Happy 10th Anniversary

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Happy 2010!

Hanging out at home seems to be what we do best on New Year's Eve and having our friends over makes it that much better. Jennifer, Ellie, and Lia (poor Bill was home sick) spent some of the early evening with us, and though I forgot to grab the camera while they were with us, we all had a fun time catching up on the holidays and of course, enjoying some yummy snacks to munch on. Heather, Lance, Tatum, and Carter spent the entire evening with us, all the way to midnight and we welcomed in 2010 together. Though Kate had to work through the evening, she was able to be with us just after midnight ... having my family safe at home for new year hugs and well wishes makes me realize I am one lucky lady.

Here's a peek into our evening together ....

Monkey woke up just before midnight to help us ring in the new year!

It's hard to imagine a decade has passed since the looming fear of "Y2K" ten years ago. The new millenium brought with it many exciting adventures for us ... Chris and I got married, we moved here to Arizona, we bought our home, welcomed two little boys to our family, and countless other memorable moments have been ours over the past ten years. I can only hope with an enormous amount of faith and belief that God will continue to bless us in the next decade as He has in the one that just ended. Hello 2010 .... we're ready for the ride!

Where Do I Begin?

Here I am just a few days away from a new year (seriously!?!) and I am trying to figure out how to update our blog from the past four months in one post. Full time teaching has definitely put a cramp in my "blogging-style" and I have missed posting and updating you all on our family. My goal for the new year is to find time to post pictures and stories on a regular basis, especially so I don't encounter anymore "where do I begin?" moments.

In a nutshell, we've been busily moving through each day with work, school, homework, lesson planning, flight instructing, flying, etc. etc. ... through it all though, we continue to recognize how enormously fortunate we are, especially these days, and I am constantly amazed at how God grants His blessings to us even when we don't feel so deserving. Life in the Robb home has had its share of roller coaster moments this past year, some ups and downs, rises and falls, but in the grand scheme of it all enjoying the ride is what we've aimed to do.

Because we all know that pictures can "say" what words sometimes can't, I thought the easiest (and maybe shorter?) way to give you a peek at what we've been up to since August would be to show you in pictures .... which also saves you from having to read four months worth of posting in one sitting (you're welcome!). Now instead, you get four months worth of pictures to view ... with captions, of course ... enjoy the show!

Our Christmas Photo Album

Here are a few snaps of the front of our house ... we went all LED (or mostly anyway) and Chris found himself a new hobby (obsession) of stringing lights to any and all available areas of the house. It actually was very beautiful, like a bright beacon in the night welcoming us home.

Kindergarten Kid

THE NIGHT BEFORE KINDERGARTEN

HE'S READY TO START SCHOOL!

What a day! With all the anticipation and excitement of what today would, could, or should bring, it truly was a day to remember. We've been counting down with Hayden and talking all week about how much fun he'd have starting school, and how he is especially lucky to be coming to mommy's school. After laying out his new clothes and helping make his lunch, we settled in to read "The Night before Kindergarten" and then he went to bed last night eager and ready for today to be here. And ready he was ... just before 6:00 this morning, he came running in to see me completely dressed with shoes on and everything - he was ready to go! So after getting some breakfast in him and taking a few pictures, I headed off to start my day a bit early and Hayden rode up to school with Daddy for his big, first day. All this time, I've been reminiscing about how fast the last years have gone and how starting school is such a big milestone .... I remember balling my eyes out on my first day (well, I think that continued until I was in high school .... no just kidding, but I do remember crying A LOT each first day of school). Anyway, I've had such mixed emotions about him starting, but mostly I've been excited for him because he has shown such excitement about starting school. This morning when he and Chris got parked and were walking up to meet me, hand in hand, I just looked out at my little boy with his lunch box in his hand and his "a little bit too big" backpack on and was completely overwhelmed with emotion. Writing about it now brings tears to my eyes, as I looked on with pride and as much love as my heart could hold. I just hugged him in that instant and felt so lucky to have been able to share in this day with him. With a few minutes to spare before I had to welcome my own students to my room, Chris and I walked Hayden to class and got him all situated at his table to start his day. With a quick kiss and hug, I left my baby to begin the adventure of his life (at least for now). What made the day even better was that I was able to see him a few different times walking in line and so I got to sneak in a few extra hugs from my sweet kindergarten kid.

Kinder Warm-Up

Today Hayden went to school for a "Kindergarten Warm-Up" which gives all incoming Kindergarteners a chance to warm-up to their teacher and classroom and new friends. What started out as a very confident little boy, quickly became an overwhelmed one with all the parents dropping off their own children. So with a little bit of coaxing, lots of praise, a whispered "I love you" and kiss blown across the room, I left my baby in the hands of a wonderful woman for a few hours today. When all was said and done and Hayden was asked how his morning went with his new class of friends, his reply says it all: "Mom, it was awesome!" Okay, guess I don't need to worry after all ... with a response like that, I think we're going to just fine next week for the real deal.

Fun at the Museum

Here are some pictures taken at the Children's Museum today. After a quick stop at the Department of Education to take care of business with my teaching certificate, and with Grammy joining us, the boys had a super fun morning at the museum. We met Nicole and her girls there and had a great time exploring all the rooms and exhibits and letting the boys decide what to do next. As I have said before, this hands-on, it's okay to touch and run and eat museum is a must for any family. The favorite room du jour was the pizza kitchen/grocery area today where the boys used their imaginations to cook and bake and go shopping. They're learning early on from their mama that men who cook and bake and shop are a treasure (thank goodness I have one of those men!) ... one day, a long, long, long, long time from now, I hope this training pays off. Ha! Until then, we'll keep up with the training here at home.