What a Year!

In January, Ellison visited Disney for the first time.
(In this picture, Ellison is chasing Jack Whiteman,
which was a constant theme throughout the year)

In February, we packed up our house on Newbridge Lane.

March was filled with renovations of our new house on Tonto.
(Ellison and I stayed at my parents)

In April, we moved in a few days before Easter and had everyone over for Easter Brunch.

 

In May, Ellison turned 2!





In June, we spent our weekends between NSB and St. Pete Beach - heavenly.

In July, we headed to Beech Mountain to visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

In August, we returned to the Beach for more fun.

In September, Ellison's world shifted into a world filled with Princesses. The dress up clothes never came off and she would no longer wear pants!

In October, Ellison entertained us all as a Flower Girl at my cousin's wedding.

In November, we welcomed a beautiful baby boy,
Dylan Beaman Clark.



In December, we celebrated Christmas in our new house as a family of four!

I think I speak for both Graham and I, when I say we had no clue what 2010 would bring us. We started off the year knowing that if the inspection passed on the house we had under contract, we would be closing, renovating, and moving.  Let's just say the year started off as planned.

From there though, life taught us you just can't plan! It started with finding renters a little early for our home on Newbridge.  So we adapted and moved in with my parents.  The renovations ran long, so our stay lasted 2 months. Just when stress began to mount over exams, a cold lasted a litle too long, and we had a few surprise home renovations, we found out the biggest surprise of 2010! We were expecting a new addition. 

Over the years, I have learned a major lesson - you don't always know what you want. I never knew how fulfilling being a mom would be and how much I would love having two children.  I am grateful for surprises.

I made it through Spring semester in the middle of my first trimester of exhaustion.  We spent our Summer enjoying the Beach and North Carolina.  I sprinkled a little bit of class in there and I lasted through Summer semester with the conclusion that night classes were not the forecast for my third trimester.  In Fall, I switched to day classes and Ellison switched to 5 days of school.  The transition was easy - Ellison loves school.  She also loved the idea of being a Big Sister and anxiously awaited Dylan's arrival.

Fall stayed busy with football weekends in Gainesville, a few more beach trips, and a trip to Hammock Dunes for my cousin's wedding.  Halloween was amazing and reminded us of how much we love our new neighborhood.  Ellison loved dressing up and we loved watching her!

Then we were hit with a huge surprise.  At 4 am the day prior to Dylan's arrival, I walked through my dining room to take the dogs out and stepped in water. Turned on the lights and found my house flooded. Back to my parents house we went. 

Luckily that was the only surprise of the week.  Dylan arrived on November 16th, healthy and happy.  Ellison, Graham and I were all immediately in love.

As I mentioned before, I don't always know what I want. But looking back, the flood was not the worse thing in the world.  We made it home a few days prior to Christmas.  Graham worked hard to string lights and put up a tree.  We dressed the house for the holidays, stored the unpacked boxes for another week, and welcomed Santa.  Christmas day was amazing as our house was filled with our little family and our parents and siblings.

Looking back on 2010, I am amazed by the blessings life has given me.  As I stare at my two children, I can not imagine life without them. I look forward to 2011!