Welcome to 2010

So, a minor deviation from our usual Chicago-theme post. On this, the first day of 2010, I'm going to do a "2009 In Review" post. I was recently on a message board where people were proclaiming their excitement about 2009 ending, and I quickly discovered that we are in the minority as we consider 2009 to have been a great year. And here are the top '09 reasons why (in no particular order)!

The New Additions

2009 was a blessed year for us this year as we welcomed our first nephew, Bryce, into the family. We also were excited to learn about our second niece, scheduled to make an appearance in early 2010. And of course, we continued to love spending time with the very first baby, Nora!

The Move to Chicago

While one of the most chaotic things we did in 2009, we were ecstatic to move to Chicago in May. As you've learned, if you read our blog (which you obviously do!), we are happily settled in the South Loop and really enjoy learning more about our adopted city each day.

New Jobs, New Jobs, New Jobs

This one had to come next since it was so closely related to the move. It was my new job that brought us here, but we were probably the most excited about Eric's new job in September. He's enjoying his position at a school in Hyde Park, which of course gives us a reason to explore another part of the City.

The North Pole vs The Equator

Eric and I spent the week after our wedding in Northern Michigan, in a camper. We had an amazing trip, and enjoyed being somewhere the exact opposite of Chicago. For the first time in his life Eric was closer to the North Pole than he was to the Equator. 

Family Vacations

We were happy to see both of our families quite a bit in 2009. Memorable trips include Craig coming up for the soccer game, the all-girls trip from my mom, both my sisters, and Nora, and Eric and I finally getting the chance to treat my mom and dad to our Happy Day Dinner!

A Big Year in Sports

It's a fortunate thing when one sports fan marries another, and this year Eric and I celebrated our love of sports as much as possible. In 2009 we were lucky to watch, in person, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago White Sox and Eric got to see the US National Soccer team!

Finding "Grace" in Chicago

We feel very blessed to have found a church that was so welcoming when we moved to the City. Grace Episcopal Church in the South Loop has welcomed us with open arms, offering plenty of opportunity to socialize and become involved in the church & neighborhood.

Our First Christmas

We have had three Christmases since we started dating, and yet 2009 was the first year we were together! It was a great few days in Michigan with my parents, sisters & brothers-in-law and of course the little ones!

Our Wedding

Ok, so the first eight were in no particular order, but of course our wedding was the highlight of 2009 for us. We start off 2010 hoping to be at least half as blessed as we were in 2009.

 

And with this we say, thank you for reading our blog and may you have a happy and healthy 2010!