Tuesday, January 3, 2012

What Wonders Await?

I know I'm a few days late, but Welcome, 2012!  Oh, what wonders wait in store for us this year?  How could you, with your sleek-sounding name that just trips off the tongue, you with your perfect "2" bookmarks on each end, possibly top those amazing moments and milestones of your predecessor, 2011? 

Tell ya what...you'd better try your darndest.  I have very high expectations here based on 2011's stellar performance.  And don't pull any of that end-of-the-world crap.  I'm not buyin' it.  Let's just re-set that Mayan calendar, shall we?

And not to sweep 2011 completely under the rug, I'd like to pay tribute to a year that surpassed all we could have hoped for, by leaps and bounds, a year of the joys of childhood, the maturity into a young lady (Samantha, not me...), the end of years of searching for lost family, the making of new friends, and so, so, so much more.

In the words of the perfectly-coiffed, impeccibly-dressed, gleaming-toothed, incredibly boooooring Steve Jones (host of the X-Factor, if you didn't know...), "And now, the results, in NO particular order..."

1.  Steve's long search comes to an end (or has it?), when he finds a first cousin and two siblings for whom he'd been looking for many, many years.

2.  Samantha graduates preschool and begins Kindergarten, in circumstances we could only describe as perfect.  Perfect placement, perfect teachers.  After so much fear and trepidation, I just can't say enough about the last 4 months!!

3.  Samantha starts reading!!  We'd been working on it bit by bit for a year, starting in 2010, but 3 weeks into Kindergarten, she proved she's her mother's daughter by bringing home a library book, sitting down with it, and reading it cover to cover.

4.  Samantha loses two teeth!  Right on time.  Mommy and Daddy weren't really ready for that, but Child took it all right in stride!

5.  Samantha turns 5.  Oh, that was a tough one...my little baby's growing up!!! 

6.  Samantha decides that she's going to take being a big girl very seriously, and, two weeks before her birthday, decides that pull-ups at night are a thing of the past.  Hooray! 

7.  We all take a real vacation including a long road trip south and the beach.  Samantha was an angel the whole time.  Gotta do that again soon...

8.  Steve and I celebrate our 20th anniversary.  Wow!

9.  We see the removal of Sammi's bedrail and the child-proof doorknob on her bedroom door, allowing her a whole new freedom, which she respects beautifully.  Did we really expect different?

10.  Samantha's fine motor skills really take off - she writes her name on just about everything (future tagger, perhaps?  I once dated a guy in Germany when I was 15 whose name was scrawled on nearly every flat surface of the city we in which we lived - he carried his markers around with him...), and shocked me two weeks ago by buttoning up her cardigan all. by. herself. 

See, I warned you they were in no particular order!  But they all made 2011 a really exciting, special and important year for us.  I feel like I've learned as much as Samantha in some respects, and recognize that minds stay young and healthy by being open to continually learning new things.  Maybe next year I'll be 23 again, right??

Hope you all have a very happy and healthy New Year!

Samantha with the new toy kangaroo sent to her by a new friend/lost family member in Australia

17 comments:

Rob Monroe said...

Love the kangaroo!

You are right, 2012 has a lot to live up to! You-keen-dooo-eeet! :)

Anna Theurer said...

Happy New Year! It sounds like 2011 was a year of many wonderful firsts. Go Sammi go!

Krista said...

Sounds like a great year. And seriously, can. not. get over that girl's beauty!!! Blessings in 2012!!!

lovemy3 said...

Happy New Year! I hope you know how much I love your updates! They always make look so forward to our future with Hailey!

Education: Exploring Online Learning said...

Happy New Year! Love that pic of Sammi... what a big year for her!

alicia said...

wow this was an amazing year for you, perharps you would love to share some teaching to read tips for us?? :)

well im sure 2012 would be greater than 2011! and im glad to be here to 'read' it!

hugs

Anna said...

Becca, so glad to be home and sitting at the computer.Also glad that there isn't a video cam as I am still in my VS pjs and the pile of paper on the computer table is taller than the screen. (the list of to-dos is big but for today the top of the list is rest.) I enjoyed reading your past weeks posts and seeing your Christmas/ New Year holiday unfold before my eyes. Your Sammi is beautiful and quite an inspiration! I pray 2012 is bigger and better and agree with your sentiments on the Mayan calendar!

Heather said...

I sit in wonderment reading all of it.

Thrilled for Steve and this bridge he has built from past to present.

20 years. We will hit 25 in May and I know, all to well, what it takes to reach this milestone in a marriage.

And Samantha. Wow. Just plain wow. I cannot imagine what the next year will hold for her and for you all. Proud must be an understatement.

Zoey turns 5 in two very short months. what her life has held, to this point, blows my mind.The differences in Zoey and Sammi are well, obvious, but what is similar is the the joy and beauty the elude. The lessons they teach us all about the tiny spirits, within tiny bodies, who much of the world deems imperfect, but we know otherwise.

thank you for sharing your girl and your life with her. We are all blessed because of it.

That little package is still coming. Just have been sidelined with, well, life. Could you please send me your address again, just in case I go looking and can't find it?

Lacey said...

Here's to a great 2012! That beautiful girl has grown up so much, I can't wait to see what this year brings!

CJ said...

She is so beautiful and I have SO enjoyed watching her grow!!

Unknown said...

Happy 2012!! I cannot believe what a BIG girl Sammi is! she rocked 2011 and this year will just be bigger and sweeter! smiles

Leah said...

Definitely a big and wonderful year! I can't wait to see what other exciting things she'll be doing this year!

The Annessa Family said...

Getting to hold and hug your sweet girl was one on my 2011 highlights! She's such a dream.


Brooke
www.TheAnnessaFamily.com

Wendy said...

What a wonderful year for all of you!!! and Happy New year!

Cheryl said...

Congrats on the 20 year mark!
Sammi is doing so great! She is a huge encouragement to me!Thank you for sharing her accomplishments with us. Hope you have a wonderful 2012.Can't wait to see what Sammi amazes us with this year. :)

Meriah said...

a great year indeed! xo

ps. feedjit says I am in "Constacion, Mexico" or something like that, but I'm actually in Santa Rosalia, best blast from the past town ever. Get it right, feedjit.

Melissa said...

I've loved watching Sammi grow and change over the past year and can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for her. And you!