What a year.....

I've just realized that the year is almost over with. Where did the time go? I have to say that this year is one that I'll remember for a long time....perhaps because there were so many highs and lows this year. It was one heck of a rollercoaster ride, so I thought I'd recap.

In January, a few things happened. First of all, I decided to get serious about weight loss. I had exercised for years, so that was never a problem. My problem is that I never watched what I put into my mouth! So, I decided to hit it hard and tackle the South Beach Diet. I had heard so much about it, so I had to try it. I signed up online. The first few weeks were rough, but they got easier and guess what? The pounds came off! It really worked! From January through August, I lost 30 lbs.! I couldn't believe it. It does take a lot of hard work and dedication though. I found myself in sizes that I wasn't even in in high school! I'm definitely going back on it after baby #2 is born. Also in January, my Granny celebrated her 80th birthday. She didn't want a party, but we gave her one anyway. It was a blessing in disguise.

February, March, and April passed without any major happenings. I think of it as a "rest" period. Oh, I did have a birthday though in March and turned 27! 30 is even closer now. ACK!

May was a tough month. Later in the month, we found out that the stomach woes that Granny had been having were happening as a result of something much worse. She had pancreatic cancer. We were stunned. It all happened so quickly. Granny was brave and took it all in stride. She didn't want treatment. The cancer was quickly spreading to her liver and other organs as well.

In early June, Granny passed away. She was our rock. I took Kyra to see her in the hospital a few days before she died. I told her that I loved her and I'd never forget the times we shared together. I thanked her for being such a role model after my mom died. She hugged and kissed Kyra and told her that she loved her. She told me that Kyra would never remember her. That's not true. Just the other weekend, we were walking out of church and Kyra turns to me and says, "I miss Granny." She knows that Granny is in Heaven along with Grandma Tootsie and "Pap Pap" (Richard's dad) and Chad too.

I still hear Granny's voice. It's so fresh on my mind. I still think that she's just a phone call away, but I'm wrong. She's closer than that. She's in my heart and on my mind all the time. I went through my recipe box the other day and there are so many recipes that she had written down for me. I miss the little things though....the cards and letters that she'd send to Kyra and I, the smell of her house this time of year, sleeping under electric blankets. Gosh, I miss her. I really do. I bought a poinsettia yesterday and I think I'll start to do that every year at Christmas....to remember Granny.

Shortly after that, Kyra turned 3! I have a 3 year old! We had a wonderful party here for her with lots of family and friends. She had fun.

In July, Richard turned 27 (see he's on my tail!). We also had a lot of showers and preparations for Lisa and Nathan's wedding that month, so we were busy.

On August 21st, Lisa and Nathan got married. We were all in the wedding. Kyra did as well as could be expected for a 3 year old. It was so much fun. She looked like a doll in her dress and had so much fun with April and Emily. It was a long day, but we made it through! Kyra konked out before we even hit the highway leaving DaCosta that night!

Shortly after the wedding, we received an even bigger surprise. We were expecting #2! We knew that we wanted to start trying after the wedding (but it happened BEFORE!), but we had NO IDEA how quickly it would happen. Let's just say that we decided one month and were pregnant the next! We walked around for 2 weeks without saying a word to each other. We were in shock. It took us 10 months to get pregnant with Kyra.

September came and went. Then the baseball playoffs started heating up. The Astros kept winning and winning and winning! It was so exciting. I remember sitting on the sofa and bawling my eyes out after they had won one of the playoffs. My thoughts shifted to Granny. Granny was one of the biggest Astros fans. She watched all the games that were on TV, knew who was pitching at least a week ahead of time, and knew who had hit homeruns weeks ago. She kept up with all of that. I kept saying that if there was one year for the Astros to go this far, it's this year. Granny was helping her boys. It's unfortunate that the Cards beat them, but I'm so glad the BoSox won the World Series! YAY!

We survived Halloween, WURSTFEST, and Thanksgiving and we are now in the Christmas season. I'm now 20 weeks pregnant (halfway there!) and I can't wait to see what 2005 brings! You'll probably be hearing stories about poop, coos, and rolling over! Ahhhhh....I can't wait!

Happy Holidays and be sure to spend time with those you love this holiday season. Life is short, so make the most of every moment. ;)