2008 in a nutshell...

I stole this idea from a good friend and I thought it was just brilliant!
So, here we go... our year in a Nutshell... (I'm only a little late on the recap, but enjoy it none the less)!

January:
The girls...

...turned 1 yr old!

In the middle of the month, we had to go to court in South Dakota...

It was a long trip, but had a great out come! We got to visit the town Jonah lives in and see his house. The Judge was very fair in court and we got everything that we had asked for! It was a huge victory and I am hopeful that it will lead to less fighting and more compromise in the future.

On our way home, Jason and I had the scare of a lifetime as we driving home. The weather was changing and we were trying to get home before it hit. As we were coming out of a slight curve, the truck broke traction and we went sideways down the interstate at 75mph! The cruise control was set and it continued to accelerate the truck and Jason faught to keep it under control. We flew into the median and I was thankful we stopped! Amazingly, we were not hurt and neither was the truck. We did however end up in a horrible snow storm and spent the noc in Iowa...

and drove home the next day.

The gang...

...took John (my FIL) and me out for our birthdays!

February:
St. Valentine's Day...

Annie and her friends

Sammy and his friends...


My Aunt Mary celebrated 25yrs of being the director of Physical Therapy...

My mom, Hope, Aunt Mary and my Aunt Carol with her back to me.

We celebrated...

...my dad's birthday!

Aunt Nea also has a birthday in February, the kids called her on her phone and wished her a happy birthday!

This month was also filled with taking kids to many doctor visits. Annie went to see a pediatric urologist and Sammy had his hearing checked to learn that he wasn't hearing correctly b/c of so much fluid build up!

March:
We celebrated birthdays.
Jason's is first...

He is officially Thirtysomething

next up...

JM and Jonah!

April:
JM and Sammy were the fly boys...

JM took his first flight in an airplane. Sammy has flown a lot!

We celebrated...

my Aunt Cindy's birthday!

May:
Watch OUT!!!

JM is driving!!!

Dr. Day had an old Oak tree fall with a winter storm...

it took several months of working on spliting up the trunk of it.

Sammy had to have...

surgery to place tubes in his ears that was full of tenacious fluid! YUCK!

Sports Day...

this is Sammy's first year to participate! He was sure excited!

Annie of course is a seasoned vetern of Sports Day...

so for her it is all about her friends!

June:
Softball and baseball...

kicked off our summer!

The Canton Cruise-In...

is a well attended event!

Jonah got to stay for several weeks...

over the summer!

Father's Day...

we had a big celebration and it was the last day our house would be the same!
We kicked off our construction project bright and early Monday morning!

The Soliders and Sailors (aka Cuba Carnival) came to town...

the grandpa's noticed they got lots of attention holding the twins!

The twins had their first experience of riding rides...

the cars were their favorite and they got to ride with their good friend Emma!

We wrapped up the month with a family reunion...

it was fun and they had a special little celebration for the "0" birthdays! Which, included my grandma! I won't post which "0" she turned... as she doesn't like to tell people her age (now you know where I get it from)!

July:
Our construction was in full swing and we had ordered new living room furniture...

we welcomed the new furniture since we had sold ours at a garage sale the middle of May!

We attended a party of our good friends...

Hannah and Emma who were celebrating being 7 and 2!

We went swimming...

and we all had lots and lots of fun at the luau!

We visited the Fulton County Fair...

where the kids enjoyed the rides!

And the twins picture...

was on display!

August:
I kept waiting to get Courtney's haircut til Cadie could get her haircut as well...

however, I just couldn't wait any longer and Courtney got her first haircut!

Cadie...

had to get her hair styled too!

Melanie has been doing my hair for years, and she is always so good to my kids and I love it that she took the time to "style" cadie's hair... since she didn't have enough to get it cut! Cadie LOVES to have her hair brushed and wants her hair pulled up when we put Courtney's in pig tails!

School started...

for all the kids except the twins!
Jonah started kindergarten in South Dakota. Unfortunately, due to the distance involved, I don't have any pictures of Jonah's first day.

The Budwieser Horses...

came to Canton to deliver beer the old fashion way! We loved seeing them get ready for the delieveries and how magnificent the team of horses is! We also attended this event with Jen, Hannah and Emma and Annie brought along her friend Skylar!

We got a noc away in Iowa...

when we sold our camper. It was sad to sell it, but we didn't use it enough to justify keeping it. This was really the first time the girls had stayed away from home. They did great! I was shocked, but they seem to enjoy playing in the hotel room!

September:
One of our twin friends got diagnosed with neuroblastoma...

we ordered "Tuesday" shirts to show our support!

We went to watch...

the Canton Friendship Festival Parade

We got to have a day of play...

with Jen and Emma

We also went on a poker run with Charlie & Jen...

to benefit Rob Wilson who has been diagnosed with Lou Gerhigs Disease

October:
We took a mini-trip to Indianapolis...

and I got to visit my best friend, Chrisney and another good friend, Nicole.

This year at the homecoming parade...

Annie got to ride her dad's horse in the parade. She has wanted to do this for several years now and she was finally able to do it this year!

Sammy got hurt at his dad's house...

he had to have 6 stitches. Lesson learned, don't throw toy guns!

We went on the scenic drive...

and captured this beautiful shot up at Mt. Piscah

We now have a new tradition...

of going to Apple Blossom farm on Columbus Day with my best friend Jen!

Canton held its first diabetes walk and we were there!

along with Grandma and Grandpa J

The girls got all dressed up for Halloween...

we went to the school and I did the games for Annie's class party. I had so much fun, and I think the kids did too!

After school, we got ready to go trick or treating...

we had a hippie, a pirate and a transformer. My friend/cousin Debbie asked us to take Austin trick or treating. Austin's grandpa (Debbie's FIL) passed away from complications from chemo.

November:
Kicks off our birthday (errr... holiday) season!
My brother's birthday kicks the month off.
I attended Lyndell Corsaw's (my cousin Mark's dad) and that was a very difficult funeral. Not only did I feel for Lyndell's children, but he was also our neighbor and also ran a business just down the road from us. He was well liked and will be missed greatly!

The anxiously awaited deer season came...

and Jonah got to be here to go deer hunting with his dad!

Then we jump into Thanksgiving...

We gave our Thanks at my grandma's house this year

Days after Thanksgiving is my mom's birthday...

my Mom and I celebrated her birthday at work! We both had to work the noc before her birthday, so I brought in her birthday present to work!

We had our first measurable snow of the season...

and thanks to my best friend, Jen... I learned to go out, scoop it up (being careful that I only got snow) and let the twins play with it inside (and eat it too)!

December:
Was a big month (it always is) as we have winter concerts, birthdays plus Christmas.
Annie (front center)...

performing her skit during the winter concert

Sammmy (lower left corner)...

doing his best to play the drums

We had a big ice storm...

but was lucky enough to not lose power or any trees.

The kids decided to have a skating party for their birthdays...

Sammy's group of friends

Annie's group of friends...

Annie even had some girls spend the noc at our house. That was an experience I will never forget! 3 pre-teen girls is enough to scare the bravest of men!

There is little time from when we celebrate birthdays till....

Christmas...

And it got here way to quick but we all enjoyed spending time with friends and family!!

Jonah got to come here a couple days after Christmas and we spent the Saturday after Christmas with the Churchills. My mom was to have Christmas on Sunday, but ended up very sick with a horrible stomach bug. Eventually, we all ended up with it!

Overall, it was a great year! I am sure glad I had the experience of blogging about it all year long! I look forward to blogging lots this year and I hope your year is Blessed as well.