2007: A Year in Review

Tonight, Meg stays with Granddaddy and Grandma, and Jim and I get to spend some time alone together and with friends to celebrate the end of a very special year for our family. Before the celebrating begins, I wanted to spend a few minutes reflecting . . . thinking about all that 2007 meant to me.

Here is my year in review . . . (complete with photos, of course)

January: Started with a BANG on Jan 4th when my dad was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital from the emergency room for his second bout with throat cancer. He was in the hospital off and on for most of January, must to our family’s dismay. I won’t lie – it was very, very hard for me to juggle my new family and all the responsibilities it brings and handle the situation with my father. It was a cold January, and I’ll remember it always because of many, many cold early morning trips to the hospital. Jim and I celebrated our 28th and 29th birthdays (me being the elder), and Meg was 6 months old. While I was taking care of my dad, she was busy mastering things like eating solids and sipping from her cup. She also began taking swimming lessons for the first time, which was much fun for all.

February: This month was also clouded with my dad’s cancer and recovery. He was to have his major surgery on Feb 14th . . . but it was delayed a week at the LAST minute (literally – he was on the table ready for surgery) because of equipment complications. His surgery ended up being completed on Feb 21st, and it went as WELL as we could have possibly hoped. He went into the surgery with the possibility that he might lose his entire voice box, and came out cancer free without even a stitch on him – the surgery was able to be done with lasers. It was an amazing time. After about 4 days in the hospital, he recovered at our home for another week. I will also remember that time because I was hit with a terrible stomach virus just one day after he came home to my house . . . and I was deathly afraid I was going to pass it to him. I didn’t --- but he did find himself recovering AND helping me care for Meg for a 48 hour period! Jim was fantastic in this time, and was home to help us quite a bit. He even managed to get Meg to begin taking naps on her own (no rocking to sleep) during his time on daddy-duty.

March: By mid-March, life was back on track. It had truly been a long two months, but we made it through and everyone was feeling better. Meg and I enjoyed being together all the time again . . . and we were busy with consignment sales, swimming, and a visit from Nana and Papa that month. It was a take-it-easy kinda time, recovering from all that January and February had held for us. At this time in the year, Jim and I really started thinking about putting our house on the market . . . and we began talking to mortgage brokers and real estate agents about this idea. We also started looking for a new home, and we spend many March and April weekends driving around, house hunting.

April: Spring time and many, many events filled our April 2007. My dad and I took Meg to Sanford Stadium for a (COLD!) G-Day game . . .and I nursed Meg in the bleachers! We visited the Dogwood Festival, had a wonderful Easter dinner with our friends the Bartholomews, and welcomed a new friend, Henry Maguire Brune, at the end of the month. During this time, my photography business was picking up a little . . . I did my first “newborn shoot” for the Brunes, and I took Easter pictures for the Harvell Family. I think this must have been about the time that I was starting to hear the encouragement to get out and start my own business . . . but little did I know it would all happen so fast.

May: Our family made an awesome trip to the Beach with our friends the Kibbes and the Winbushes to celebrate my first Mother’s Day. Meg was walking just a bit at that time . . . but not enough to handle the sand, of course. Instead, she just ate a lot of it. Jim’s family came for another visit and helped us truly get our house ready for sale. By mid-May, we had a “For Sale By Owner” sign in front of 1239 Cameron Creek . . . and by the end of the month, we were officially listed with Harry Norman relators. It was a scary and exciting endeavor for us . . . but we KNEW it was the right decision. And, by end of May, we had a full-blown walking toddler at our house!

June: Ah, so much in June. We started out with a family trip to Hilton Head . . . the driving was a bit of a disaster on the way there and home, but the time at the beach was fantastic. We spent 4 days together, playing at the beach and watching our daughter enjoy the new sights and sounds. After returning home, it was full steam ahead for the one year birthday celebration. Meg’s 1st birthday party was QUITE a bash – with over 70 guests in attendance. It was simply perfect, thanks to all of our family and friends. Jim also celebrated his first father’s day this month, which I know was special to him. Photography was really kickin’ in now . . . I had temporary business cards and a make-shift website that made me feel as if this photo business thing might actually turn into something. The house was on the market, but times were slow at first . . . a few lookers, not too much activity . . . and then a BIG bite at the very end of the month.

July: The month of our mid-west tour. We left for a wedding in Chicago on July 4th, spent 5 fun-filled days in the city, then journeyed over to Kansas for a week with the Dahlbys. More family joined us, and we spent another week at the family lake house at the Lake of the Ozarks. It was an unforgettable trip – mostly because we found out we were expecting a baby one day into our Chicago visit. This surprise was outstanding and so amazing . . . we were giddy for the entire trip. The house also sold in July – yahoo!! And . . . after much back-and-forth with the real estate agents and a relocation company . . . we purchased 3236 Talimore Circle. We closed on the homes just days after returning from our 18 day trip to the Midwest, and we were sleeping at the new place by the last weekend in July. WHEW – what a whirlwind that was. And – because of the hasty timing – we moved OURSELVES! It was a crazy month, but ended with a new baby and a new house, so we were certainly beside ourselves.

August: Quite a bit of August was spent settling in to the new place, as could be expected. Meg and I enjoyed a week-long music camp, in between unpacking and unwrapping. Our 4th wedding anniversary was on August 16th, and I woke to find an email with a website link to the Barbados getaway Jim had planned for us to celebrate. Unfortunately, August 16th was also the day that I miscarried and we lost our second baby. It was all taken care of so quickly, and my family was a huge help in my physical recovery. Emotionally, I was a wreck for a while to come. Meg stared her one-day-a-week preschool program in August, and it was a BIG hit. She loved it from day one. Leaving her on that first day was a strange feeling, but knowing she was having so much fun made it easier for me. The month ended with another wedding celebration – this time for our friends Cliff and Erica. August wasn’t the best month of the year, but we made it through.

September: I just have to say it: I was sad for most of September. The miscarriage had hit me harder than I ever thought it would, but I managed to keep my head above water and try to enjoy things with my life and my family. My September, HD Portraits was truly in full swing, so I dedicated a lot of my free time to that in the month of September. I began working on my “real” website, to an official logo and “real” business cards, and began planning for holiday shoots. The new house was coming along great – in September, we had new kitchen counters installed, as well as a new tile backsplash. Meg got her first haircut, and we took her to Iowa to attend a Dahlby wedding. Another football season began, and our weekends were spent watching Georgia and Georgia Tech . . . and arguing over how we should dress Meg for each game. Meg had her first real illness – a battle with Rotavirus that never actually ended up with a doctor visit, but many phone calls and about 10 days of no eating. She continued to love preschool, swimming, and music . . . all of which kept both Meg and I very busy.

October: was a good month. Jim and I spent 5 days in Barbados, forgetting our troubles and drinking beer by the pool. More and more photo shoots were booking, and I was so so busy with my new business. And, I got pregnant again . . . which was just a wondrous, miraculous, fabulous miracle. How LUCKY we were to be able to get pregnant the first time we tried after losing Baby # 2 . . . and how MUCH it helped to lift my sprits and boost my moral. October ended with several Halloween celebrations, all of which were entertaining for kids and parents alike. We trick-or-treated in our new neighborhood, 16 month-old Meg dressed as a black cat and Jim, Me, and my parents tagging along behind her.

November: SWAMPED with holiday portraits, that is what November meant to me – and to Jim, who was super-dad and took care of Meg on many weekend days while I was off shooting. So so busy and so so delighted that business for HD Portraits had taken off as it had. Meg and I battled a stomach flu together – which I’ll NEVER forget. That sickness aside, I felt great off and on in November . . . my pregnancy was still new, and I did battle the normal early-pregnancy side effects. I was SO nervous for most of this month – on 11/27 we had a 9 week ultrasound with was perfect and helped to ease my nerves (just a bit). Thanksgiving was spent with my parents in Newnan, a nice, cozy, quite weekend with them. We also attending the Georgia/GT game – which Georgia won – and had a really fun time (well, at least I had a fun time). Lots of shopping and holiday preparations began early . . . and plans to head west in mid-December to see Jim’s family were in full swing.

December: this month, which has flown as fast – or maybe faster – than the preceeding 11. I cranked out over 2000 holiday cards for 20+ families, plus shoot after shoot after shoot. It was phenomenal to have had this much business in my first year IN the business. We went to parties, took Meg to parties, and just partied ourselves for several weeks. Meg began to talk more and more – and now has several words in her vocabulary (including Oreo). On 12/17, we had our 12 week prenatal checkup and heard a strong heartbeat (160+) . . . I cried like a baby. A lot of relief was felt that day. We went to Kansas and Iowa to join in the Dahlby family Christmas celebrations. We returned home and had our own Christmas HERE with my family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And, as the year ended, we just spent time together, enjoying our family and planning for 2008.

Writing this really had allowed me to reflect on what an up-and-down year 2007 was for me and my family. The downs of my father’s illness, my miscarriage . . . the ups of our wonderful getaways, Meg’s first birthday, and two pregnancies. What a year. I wonder what 2008 will hold . . . another new baby, we know . . . but what else? We have grand plans for our house . . . no vacation plans to date . . . and just hope to be as healthy and happy as we’ve been this year. I certainly do pray that the “highs” will higher and the “lows” will be fewer in the year to come.

Happy New Year, Everyone!