A look back...

The Eckleys at the start of 2009

The Eckleys at the end of 2009

Happy New Year!! Hard to believe it is already 2010. Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the year 2000. I was going to write this post yesterday but didn't get around to it so it will be today. We had a very quiet New Years! Matt had to work all day yesterday and today so no staying up late for us. My grandmother and aunt are up visiting from the Auburn area so we did enjoy some wonderful time with them but sure didn't stay up to ring in the new year. In fact Miss Kate slept over a 6 hour stretch last night so we totally missed it! I thought I would take a quick look back at 2009 for the Eckley family...

I started out the year with a post on what we wanted to do in 2009 so I thought I would update you on how it all went. Matt accomplished all his goals for the year!! He learned about woodworking and built the awesome cabinets in our bonus room. He also took and passed his BCOP test. It was a really full year for him. I learned about cake making and made Ben an awesome 2 year old birthday cake (don't know if I will do it again). We also made a goal of reading through the Bible. Matt made it all the way through in record time. I was doing great but then got pregnant and so sick (excuses I know). So I am working my way through the new testament and will be done in a month or so. I also completed Beth Moore's Esther study this fall. Ben did great on his goals of talking more and learning his colors, letters and numbers. He has moved from being a toddler to a preschooler! He also got rid of his paci, is in a big boy bed and is 80% potty trained! It is amazing to see all the new things he has learned since last year!!

We took some awesome trips in 2009. The Caribbean cruise was amazing (I still haven't finished posting on that and I will soon!) We also took a couple of beach trips. We visited Mobile a couple of times and took our fun Atlanta getaway.

If I had to sum up 2009 I would say it was a year of surprises. I ended our "2009 look ahead" by saying we were excited to see what God had in store for the Eckley family but little did we know what all was coming. We were blessed with finding out we were going to be having another baby but it was a little earlier than we thought. Then when Miss Kate arrived early and had her breathing issues it was just more surprises. But God was faithful through it all. This crazy list making type A person sure did have to learn to relax a little and turn it all over to God. Not a bad thing to learn in a year.

It has been an amazing year!! We have been blessed beyond measure. As I sit and type this holding my little baby girl in my arms I could not have imagined a better 2009! And we look so forward to what 2010 holds for us (hopefully not as many surprises!)