Dearest 2009,

I am very sad to see you go. You brought us so much joy and accomplishment 2010 will be hard to match up to you. With Cain turning 1 brought so much new and exciting adventures, from walking to speaking complete phrases. He brings sunlight to everyday and seems to have a very strong impression on others, we cannot go anywhere without someone commenting on how cute he is. He loves to help around the house (especially putting the laundry away) and he loves daily hygiene like flossing, shaving, and putting on deodorant. His favorite topic is tractors and who sits in them. He is his happiest when he is with his daddy in a tractor.

This definitely was the year for the corn. Chris and I got to spend a week in February in beautiful Maui with his company and even though it was scary to leave Cain, Chris and I very much enjoyed the relaxation. In June Chris set off to Paris for work, where we learned a bunch about agriculture from around the world and he even received an award for being the Best Sales Person in North America. Not long after he came back, the whole family flew out to Indiana for Chris's company kickoff and there we got to see him receive Corn Salesman of the Year. Chris also planted some corn this year with his dad and even though he put in long days and there was a lot of stress we are very thankful that he got it all out before the blizzards of 09 came.

I was very blessed this year to quit my job and be able to stay home with Cain. Even though I was very happy to spend time with him, I started to fear that with all my concentration on him and Chris that I would forget about myself. So in April I decided to train for the Chicago Marathon, it was one of the best decisions I ever made, it gave me therapy and time for me. In October I finished that Marathon 12 minutes under my goal.

Now after all the we have been blessed with this year, 2009 wanted to give us one more gift, an addition to our family. In July 2010 we will welcome a new baby brother or sister for Cain. Today we had an ultrasound and our little bean was active and we think he or she was sucking her thumb.

So thank you 2009 for blessing Cain, Chris, and I with so much.