Thursday, December 31, 2009

Decade in Review—Part 2

2005

  • First half of the year is uneventful, in a good way
  • Homeschooling going well
  • Craig’s clinic job hours are hard on young family (he gets home at 8:00 every night)
  • Craig is offered and begins a new job as head (and only) chiropractor for a new business backed by investors
  • My real estate hobby leads us to sign a lease/purchase on a house
  • We move in July (Parade of Homes #9)
  • Love our new neighborhood

xmas05 (1) Christmas card photo 2005

2006

  • In the spring as we begin to look into the purchase part of our lease/purchase, things don’t go well
  • In June, the whole family travels to Duluth, MN for my brother’s wedding; we all stay in one big house
  • In July, we move again, back to our old neighborhood (Parade #10)
  • Summer vacation at Lake Michigan
  • In the fall, Firstborn goes to public school for the first time, 3rd grade
  • Skippy is homeschooled for kindergarten

duluth (42)Split Rock Lighthouse, Minnesota

2007

  • After the first of the year, we put Skippy in public school kindergarten
  • In January, my paternal grandmother, and last grandparent dies, almost 3 years exactly since my other grandmother
  • We all meet in Detroit again for the funeral, again on my birthday/Superbowl weekend
  • In March I travel to Phoenix and meet my siblings there for a celebration of my Dad’s 50th year of preaching
  • We do not move this summer!
  • Pinkerbelle starts kindergarten, public school
  • We go to Phoenix for Christmas

pics 453 Pinkerbelle’s first day of school

2008

  • In January, we put a contract on a house to be built
  • We drive out every weekend to see the progress
  • Move in end of April
  • Summer vacation in Chicago/Lake Michigan beach
  • Craig is given part ownership of the business
  • Kids start new school
  • For the first time ever, I am kid-free for 8 hours/day
  • I start a blog!

072 In progress

2009

  • Lots of decorating
  • Lots of thrift stores
  • Lots of blogging
  • My sisters visit in the summer
  • Firstborn is homeschooling again for 6th grade
  • We have no plans to move!

IMG_3511 Posing with my sistas!

Looking back, I would say the one big lesson of the decade for us is that no matter what kind of…pardon me…cr*p you go through, God can use it for your benefit. But I should have already known that, right? It's right there in Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God..." (NLT)

Craig would not have the job he has now if he did not have the experience he gained in the school of hard knocks in Kentucky.

If we had purchased a house when I wanted to, we wouldn’t have built our own, and we would have bought at the top of the real estate bubble. We would probably have ended up being upside down on the mortgage; as it is, we are pretty much holding steady, which isn’t too bad these days.

Praise God for his merciful care!

5 comments:

Pam said...

Hey, Holly,

I really enjoyed your decade in review. It's pretty interesting to see where people have come from in 10 years. I, also, had a son born in July 2000. You mentioned family in Detroit. I was curious if you grew up there. I grew up about 30 min. south of Detroit. Although I moved away when I was 19, my whole family is still there. Anyway...your story was very interesting and I'm glad you don't have to move again! :0)

Happy New Year!
Pam

Jocelyn said...

I enjoyed reading your decade in review. So many things change over a ten year span. Thanks for sharing.
And wishing you a happy and blessed New Year.

Jocelyn
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

Georgia Girl said...

I loved reading your decade in review! Very interesting! So your a PK also...so am I. My father celebrated his 50th year of preaching a few years back also.

Thanks for coming over and hope you visit often.

Best of luck for a wonderful New Year!

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

Great memories! I got my washer necklaces and love them--thanks so much. Hubby was way impressed too. I will post about them soon on my blog. Thanks again and Happy New Year!

Lucy Marie said...

What a wild decade it has been for you. It's been a pleasure getting to know you more through your blog. :) All the best to your family in this new decade!