I'm so late on this! It's already February! But better late than never I guess?
January
Well the year started off on a bad note when I had my first emergency room visit EVER. I was in the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life. I will never forget sitting in a wheelchair, tears streaming down my face, holding the giant cup of CT contrast I had to drink wondering how on earth I was going to manage it without throwing up or passing out. They got things figured out with the tests and sent me on my way with pain pills.
We also got a king size bed. Normally this isn’t something I would include in a ‘year in review’ post, but getting this king size bed has been life changing. I can’t even believe the space we have and I’m sleeping a lot better now.
February
Surgery! To fix the above mentioned issues. My uterus was trying to self-destruct (hence the horrible pain). I wish I were exaggerating, but this is exactly how my surgeon described it to me. They took out just about everything they could (but left some important things too). It went well. I stayed one night in the hospital. I was home recovering for 4 weeks. Everything went smoothly and I feel SO MUCH BETTER.
The addition started on our house (my mother-in-law’s kitchen). About a week into it, they discovered a major plumbing problem. Which they fixed. And then the addition resumed.
March
March was all about surgery recovery, organizing, and just life.
April
We had our 8th anniversary. We went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and kept it pretty low key because we left for Iceland the next week. That was our gift to each other.
We also had our French Memorial.
May
Iceland! We went for a week. It was unbelievable. I still just can’t stop thinking about it. And I want to go back so bad! In fact, a 2nd trip has been discussed (in 2020). We shall see! I’ve traveled to other countries, but none of them have had the same effect on me that Iceland has had. I wish I could describe it without sounding like a loon. It’s just IN me now. I look back at my pictures and I just get this feeling of longing and sadness that I’m not there. I drink a cup of my precious Arctic Thyme tea that I got there (arctic thyme is a plant only grown in Iceland) and I take a whiff of it and I am immediately transported back. Our little cabin. The crazy weather. The crazy landscapes. The smell (it’s good). The fresh air. The fresh water EVERYWHERE. The people. The music. The slower pace. The peacefulness. The remoteness (it felt like we were the only ones on the island). I loved everything about it. It was just a pretty perfect trip. I think Belgium comes in 2nd as far as the ‘feeling’ of a country. We’ve discussed another trip to Belgium at some point too. With Belgium I think we were just so surprised by how much we loved it. It’s a tiny little country, but boy does it pack a punch. Okay I’m getting off track.
June
June was our Regional Convention, which meant the visit of my seeeeester! It was lovely.
July
In July, our ductless heating and cooling was installed. It was a huge relief to get that done. My house was in shambles and had tubes and wires and HOLES in the ceilings for about a week. I never knew what or who I would be coming home too. But the love I have for these ductless units now….amazing.
My nephew came to visit as well. We had a nice time! We didn’t do anything too touristy, except a hike that I thought was going to kill me (Tent Rocks). Spoiler alert…it didn’t kill me. Ha ha.
We also had some painting done in July. The addition was slowly wrapping up (I won’t even go into that because I’ve been trying to block it from my memory).
August
In August we had a couple stay with us for a week for PS School. It was nice to have them and they were easy guests.
We also had concrete work done. We had a path poured out front, a patio for my mother-in-law poured out back, and the concrete leveled out on the West side of our house.
September
In September my parents came to visit. We went to a lot of bookstores. It was so much fun! We had a nice visit with them.
We also made the bittersweet decision to switch back to English from French. We miss our French family, but moving to English was a great move for us. We love our new congregation.
October
Nothing out of the ordinary in October…just incredibly busy at work. Balloon Fiesta. Also, my husband tore up the carpet in the man cave. There was linoleum that looked like wood underneath. We’re leaving it alone for now.
November
In November hubby went to Chicago with my nephew for a couple of Blackhawks games. While they were gone, we had our new piece of fencing installed…the FINAL part of the addition project.
Also…Black Friday!
December
I traveled to Nebraska in December for my niece’s baby shower. It was so much fun. I got to see all of my family and go to help out with the shower. And it was cold, but not SUPER cold.
Uncle Bob also came for an impromptu visit (funeral).
It was a stressful year (surgery, the addition, and our house being tore up, etc) but it was also a great year because we got a LOT accomplished. The addition is complete. Our heating/cooling is complete. We visited a country that I still just can’t believe exists because it is so amazing. I got to see a lot of family and we had lots of visitors. All in all, a really good year.
Travel: Colorado, Iceland, Nebraska
Visitors: 7 (my sister, my nephew, my parents, a couple here for PSS, and Uncle Bob)
