Happy 2013!!

I cannot believe that it is already New Year's Eve. It has been such a crazy last half of the year that the time has just flown by so quickly!

What a year it has been! I returned to work in January after a medical leave of absence and major surgery to help deal with my Crohn's disease. It was the first time we had to truly get used to be working parents with a child -- and it wasn't easy!

It was also the year we were waiting to find out about the newest member of our family -- and the intense joy of finding out that we would be parents to another beautiful little girl.

In the meantime, Paul and I became an Aunt and Uncle for the first time, with the birth of our nephew, Ian. What a happy time!

My job changed drastically in September -- back to teaching Kindergarten. It has been a ton of work to start all over again, but the challenge has been both fun and interesting. Maelyn had her first day of Kindergarten in September and turned four years old the next day.

It was during the second week of the back-to-school grind that we found out that we would be travelling to China much earlier than expected and from then on, it was a crazy, busy time in our lives. We prepared for Ailee's arrival, the Christmas season that we would come home to, and then for our trip to China.

Our China trip was amazing -- an experience that means so much to us on so many levels. We learned so much about Maelyn and her China life and family and then we became a family of four.

The past month, since coming home, has been the toughest. The first week back we suffered from intense jet-lag. By the second week, we were in the hospital with Ailee, who had pneumonia. Then, the rest of us got sick. Christmas was delayed and we are still recovering.

Last Thursday we got a phone call that Paul's mom, whose health has been declining over the past six months, had been admitted to the ICU at MSH. Paul has spent the past five days with his mom, trying to care for her and made some pretty tough decisions.

2012 was a tough year. It has been intense and very full. But -- we remain ever mindful of how lucky we truly are -- to have our friends, family, and our beautiful children in our lives. We are looking forward to a more restful 2013 and to spending quality time with those that we love -- especially together, as a family of four.