So long, 2009

(For those of you who are new to this... and I know you are there... click on the green highlighted portions of this post to link to older posts with lots of pictures!)

This has been quite a year! The most momentous occasion, of course, was the joy of welcoming Benjamin into our family. He has blessed us with big cheeks, big smiles and lots of love. He is a very happy baby, quite curious and a shameless flirt. He dearly loves his big sister... and his Momma! And don't let him fool you, getting a goodnight kiss from Daddy is one of his favorite things. We are so happy to have him with us!

Ella turned two this year. Of course, you may think that she is a very short 8-year-old upon meeting her for the first time... or when living with her. She is amazingly funny, smart as a whip and one of the most tender-hearted people I know. She welcomed her baby brother with open arms and has proceeded to be a wonderful big sister. She keeps us on our toes and in stitches.

I took a super long and perfectly timed maternity leave, which basically encompassed the entire summer. Yeah! We had many great adventures, spent with new friends and old. It was a great opportunity for us to adjust to the newness of our family and relax a bit. Wait, did I say relax...?

This year also brought adventures in running. Thanks to Scott and BOB, I was able to get moving and run three races this fall! I am not sure which was my biggest accomplishment... getting back to a 5K or completing a 10K 10 months ahead of my goal. Really, the best thing for me is that I run and enjoy it and it is a nice stress relief for me.

My sister-in-law, Amy, had her own adventures this year, taking on a huge project with Zondervan publishing, which had her traveling from Wheaton, IL, to Grand Rapids for days at a time. This was nice for us, because that meant we got to spend extra days with cousin Abby both in GR and Ortonville! We also took a trip to Uncle Doug and Aunt Brenda's vacation home with the entire Alexander clan, which is always an adventure.

Other items of honorable mention are Ella taking gym class, moving up to Sunday School class from the nursery, and my Dad getting his very own blog.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family -- immediate and extended -- and friends. I just can't wait to see what 2010 brings!

*Special thanks to Grandpa Alexander for unknowingly helping out with some of the historical parts of this post!