Happy New Year!

Since Brandon and I first started dating in 2000, we've spent almost every New Year's Eve at home, playing games with friends, spending time alone as a family, or spending time with our families. This year was no different and we stayed in (choosing to avoid the bars, parties, and craziness of New Year celebrations), my sister came over along with her friend Lee, and we ate Mexican food, played games on the Wii with Parker, drank some wine and champagne, and brought in 2011 with a quiet celebration together. Amazingly, Parker lasted well into the New Year, staying up until 12:08 am and had so much fun playing with all of us and laughing together.

Now...Parker is asleep, our guests are finishing up Despicable Me, Brandon is giving Andrew a bottle (he slept from 8:30 pm to 12:15 am and he woke up to the New Year with a hungry belly), and I'm waiting for Brandon to come upstairs so that we can talk before going to sleep...tonight, I'm sure our talk will be a brief (as we're both always so tired these days) reflection on 2010 and what we think 2011 holds for our family. This is always fun!

Earlier today I was reading a friend's blog and she talked about their Top Ten from 2010 and I thought that was a great idea and throughout tonight I've been thinking about what our "Top 10" moments were in 2010- this is fun to do and I encourage everyone to do this!! So, here it goes for our Top 10....

1. The birth of Andrew Laine Riffel- On November 20, 2010, we added the fifth (including Bella) member to our family!! What an emotional and exciting day this was!!! So much love filled this day and so much anticipation was leading up to it that it is unquestionably our number one moment of 2010!! I remember the time and day that I found out we were expecting and it was so much fun to include Parker in on the surprise of telling Brandon that he was going to be a big brother!!

2. Parker's THIRD Birthday- Did I really just write THIRD Birthday?! Can anyone believe that it's been THREE years since my boy was born?! Parker's 3rd Birthday was a blast- we love birthdays at our house and we believe that they should always be a HUGE deal- what could be bigger than the celebration of our arrival into this world?!

3. Trip to Florida- Our trip to Florida was unbelievable! This trip held so many firsts for our family and Parker that is was amazing to experience Florida through his eyes, not to mention, we got to visit my best friend Jamie!!!

4. Trip to Colorado- We take an annual trip to Colorado in the summer and the 2010 trip to Colorado was by far the most fun we've had in Colorado with Parker!! We loved our cabin, we loved the weather, we loved the lazy days of being in the mountains, we loved watching Parker love all of the same elements of the mountains that we love, and we have fun as a family...we can't wait for 2011's trip!

5. Summer Days- Although this is not ONE moment from 2010- the Summer of 2010 was so much fun, I had to include the ENTIRE summer! From swimming lessons to Summer Camp at Grandma and Grandpa's farm to Aunt Dani taking care of Parker and his best buddy, it was by far the greatest summer I've ever experienced! It seems like every waking second was filled with fun things to do and we made the most of everyday of this perfect summer!

6. My 30th Birthday- This day was both a solemn day for me and the beginning of a new part of my life. I never thought that turning 30 would be a big deal, but it opened up my eyes and made me look at all of our accomplishments and I thought...I'm only 30 and I've done all of this!? It made me proud and excited about what the next 30 years hold for me and the boys!

7. Renewed Faith in our Jobs- 2010 was an inspiring year for both Brandon and I in our careers, both at the University and in other areas. Because of 2010, we are both extremely excited about where our careers and knowledge are going to take us in 2011 and we are happy about where we are at in our careers and how far we've come over the past few years. It is fun to be proud of what you do everyday and know the difference you are making in the lives of young people.

8. Contentment- Brandon and I both had a roller coaster year- first in trying to get pregnant with Andrew, second, we thought we really wanted to move to the country, third, we contemplated moves in other areas of our lives, etc. But, with many conversations between each other, we came to realize that we LOVE where our lives are at and we are very content with everything that is in the cards for us. In January of 2010, Andrew was only a twinkle in my eye and 11 months later, he was here! We've grown to love our modest home and everything that we've built within it, we love our jobs, and most importantly, we realized how happy we are with each other and what we've accomplished together.

9. Friendships- In 2010 I realized the importance of friendships. Both old friends and new friends are extremely important and in 2010 we were able to spend time with friends and watch Parker as his relationships with other kids grew and became friendships. I also learned how caring our friends are and how much their care and love for our family helps us through the good times and the bad times.

10. Learning that Everything is NOT Always Going to be Perfect- 2010 was a busy year for us. So busy that I didn't mark everything off of my lists, I didn't take all of the pictures I wanted to, I didn't update the blog as often as I would like, I didn't exercise as much as I should, I worked a little too much and didn't relax as often as I could have, etc. There are so many moments where I thought I wasn't doing things the "right" way or the way I pictured them as being "perfect." But, toward the end of 2010, I came to realize that the MOST IMPORTANT times in our lives are those moments when things aren't so perfect...those are the times when the most important memories are made, the best photos are taken, the biggest smiles are shining, and those are the times we need to remember. I learned that we don't need to stress out about trying to be "super mom" or making our families look like Gap models all of the time...what matters the most is what we make of every moment!

So, I hope that everyone takes some time in the first few days of this New Year to think about what made 2010 memorable for you and how it impacted your life...instead of making resolutions, think about what you did in 2010 that was GREAT and think about what you're going to make of 2011! Happy New Year!!!