Looking back at 2012

Looking back at it, 2012 wasn't a life changing year, or a year full of huge changes and ups and downs. 2012 was a perfectly comfortable year. The biggest change was that my sister, brother and his girlfriend moved to Texas, but I wouldn't consider that a huge deal in my life (even though I do love having family around, it was more of a life changer for them). I think we needed a year like 2012. A year where we just went about our lives. We had a lot of good times, took some trips, and really bonded as a family.

I think the kids had an awesome year. We did quite a bunch as a family, Sea World, Fiesta Texas, Great Wolf Lodge etc, and they spent all summer in California with my dad, fishing, swimming, boat rides etc. When I sit down and think about it, they are some lucky little kids who have a lot of people who love them and want to do fun things with them. I'm hoping they know this as they continue to grow older and also keep showing their appreciation for the things they have and the people in their lives. 

Mike and I had a wonderful 2012. When the boys left for California, we took that as a chance to spend some quality time together. We went on movie dates, and dinner dates. We went to a couple social gatherings, and even took a trip to Dallas and to Salado. For the year prior to that California trip, if we wanted to do dinner, the boys had to come. If we wanted to see an R rated movie, we had to wait till it came out on DVD and watch it when the kids went to bed. We came out here and had no babysitting options or family so they boys were apart of everything we did. Being able to date my husband for those 2 months really did wonders for us and it really reminded us why we are together and made us a stronger family. 

After a year like 2012, I'm ready for some big "grown up" changes in 2013. Mike and I are finally in a position where home ownership is in our very near future. We took a swing in 2012 and attempted to secure a home loan (it wasn't a pre-planned attempt, it was just an offer that came at us and was too good to pass up). Even though it didn't happen, I'm so glad we took that swing because it showed us how close we are to reaching that goal and what little fixes we need to make. We are currently correcting what needs to be done and I'm confident we'll be spending next Christmas in our new house. 

2013 will be a good year. I know it. It will be the year we buy a house. It will be the year Joey starts "big boy" school. It will be the year we travel back to California for the first time since we left. And finally, it will be the year I hit the lotto......I just know it