Good-bye 2013!

It's New Year's Eve: My baby is sleeping, Bobby is working, and I am at home with PJ's on, ready to sleep at 9 PM.  Oh how things have changed throughout the years.  When I turned 30 years old another teacher told me, "Oh, my 30's were the best!  They were just great years spent with awesome family memories."  My 30th year has been exactly that, and I cannot wait for more.

2013 brought some big things to our family...

• Bobby started at a new fire department.  This was a big deal because this new department signified Bobby achieving his dream.  There have been moments in our past years together that we both wondered, "Is it going to happen?  Will Bobby be even be able to achieve this dream?"  God has blessed us so much, and Bobby and I both feel so fortunate that he is part of a prestigious fire department in a big city.  It's what my husband has always wanted and I just couldn't be any more proud of him.
• This year we watched as our baby turned into a toddler.  It's been sad at times when I look at old pictures of Mari's chubby little baby face, but I just enjoy her SO much these days.  She is such a spit-fire... she has so much personality and it just bursts at the seams.  When she is mad- you know it.  If she's grumpy- there's no question.  But when she's happy- you can't help but be happy too.  There have been a couple times when Bobby and I were playing with her and I looked at him and said, "How did we get so lucky?"  It is exactly how I feel... so fortunate to be her mom.  I once heard a mother say that she prayed every day for her daughter to be a "blessing to others."  That prayer has already been achieved for us because Mari is such a blessing to so many people already.
• 2013 brought a big move to our family!  At the beginning of the summer we decided to put our house up for sale.  We really didn't know what to expect and just kind of hoped that it would all work out somehow.  Amazing how God always has his hand in things.  We didn't know how important the move was until it actually happened.  I don't know how I would be doing this school year if we still lived in Independence... with Bob at his new job (and getting home later) and me trying to get Mari to my mom's house, it really has been crucial that we live in Hebron.  We sold our house in about a month after getting a realtor.  We didn't go in the hole from the sale (we didn't make much, but at least we stayed in the green!) and we bought a house that we will raise our family in, and most likely retire from.  It's been fun (and expensive!) as we make this house a home, but it's coming along beautifully.  Our neighborhood and neighbors have been awesome (even shoveling our driveway for us when Bob was working during two big snows!), and the distance from my parent's house has been such a blessing.  It will be EVEN MORE of a blessing as we welcome Baby James in March.
• This year, we also found out we were expecting our second child.  We didn't expect to have our two children so close together but we know that it's totally in God's plan for our family.  In addition, we found out our baby was going to be a BOY.  Bob is one of the last males to have the Alcock name and was so excited to pass it down to a boy.  He also wanted to have a junior in order to honor his grandfathers- Grandpa Robert (Bob) Raymond and Grandpa James (Jim) Alcock.  In just a few months we will be welcoming Baby James into the world.  We are so excited.

2013 has been so good to us.  GOD has been so good to us.  Along with the above milestones we were able to travel to Colorado to visit Bob's sister and her family, welcome babies of close friends into this world, celebrate in pregnancy news with friends, find a new church that is closer to our new home, and have countless moments together as a family.  I look forward to walking into 2014 with my family and my God by my side.

Here are some random pictures to wrap up the year.  First are some pictures of Mari in her Christmas dress.  I wish we would have gone outside and taken some good ones, but it's all I have.  Oh well, next year.  :)  Also, our neighbors got husky puppies for Christmas.  There is a hole in the fence and sometimes the huskies come over to play with Huntley.  Whenever this happens, Mari is overjoyed and wants to go out to see the dogs.  She squeals "DAAAWWW!  DAAWW!"  until we finally get her suited up and outside to see the dogs.  Here are some pictures of one of those days that Bobby got to take her out to see the "daws."

Happy New Year Everyone!