the seeds).  He wasn't so sure about it at first, but then couldn't get enough of the goop and we were picking off seeds and guts from every inch of the kitchen.  It was a giant mess, but he loved every minute of it.  He also went out on his first Trick-or-Treating adventure with Tom, as a Dalmatian.  Tom took him to my parent's house, Carrie and Jason's, Brian's and Emily's new house.  By the end of the night, he was starting to figure the whole thing out. 

 Unsure of the guts

 No longer cautious, and getting right in there!

Tom and I have listed our house in Chicago once again, and are hoping to be done with that chapter of our lives soon.  Things have become very messy with that situation (so messy, that I am not even going to dive into it on here- in case it got into the wrong hands), and I need to keep telling myself to take deep breaths and that eventually it will all be okay and that we will come out on top.  Some day, it will be quite the story to post on here for your reading pleasure.  I just hope that by then, I can see the comedy in the situation, and will have forgotten how it feels right now. 

Now that Halloween is out of the way, I am focused on the upcoming Holidays.  Holidays are so much more magical now that Michael is in our lives.  Starting our own family traditions, and watching him take it all in is one of life's simplest treasures.  We will be spending Thanksgiving at my Mom's house with just about everyone from her side of the family.  It will be such a treat to have everyone under one roof, and to have Grandma surrounded by all 10 of her great-grandchildren.  I am going to get a dear friend to take some nice pictures of all of us, since these opportunities come so few and far between.  It will be so special to everyone there. 

We also struck gold with Christmas this year.  I love when Christmas falls on a Monday, Thursday or Friday, but this year with Christmas being on a Tuesday, it allows us to spend it with both sides of our family.  I am very much looking forward to it.  It seems strange to be thinking about Christmas already, but I know it will be here before I even realize it. 

There.  That is our life, all the way through Chrismas, ha!  I guess I am off the hook for posting on here until 2013 at the earliest.  Kidding, kidding....  I am going to be better about keeping this updated- and it is in writing now, so that holds in a court of law (which I am all too familiar with at the moment)!  I hope you all have a blessed November, surrounded by the ones that remind you how lucky you are.