Goodbye 2008. Hello 2009!

As I sit here on New Year's Eve day thinking about 2008, I am sad, happy, blessed, and looking forward to the future.

2008 started with the birth of Reagan Lauren Lindsey, my sister's first child. I rushed to Atlanta on January 5th to be with Elissa and Steve as they welcomed Reagan into the world. It was an awesome experience and a joyful time for our entire family.

In February, we celebrated my mom's 57th birthday. It was bitter sweet because she was ill and bald from chemo, but happy because she had made it through another year.

March brought sadness for the Fink side of the family. My grandpa Fink passed away after a "too" short battle with multiple myeloma cancer. We celebrated his life shortly after Easter with a beautiful service at his long time church in Houston.

April was a great month. My mom finished chemo and got a CA125 blood test result that was really good. It looked like the chemo had worked. Her hair began growing back and things seemed to be "normal" again.

In May, I had an emergency appendectomy that was scary but ultimately resulted in the BEST NEWS! I was pregnant. After several years of trying for #2 and several failed infertility treatments, God blessed us with another little angel. Olivia also performed in her first dance (ballet) recital this month. It was adorable to watch. I am looking forward to many more!

We took our first family vacation in June. (Just Adam, Olivia, and me) We went to Hot Springs, AR and then to Atlanta. More to come about the trip in July. In AR, we took Olivia to Lake Hamilton and spent an awesome day on the lake as a family.

July started in Atlanta. We took Olivia to Aunt Sissy and Uncle Steve's house for the first time. The girls had so much fun going to Varsity, the Georgia Aquarium, and their first Braves/Astros game! Too bad for Adam, the Astros lost! It was a great time, but July wasn't all good. We found out that Adam's sister, Bree, had lost her eye in a firework accident and my mom was told that she had 2 new tumors growing in her abdomen. We knew it would be a long fall.

In August, my mom and I took Olivia to her first Circus. She loved it. We had great seats and Olivia was mesmerized by the show. Elissa brought Reagan to Dallas and we took the girls to the American Girl store and cafe for their first ladies night! Just a few weeks later, I was back in Dallas for work. My mom spent 3 action packed, summer days taking care of Olivia for me before she got sick and was hospitalized due to the cancer recurrence. We also found out that baby #2 was a girl in August! We were thrilled to have another little princess!

September marked Olivia's 3rd birthday and Adam's 35th. We celebrated Olivia's birthday at Chuckie Cheese. She had a great time and it helped take our minds of mom's illness. On September 18th at 5:43 a.m., we lost my mom to ovarian cancer. That is a day that will be on my mind and in my heart forever.

October was a month of getting back to normal after being in Dallas for 8 weeks caring for my mom while she was on hospice. I celebrated my 31st birthday less than 2 weeks after burying my mother. (Not much of a celebration, but Adam and my friends made it nice!) I went back to work after being on leave and Olivia dressed up like an adorable butterfly for Halloween!

In November, we hosted our first "big" family Thanksgiving. My brother, Adam's brother, his wife, and daughter, Adam's dad and step-mom, Adam's grandma, and our neighbor, Dave, all joined us for Thanksgiving. We had a lot of delicious food and lots of laughs. I found out that I was getting "laid off" 2 days before Thanksgiving, but nothing was keeping us from having a good holiday this year!

That brings me to December, we spent Christmas at home with my brother and my sister, her husband, and daughter. It was great to be together. We took Olivia to see Disney Live and the Rockette's...she loved both! We have been preparing for our new arrival and looking forward to a new year.

Losing my grandfather and mother all in one year was hard, but by no means can I say that 2008 was a "bad year." Our family received so much love and so many blessings that it would be harsh to call the year a bad one. I am looking forward to what 2009 will bring. I am praying for a safe delivery and healthy daughter in January. I pray that cancer will rest for now in our family and that all the money and time going into cancer research will soon pay off. I am looking forward to trying my hand at this "stay at home" mom thing and hope that Adam's job/career remain stable.

As we say goodbye to 2008 and welcome 2009, I am thankful for family, friends, love, peaceful moments and for time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2009