On the last day of 2010, let’s look back on the year and remember some of the highlights for our family.

Jonathan – The addition of our second son certainly tops the list. Since he was born in mid-January, it seems like he’s been part of our family for quite a while. We had to keep reminding ourselves that last week was his first Christmas. His big smile and sweet nature have been a huge blessing for us and many others this year.

School – In September, both Brenden and Jenny started school. Brenden attends the two-year-old class at Colleyville Christian Preschool and having a blast! He has great teachers and classmates, is learning a lot both academically and socially, and even naps at naptime in a room full of toys! Jenny has enrolled at Tarrant County College and eventually plans to enroll in the nursing program. She’s working on her prereqs now and hopes to start nursing classes in fall 2013. She isn’t having quite as much fun as Brenden, but her first class (a health and fitness class) taught her some helpful information and made a nice start to her second degree.

Health and Fitness– We have two different highlights here. First, after not particularly enjoying gestational diabetes during her pregnancy with Jonathan, Jenny wanted to decrease her chances of developing full-blown diabetes later. So she joined Life Time Fitness and started working her butt off with spin classes, yoga, core work, swimming, and more. She also significantly changed her diet by eliminating regular sodas and most desserts, limiting portions, and generally trying to eat better. As a result of her hard work, she has lost 30 pounds since June and is still going. Second, with help from my podiatrist, custom orthotics, and physical therapy, I’ve gotten to run for most of this year after several years of knee trouble. My knee isn’t perfect, but I’ve done several runs of 10k or greater and hope to return to the Cowtown 10k in February.

Ethan – We now have a nephew, courtesy of Jenny’s sister Katy and brother-in-law Eric! He was born in August and is doing great. We look forward to many fun playdates with him and our sons.

Work – Not much to report here. I worked quite a bit (over 260 hours of overtime), and I’m grateful to still have a job I love at a company I love.

House – Our big house project was installing the solar water heater this spring. We’re very pleased with it, and I’m sure it’s saving us money even though it’s hard to measure exactly how much.

Car – In April, after cramming two young children and two adults into the Fit for a few months, we finally broke down and got a minivan. I don’t care if you think they’re corny or ugly or uncool. Our Grand Caravan gets the job done (“the job” being the safe, reliable transportation of our kids and the huge assortment of paraphernalia that they require).

Trips – Travel is hard with two young boys, but we did manage a couple of fun trips. The first was our day trip with Brenden to San Antonio to watch the SWA Duck Derby at SeaWorld. Brenden did well on his first flight and seemed to enjoy SeaWorld until falling asleep in his stroller. The second was our sans-kids cruise to the Bahamas in October, which gave us a much-needed break from daily life.

Home Group – We’re not very organized or particularly spiritual, but we have a great time together. This year we were pleased to add a few new attenders to our crazy group.

We did experience some sad times this year as well, such as the passing of my Great Aunt Will and Brenden’s trips to the ER with breathing trouble. But overall, 2010 was a very good year for us. I hope 2011 brings all of you much love, joy, and peace.

We can do no great things; only small things with great love. – Mother Teresa

On Saturday, my family lost a beloved member: my Great Aunt Will. She was my grandmother’s identical twin sister. They both taught elementary school in Wichita Falls for decades. For most of their 50+ years in the area, they both lived on the same street with their husbands, dropping by each other’s houses often. Because the four of them were so close, both in spirit and in geography, for us grandkids it was more like having an extra set of grandparents.

One of my favorite memories of Will is our holiday meals. Both Will and Grandmother considered it blasphemy to serve their families a simple, store-bought meal at any time, much less for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since they lived across the street from each other and our respective branches of the family got along well, we always gathered together both our side and Will’s, including her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons (my cousins). If Will hosted Thanksgiving at her house, Grandmother hosted Christmas across the street at hers, and the next year they switched.

The morning of each meal was an awe-inspiring symphony of culinary mastery. They planned the menu together in advance, deciding who would cook what and scheduling time in their combined four ovens. They employed the ladies of the family as sous chefs and sent us grandkids running dishes, ingredients, and folding chairs back and forth between the houses. It was like watching Miguel Harth-Bedoya direct the Fort Worth Symphony. Seemingly without breaking a sweat or tossing a snippy word at anyone, they focused all their talent, passion, and experience into creating a fantastic meal for all of us to enjoy. And fantastic it was. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Fruit salads. Roast turkey and ham. Cranberry sauce. Stuffing. Rolls. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. You name it. Plus a tableful of desserts.

Once we all sat down to enjoy the meal and company, Will and Grandmother always drew protests by continuing to fuss over us instead of enjoying their triumph – going to fetch hot bread for everyone from the oven (cold bread was unacceptable, of course), bringing replacement silverware when one of the kids dropped theirs, refilling drinks. The adults, and later the kids, tried to stop them, but they were there to serve, not to be served.

The food was always amazing, but lots of people can make great food. Will and Grandmother, though, cooked great food with great love. They adored their families and treasured every minute they got to spend with them, especially when we could all be together for the holidays. Those decadent feasts were one of their favorite ways to show their love.

Will got to demonstrate her great love in another, less happy way later in life when her husband developed Alzheimer’s disease. I have decided that Alzheimer’s is one of the cruelest diseases I can imagine. As his mind deteriorated, Will stood by her husband of over 50 years and became his rock, even after developing some health issues of her own. With remarkable grace and patience, she loved him well through all the questions, confusion, loss, and pain that Alzheimer’s brings. While many patients become crotchety and mean from the disease, her husband actually softened. I’m sure the endless love and patience of his angelic wife played a large role in his ability to remain so pleasant in such a terrible situation.

We love and miss you, Will. Your life was a lesson in great love. May you rest in peace.

On August 26, Jenny’s sister Katy and brother-in-law Eric welcomed their first child, Ethan Edward. Mom and son are doing well. He packed 8lb 15oz into his 20″ frame and has tons of dark hair like his daddy. Welcome to Earth, Ethan!

Pics of Ethan