Happy New Year Friends and Family!

Hurray for 2009! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were all waiting anxiously to see if Armageddon was on our doorstep and we’d be heading out to find the Twinky factory. But Y2K passed us on and now 8 (or 9? math was always a little fuzzy for me!) years later, we are looking at 2009. Michael and I were trying to figure out what we were doing this time last year, but considering how pregnant I was, we were most likely in bed and trying to ignore the illegal fireworks going off in the neighborhood (we were in critical drought mode then and living “in the country” where a burn ban and fireworks ban was in place). This year, we kicked it in our living room drinking champagne and watching Prince Caspian while our the baby slept away in her crib.

2008 was definitely the year of babies! In addition to the birth of our darling Sybilla, many other precious bundles have entered the world and we are thankful for them all. They are a reminder that even thought things are tough, life goes on. It was also a year of change in many ways; jobs, homes, and politics. Where one door closed on my career, another one (much more fortuitous at that!) opened and for Michael too. We moved into a new place and so did some of our friends, marking new beginnings in our lives as young families. And lastly, we've elected our first black president! I know I've said it before, but it wasn't that long ago that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and that MLK, Jr. was sharing his dream. This year is definitely something to be telling the grandkids someday.

As 2008 passes into history, we are grateful to have what we have, be where we are, and to be ringing in the New Year with our little family safe and sound. A new year means new beginnings with new resolutions and new things to look forward to. We hope that in this new year we will be celebrating more good than bad and that we will get to share it all with you!

Be safe and Happy New Year!

Slainte!
Kelly, Michael, Sybilla & last but not least, Gumerry the Gray Destroyer of All Things Paper, Q-Tip, Hairtie and the Occasional Dropped Tamale Bite From the Squealing Two Legged Creature Who Pets Him Most Ferociously and Forces Him Into Hiding on Days Ending in Y