The Year in Review

Wow! This has been quite the year. A very busy year with lots of changes. Really it was a year of firsts.

Caden's first steps
Our first paycheck in a really long time
First time Ken has been called Dr. Bassett (so weird! Sometimes I still can't believe he is a doctor)
We bought our first home.
Kailyn had her first day of preschool.
First time Jordan is truly potty trained.
First time living in Ohio.
First time we didn't go home to Montana for Christmas.
First time in awhile we didn't spend all summer in the pool.
First time our yard has been weeded and cared for in years.
First time I have ever been so thankful to be able to butter a piece of bread and hug and hold my kids and hope to be able to do it for years to come. (I had a scare early this year. I had some weird pain/stiffness/swelling/weakness that all pointed to Rhumatiod Arthritis or other chronic condition. To the surprise of us and the doctor it ended up being related to strep. We truly feel so blessed that it turned out to be nothing serious.)
First time I have gone a whole year without seeing anyone from my side of the family.
First time I have flown with all 3 kids alone. (it really was quite the adventure but it was better than driving all day in the car for 3 days straight.)

We definitely had a lot of change this year but we have also been greatly blessed. Here are some of the things we are thankful for.

Our health. That we are physically able to do the day to day things in life.
A great neighbor. He has helped us out so much. He has let us borrow his lawn mower when we first moved in, let us borrow his hedge clippers, given advice, and recently surprised me by cleaning up a massive pile of wood that the previous owners created (it was filled with branches and old christmas trees. I had been working at it but it was slow going with such a big pile and three little kids).
A great ward. They have been so great. I was really nervous to move from Arizona (I loved our old ward) but they have made it easier with walking group, book club, cooking group, and playgroup.
For people that have given us so much. We have been truly blessed by people's generosity (our couches, tv stand, dining room table, the girls' day bed, christmas tree...to name a few).
For every moment we get with Ken.
No longer living off of loans. It is so nice to actually have an income.

We have missed all of our family and friends very much but as you can tell we have been very blessed to move to such a great area where we have been able to make new friends and hope to continue to do so.