Cheers to a great decade

I still can't quite believe we started a new year/decade last week....I've already had more than one occasion of writing "09" when writing the date out during the past couple of days. Honestly, I cannot fathom how fast time seems to be going- certainly the older I get the quicker the years fly by and I'm pretty sure parenthood has made time go even more rapidly. I like many others have used this time of year to reflect on where I've been and look ahead to where I'm going. So many wonderful memories of the 2000s and so much to look forward to in the years to come!

Here are some of my highlights of the past decade:

• Senior year of college living with some of my most wonderful girlfriends...all of which I can say are still near and dear to me (even though we don't get to be together as much as we used to).
• Graduating from WSU in 2001 and heading west to Seattle to start my career as a teacher. I think back to my tiny little apartment in West Seattle that was all I could afford at the time....it wasn't much but it was mine!
• Falling in love with my husband during that first year after college after a random night out with mutual friends (Thanks to Cliff and Marcy!)
• The births of 2 nieces and 5 nephews all of which have brightened my days.
• Getting engaged, planning a memorable wedding, marrying my best friend and escaping on a fabulous honeymoon.
• Speaking of weddings-- this past decade was FILLED with them (too many to count) and every single one gave me an opportunity to share in the joy with friends and family.
• Learning and growing in my career...making a difference in the lives of some of the most precious kids on earth, many of whom came from so little. Their little faces are priceless reminders of the reasons I became a teacher.
• Trips to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexico, Hawaii, Montana, Las Vegas, and Washington DC/Virginia (to name a few) provided time with friends and family and memories to last a lifetime.
• Buying our first home and making it ours then filling it with a puppy and then our baby boy! Now that was a life changer!
• Making the move back to Spokane to be closer to our families and have a simpler life. It was a stressful time but overall a positive change for our family.
• Watching Dylan grow up before my very eyes into the little boy he is today. Words cannot describe how amazing this journey has been thus far.

Looking back makes me so excited to look forward. We already have so much to anticipate this year, especially the birth of #2 this June. Cheers to 2010!