New Year's Eve

Well, another year has come and gone. While I don't have any published resolutions from last December 31, looking back over the year it appears to have been a good one. A brief recap starting with the number 14!

14. Jennifer and I celebrated 14 years of marriage on August 16.

13. We became the parents of a teenager on November 8, when Noah turned 13. We will now have at least one teenager for the next...

12. Years. That is how long we will have teenagers. There will also be a year when all four kids are teenagers.

11. Hard to believe, but I started my 11th year at Frito-Lay this fall. Only 22 more years until retirement! Our second born also turned 11 this year.

10. Years. A decade. That's how long we were in our home before we moved in August. We are blessed to be in a newer, larger, closer to Frontier home now. Thanks again to all the friends and family that donated many hours of hard manual labor in the summer heat to get us moved!

9. Nathanael turned 9 and all of a sudden became very interested in sports of all kinds, epically baseball. There were many happy evenings spent in our new backyard playing whiffle ball with the family.

8. Swimming was a huge part of the summer and we would have gone 8 days a week if we could have. Becoming members of the Bittersweet Pool and Tennis Club was a great decision, and we can't wait for next summer to get here so we can swim some more!

7. People. In July we packed up our family and our favorite babysitter Hannah, and set off on a week long journey to Yellowstone National Park and the Luhm family bed and breakfast in Worland. It was a crazy fun week, that the kids will hopefully remember for the rest of their lives.

6. Our family is still 6 members and going strong! We are blessed to have a large family, and there is never a dull or boring moment for mom and dad while we try and keep track of all the craziness.

5. 5K. 3.2 miles. This fall Noah decided to join the middle school cross country team. He competed at 5 different meets in Northern Colorado and did an outstanding job at all of them. He has also joined the winter running club at school, which will keep him busy until track starts in March.

4. Season tickets. I was asked by my good friend Travis to split 4 season tickets to the Denver Broncos this fall. I was able to see Tebow Time in person, and share some special memories with friends and family at Mile High Stadium. After attending 6 Broncos games this year, I can honestly say there is nothing in professional sports quite like a home NFL game.

3. Three of four kids have now learned how to ride their bikes. It was quite a night back in May when Noah brought home the free bike from his perfect attendance. Andrew and Nathanael both decided to learn that same night. We had bikes and kids everywhere. It was great.

2. Tattoos. I now have 2 very nice tattoos, the large back piece and my new one. After finishing the Tough Mudder in June, my teammates and I decided to get the logo tattooed in celebration. I placed my new tat on my left calf. Pictures comming soon. And the #1 of 2011.....

1. Very special young man finally home. On October 8, our cousin/nephew Kaleb arrived home in South Dakota from Ethopia with Wesley and Kim. We had been praying, hoping, and waiting for him for almost 18 months. Meeting him for the first time was one of the highlights of my life. He is an amazing, beautiful, happy, precious little boy. I wish we lived closer so we could see him more often.

It was a great 2011. Can't wait to look back on 2012 and see all the adventures that we completed. Check back tomorrow for my goals and resolutions for the new year.