2012 in review

2011 brought a lot of trials and after having 19 months of heartache I had high hopes for 2012.  I really hoped there would be no deaths, cancer scares, etc.  Who was I kidding?  I don’t have that kind of control.  Instead, I tried to embrace each moment.  The good.  The bad.  And the oh so ugly.  There were a lot of moments in each of those categories, trust me.  But, the main thing is that I hope I maneuvered through this year with grace.  {Please say I did!}

In January we had our third death in the family in 5 months.  My grandpa Bailey passed away at age 83.  I treated myself with a new lens as a college graduation present.  And I found the best cinnamon roll recipe.  Yum!

On February 4th, we celebrated my 23rd birthday and had dinner at PF Changs.  (Not my usual Macaroni Grill.)  I got to see my first ballet since I performed in one over nine years ago.  I watched the Oscars with my high school friends.  And we got very little snow during the 2011-2012 winter season.

In March, dad and I went train chasing.    I also photographed a fashion show at the mall for Cinderella’s Closet.  Spring came early and Abby and I spent many days sitting out on the front porch.  We also spent many hours chasing bubbles in our backyard.  She loved it! T-shirts and shorts were brought out occasionally and I read the entire Hunger Games trilogy in 4 days.  (I’ve never read a book that fast in my life, yet alone 3!)  Mom had surgery for carpal tunnel on her elbow.  The month ended with another one of my high school friends getting married.

In April I said goodbye to my favorite tv show, One Tree Hill.  We celebrated mom’s birthday in Kansas City.  I embarked on a fun document journey and participated in Ali Edwards’ Week in the Life.  I (we) struggled with the fact that there was movement in the cancer cells in dad’s body.  We spent a day wandering around Weston and got some flowers.

May came with a lot of celebrations and a lot of heartache.  Some of my college friends and I traveled to Wisconsin to see another college friend get married.  The day after I got back I started my new job at Snorkel.  Dad had a scare and we found out he had a gangrene gall bladder and had it removed immediately.  Mom and I visited the farmers market on Saturday mornings.  We moved my grandmother into a nursing home because her health declined dramatically.  On the 28th, we celebrated the 2 year diagnosis date of dad’s cancer.  I also started my 101 in 1001 project this month.

I traveled to St. Louis in early June for a wedding.  And I traveled to south Missouri for the wedding reception for Mallory (whose wedding was in Wisconsin the month before).

In July we celebrated the 4th at our family friend’s annual party.  My baby girl, Abby turned eleven.  I spent a week stuck to the sofa with an awful tummy bug.  My family had our fourth family death in 11 months.  My grandmother on my mom’s side passed away at the age of 90.  I took mom to get her first gel nail manicure and she fell in love (she has been getting her nails done ever since).  And my dad (and mom) left for Kansas City to have his second bone morrow transplant.

On August 2nd, dad had his second bone morrow transplant.  On the 4th, my parents celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary at the Hope Lodge.  Unfortunately they celebrated with doctor’s appointments, dad feeling awful from the chemo he received a few days prior, and with mom fulfilling his every need, getting him to try to eat, tying his shoes, etc.  I held down the fort while my parents were gone and Abby and I spent many nights going for evening walks.  I also hosted a few girl nights to keep me from getting too lonely.  Abby and I took a trip to KC to have a girl date with our friends Jenny (human) and Gracie (dog).  My friend Ashton and I went to our town’s annual festival, Trails West, where we got to see Hunter Hayes perform.  I celebrated my uncle’s first Heaven birthday, it was bittersweet.  We had a balloon release party and it was awesome to see how many people showed up.  I bought another lens, this time a macro.  I photographed my first wedding and dad (and mom) was deemed healthy enough to come home.  {happy day}

In September, I joined Junior League and started weekly evening walks with my friend Abbey.  The new iPhone came out and mom and I both upgraded, but we had to wait until October to receive them.  Junior League also had our first annual 5K/10K run and mom and my aunt both walked their first 5K.  They did great!

October was an extremely busy month.  I had something going on every single weekend. Mom and I picked pumpkins.  I went to my second Chiefs Game (we lost).  The trees changed colors and made our town absolutely beautiful.  (I love fall!)  Dad started to grow some hair and was insistent to get out and wash my car even though he was still in isolation for another month.  We celebrated dad’s birthday with homemade cheesecake that I made!

The beginning of November was bittersweet.  Mom and I placed flowers on my grandpa’s grave in honor of his first heaven birthday.  My girlfriends and I went to Iowa for a girl trip. We went wine tasting and had a blast!  I voted for my second time.  I went bridesmaid shopping with Kristin and the girls, and went to wedding #3 of 7.  We had a small, quiet Thanksgiving at home.  And we ended the month with the best news I could ever hear. Daddy is in complete remission!

December was very, very busy.  As if the holidays weren’t crazy enough, I embarked on a new tradition, December Daily, which documents the days leading up to Christmas.  I love it because my parents, especially my dad, get really excited to see what my pages turn out like.  I so love how they are enjoying this new tradition too.  I was also very adamant to stick to our advent calendar that I made last year (we didn’t follow it at all in 2011), which also provided us with something to do every day leading up to Christmas.  (Things like decorate the house, certain events I wanted to make sure we went to, etc.)  We didn’t stick to it quite so closely, but much better than last year.  On the second day of December, we went to Squaw Creek for Eagle Days.  We saw about seventeen bald eagles, the most we have ever seen in one trip.  We also witnessed them calling to each other and fly over our heads.  It was beautiful!  We finally got some snow this month.  The first real snow fall in almost 2 years.  We celebrated Christmas with my cousin and aunt and her family.  And my little family went to our annual Christmas day movie and saw Parental Guidance.  So funny!  Of course, we couldn't end our year on a happy note.  Dad spent the last 3 days of 2012 in the hospital.  We are taking it one day at a time.  We think the new chemo is source of his fever and platelet/white count drop.  We are still waiting.

2012, I'm kind of glad you are over.  Bring on 2013!