2009 in Review!

I broke my Christmas card rule this year. What rule is that, you ask? The rule that I must write a personal note to each & every person. This is the first year I haven't done that...and this is the first year I got every Christmas card sent out!! The kids helped me stuff them, which was quite the adventure (see the picture!), but they had fun. We didn't send out many to locals, so if you didn't get one, I still love you but refuse to buy more than 150 Christmas cards. I hope you'll forgive me! Here's this year's Christmas letter:

It's been a good 2009! Granted, after our 2008, how could it NOT be? ;-) Our life is wonderfully NORMAL, and we are thankful for that! Here are some highlights & updates from the Mosier Family!

NEWS FROM THE GROWN-UPS:
Matt's company was bought out yet again, but he's still employed, so we're thankful! He does have double the commute now since they moved from the east side of Indy to the west side, but fortunately he works 6AM-3PM so he misses rush hour traffic!
Jenny is loving being home with the kids! Money's tight, and it means sacrificing several things, but it's well worth it! It took me a while to get acclimated to this (just 2½ years!), but I am so thankful I can focus here at home. I do have my Homemade Gourmet business, and I have enjoyed growing it this year. The best news, of course, is that I can celebrate one-year cancer free!
This year has been The Year of The Kitchen! Matt's been updating our 70s house. It's a slow project as time & money allow, but we're excited to see the gradual changes!
We enjoyed our first family camping trip! We've gone with the Skivers several times, but this was our first time on our own (even though we were with 40 or so families from church!). It was great fun!

BIG MAN Z:
Z is 9½ and is growing up way too fast! This is his last year in elementary school (4th grade). His Mom's not ready for him to head to intermediate school next year! Yikes!
He played soccer in the spring & fall & did really well, even scoring a goal from midfield in one game!
Z is taking after his parents & LOVES reading! We can't seem to get enough books to keep him busy for long.

LITTLE MAN L:
L is 6 & started Kindergarten this fall! He's still small in stature but thinks he's the big man in town now that he rides the bus! :-)
Soccer is his sport! His spring coach called him “Money” because he knew L could make a goal when needed! It's a hoot to watch him on the field!
His big accomplishments this year include learning to ride a two-wheeler & now learning to read. That first loose tooth is still ever-elusive, unfortunately!

BABY GIRL A:
That baby girl isn't such a baby anymore. Sigh. A will be 4 on January 31, and she tells everyone, “My birthday coming!” Forget Christmas—we have other things on our mind! :-)
She was THRILLED to go to school two mornings a week this fall and ride the “little bus”, as she called it. In January she will start attending four mornings a week to try to catch her up with some of her delays.
A can rough & tumble with her brothers, but the girly-girl is coming out in full force! She loves dress-up, Disney princesses, dancing, and fingernail polish!

That's the scoop on us! We did join the crowd & start a blog, so if you want to keep up on our randomness (and sometimes even pictures of the kids!), visit us at www.thepursuitoflaughiness.blogspot.com. We wish you many, many blessings in the next year, and hope you can enjoy some quiet time through this hectic holiday season to remember the peace & joy Jesus brought to earth!
Much love to each of you!

Matt, Jenny, Z, L, & A

I am a bad cancer survivor!!!! ;-)

Yesterday was my big day: one-year cancer free! I thought about it here & there, but to be honest it was just a busy day with lots going on, so I never really gave it much more thought than that! But I felt like I should give the day some love or something. I mean, last year on this day I spent the day blubbering my eyes out like a crazy fool (as you can probably tell in the picture of me with my radiation oncologist, Dr. Minor) just because I was DONE with treatment. That was a long eight months, and to be able to put it all behind me was an amazing feeling. Now to look back at this past year, I hope that I've made it what I hoped it would be, if that makes sense. I wanted to make sure that cancer truly changed me forever. Not just physically, but in every way. I wanted to cherish my kids more. Not take things for granted. Be thankful for the little blessings. Acknowledge how amazing my husband really is. Really LIVE my life, and not let it pass me by. To be honest, there are times where I'm just plain tuckered out, and I'm content for life to cruise on by. But at the same time, I want to know that I'm growing & improving & becoming more of who God created me to be. And the good news? I think I'm doing it! There are many, many, many days where my heart is just overjoyed that my life is NORMAL. Nothing fancy, nothing exciting--just plain ol' normal. And that is a beautiful thing. Life is good.

Before my very eyes...

Since August, Miss A has been in preschool 2 mornings a week. That means I have 2 mornings EVERY WEEK WITH NO CHILDREN! JACKPOT! :-) Those mornings are like gold, and I have enjoyed them. Well, it was time for A's annual IEP review (through the school system), and her teacher recommended that she switch to a community classroom (she's currently in a speech/ language classroom) that meets FOUR mornings a week! So I fluctuate between sheer joy (4 whole mornings! To myself?) to such sadness (I'll miss my girl!). I love our little walks back to the house after walking the boys to the bus stop, and hearing her giggle "my bus!" while threatening to get on the bus with the boys. I'll miss our mornings just hanging out here at home, or running errands together. We went today to her new class to meet her teachers. She walked right in, joined the other kids, pulled up a chair at circle time--you'd think she'd been there for months. I'm watching this big girl and thinking, "That's my BABY!" I am so not ready for her to grow up. She is SO very excited for her birthday, and tells everyone "birthday coming" (even though it's not until January 31!). I can't believe she'll be 4, and then I spazz out because that means in just a year she'll be 5! And she's not the only one growing up on me! L is now reading his little baggie books in Kindergarten, and Z lost his LAST baby tooth last week! I must admit this is a fun stage of parenting--with all 3 kids old enough to do things on their own, yet little enough to have fun doing whatever we do. I just don't want it to pass by too quickly. Just when I think I'm getting the hang of this "mom" thing, it all changes on me. Guess I better just hold my hat & enjoy the ride!

I heart my bed!

My surgery (laprascopy) today went very well! The goal was to remove a fallopian tube (TMI--ha!) that has been giving me grief, but instead they drained a big ol' cyst that seems to have been the problem instead. My pain isn't bad AT ALL, but Vicodin makes me nice & sleepy, plus I have a headache (probably weather-related instead of surgery-related!). So I'll head to bed soon, but tomorrow I'm looking forward to staying in & taking it easy. My cousin Andrew taught me a fun solitaire game last weekend, so if my brain will cooperate maybe I can play a few rounds of that! Mom is here until tomorrow evening; that's always such a blessing & a help. My friend Katie came & hung out with Mom at the hospital. I think Katie's been there for 3 of my 4 surgeries in the past 16 months, so I think she & Mom have a little TOO much fun hanging out! :-) Then my wonderful Sara brought us pizza for dinner, so all our needs were met & more! Thanks to everyone who prayed. It was so nice to get that over with, and hopefully the problem will be fixed!

Warped thinking?

I'm having a laparoscopy on Thursday. Nothing serious, just checking out my innards & fixing the problem. I'm guessing the surgery schedule isn't too busy for "elective" surgeries in December (unless people are trying to burn through their FSA money for those lucky few that have money left!), just because it's such a busy month. But I am looking forward to this! First off, I'm ready to be done with this obnoxious pain. But it also gives me an excuse to curl up under a blanket in the chair next to the Christmas tree & do nothing! I am hoping to make a good dent in the Christmas cards, but my schedule is pretty much cleared for the next week with just a couple responsibilities.

But in the meanwhile--it's time for nesting. :-) I nested before each chemo session, and I do it before each surgery. It's nice to get lots done, plus then I do rest better. Gotta finish the Christmas decorations, clean the house, & finish putting the kitchen back together (Matt painted last week!).

I'd love any prayers for Thursday, mostly for my reaction to the anesthesia & that my doctor can do what needs to be done without further surgery. And make sure YOU take some time--surgery or not!--to curl up & snuggle in front of your Christmas tree, simply to enjoy the season & remember that it's really about a sweet little baby who grew up to save us all. What can be more peaceful than that?

We were just babies...

I always wanted to know the first time I met my husband. I don't know if it's that incurable romantic in me, or if I wanted to see if that "love at first sight" stuff really was true, or if I just wanted to know our WHOLE story from start to finish. I do love stories of people who've known each other forever & friendship grew into romance & they lived happily ever after, but I personally wanted to know when I met my guy.

Well, fast forward to my senior year in college. It was the first weekend in December, which meant all big projects were due that next week. I was planning on staying in & studying all weekend & being a good girl & NOT procrastinating until the last minute for a change. Friday night rolls around, and my friend Katie from across the hall came over asking for ideas because her boyfriend was in town with his best friend for the weekend & they wanted something fun to do. Her roommate was supposed to go with them, but at the last minute had decided to go home. I recommended they go downtown (Cincinnati) to see the Christmas lights & walk through all the skywalks connecting the buildings. I think she asked where they should park, and for some reason socializing suddenly became more appealing to me than studying (I know that's a shocker!), so I asked her if I could just come along & I'd show them where to park & what to see & so on. That was all fine, so I guess we got ready pretty quickly & headed downstairs. I don't know that I had ever even met Brent, Katie's boyfriend, and I had just heard about his friend Matt.

I walked down the stairs & sitting in the window of my dorm was this blond, curly-haired KID who didn't look too happy to be there. Part of me thought I was wasting my time, since I assumed he was probably 17 & I was 21, but hey--it was getting me out of studying, so all was good. We walk outside & get into his VERY nice car (1985 Toyota Supra, red, nearly perfect condition), and set off for downtown Cincy. My memory fast forwards to the four of us walking along The Wall (does that even still exist downtown?), and one of us said "Ni!" I don't know who started it, but a lively discussion of Monty Python ensued. I think that's where he stole my heart. Ha! I'm HOPING I also found out he was my age around that point too, for fear that I was willingly robbing the cradle. Well, curfew time was coming up (the joys of going to a Christian college), and the four of us decided we were having too much fun. So we stayed out late (yes, I feel guilty for typing this up for all to see, especially since I was an RA!!!), and late turned into morning. We were good kids--just driving around, stopping at Kroger, going to the carwash (where I distinctly remember thinking, "I could never date a boy who loves his car more than he loves me"), driving around more, talking and laughing lots, until security unlocked the dorm doors at 6 AM (so I had heard!). Shortly after 6 we came back to campus, the boys dropped us off, and well, the doors were locked. Our friend Hannah was SO happy to be woken at 6 AM to let us in, but she obliged & we headed for bed.

I was on RA duty all day that Saturday, but I kept hoping the guys would come back to our dorm. No such luck...until that evening. We rented movies & Matt made fun of my Christmas shoes (I loved those shoes...)& by this time I REALLY liked this guy. But he lived over 3 hours away, I didn't really know anything much about him, so I tried not to think too much more about it. Sunday morning I went to church, keeping one eye on the door since I figured Katie would be coming there too (and potentially bringing two guests!). Sure enough, they showed up, and my mind was on the person sitting a couple rows behind me far more than it was on Jesus. (Sorry, Jesus!) I had to work that afternoon, but came home early with a migraine (probably from the lack of sleep!). Katie woke me up later that evening to see if I'd like to go to dinner with them. Hmmm...let me think...OK! We ate at Frisch's, and he paid for my supper. Then we went to Graeter's, and since I was a modern woman, I paid for his ice cream. (Silly me!) After ice cream we headed back to campus, he hugged me good-bye, and he left to head back home. Sigh.

All week I bugged Katie to see if he had said anything about me. No word. Bummer. But school was keeping me busy & I had a big interview out of town that next weekend. I got back from that trip on Monday evening, and Katie had left a note on my board that she had something for me. I hunt her down IMMEDIATELY & she doesn't tell me what she has & doesn't seem in any rush to get it to me. So I impatiently wait...and she brings me a white box with drawings all around it, filled with cookies for the girls on my floor (since I'm an RA, and it's now finals week). Matt had decorated the box, made the cookies, and driven almost 4 hours to bring them down, turn around, and go back. I am now SOLD on this guy. He FINALLY called that night, and we talked for hours. I went to Katie's for New Year's Eve, he kissed me on a bet, and the rest is history.

Fifteen years & three kids later, he can still make me laugh like no one else. He's still an amazing cook, and is one of the most thoughtful people I know. Marriage is never easy, and when you have two bull-headed individuals, it can be rather stressful at times (!), but I wouldn't trade him for anything. My heart is just overwhelmed at how much my life changed fifteen years ago today. We've been through a lot together, but the most important thing is that it has always been TOGETHER. I am so blessed. I love you, Matthew!