Goodbye 2013, hello 2014

As I wrap up 2013 I can’t begin to say how much it has changed me.  It’s a year of ups and downs.  We celebrated two big birthdays this year, Leah turned the big 0-1 and Tanner turned the big 1-0.  Ryan and I celebrated not so big birthdays, but I do suppose another year is always worth celebrating.  All of 2013 was spent in clinics for me, finally putting to use the skills I had learned over the last several years.  I learned that a clinic is nothing like an ICU but yet another area where my passion has grown.  Before this year, I thought clinic was mostly runny noses, strep throat and ear infections. And boy was I wrong, like so many things we tend to stereotype.  

January marked celebrating Leah’s first birthday and we “upgraded” to a minivan-which I love by the way.  February marked Ryan and I going to our 5^th Chicago Auto Show together.  In March we visited Ryan’s brother for the first time in his new home in Peoria, Illinois.  We welcomed a new family member in April, our fun loving, sometimes (or always) ornery golden retriever, Chloe.  In May, we found out that we had a surprise bundle coming but were so excited to continue growing our pretty awesome little family.  June we hit the pool and enjoyed the outdoors.  In July we celebrated another Trimble family reunion in the Dells where we announced our little bundle was coming.  In August, with the help of both of our families, we painted the outside of our house-which will NEVER happen again.  In September our lives completely changed when we learned about Simon’s illness.  October was Tanner’s big birthday, November I went to Texas and finished my master’s degree.  And in December I passed boards.  It’s been a big year here for our family and we’ve learned much about our faith, grieving, loving and losing.  2014 will be a rough year for us as we’ll lose Simon, but even with that, I know God has great things in store for our family and that is what we have to focus on.  So with that, goodbye 2013.  And welcome 2014, a year that will be the hardest of my life but one I will continue to grow through as a mother, wife and Christian.