Welcoming the new

There seems to be a sentiment around the internet and among some of my friends that 2011 wasn't all it was cracked up to be 365 days ago.

And I'm going to have to (at least partially) agree.

This was a trying year for many, many reasons. I wrote about some (but not all)...some of them were scary, some of them disappointing, some of them frustrating, some of them heartbreaking, but through all of it I think we were lucky. We have a great family and group of friends who were supportive when we needed it, who offered an ear, a shoulder, a meal, babysitting, or a hug. And we have a little girl who offered the best hugs and back rubs and cuddles and stories and anecdotes every single day and gives us the best reason ever to get up in the morning. And considering everything, we came through it all relatively unscathed.

And now 2011 is a few minutes from being over. And I'm excited for 2012. We have plans for some of the things we'd like to do in 2012. We've spent the last few days celebrating Christmas with family and Alex and I have been discussing where we think 2012 will take us. We figure there might be some travel, some renovations, and possibly a move in the year ahead. We might not travel very far and we'll likely not cross any borders, but we think we'll head somewhere we haven't been recently (and probably somewhere J hasn't been before...)

So at midnight we'll raise our glasses to 2011 and bid it farewell (or maybe just show it the door) and welcome 2012 and hope that the surprises it brings for us will be good ones.

Happy new year friends...may 2012 be happy, healthy and safe for you and yours.