Looking Back on 2012, Looking Forward to 2013 (Part 1)

Leave it to me to wait until the middle of January to write a New Year's post. Back when I started this blog, however, I didn't put any expectations on myself to meet certain standards, so it's all good. I'm excited to still have 20 followers, plus however many unknowns that use RSS feeds to keep up with me.

2012 has been an insane year, to say the least. The hubs and I have said many times how this has been the most significant year of our lives so far. So many BIG things have happened that would have been significant on their own, but no, they were all squashed together in 2012.

In March, on the day before my birthday, my maternal grandpa was the victim of a violent crime. While out driving around, he stopped to help what he thought were three teenagers in need of assistance with their car. Instead, he was attacked, stabbed multiple times, and robbed. He was left lying on the side of the road, but was blessed to be discovered by a passerby. That even has set off a series of health problems that are still plaguing him, on top of all of the legal matters involved in prosecuting his attackers.

In April, we were able to hop over the ocean and visit Japan for the first time. We wanted this visit to be a time of final confirmation for us that this was the country God wanted us to serve in, and while we were there we experienced total peace and confidence that we would make Japan our home one day. Since that time we have felt "homesick" for this country that is so different from our own, and where we have only spent one week.

After one week of being home, and recovering from jet lag, we headed out to the happiest place on earth! We spent four awesome days at Disney World with my parents and brother as a celebration of his graduation from his Masters program, as well as a sort of "Bon Voyage" vacation for Jason and me. Although I've been to Disney Land twice, Disney World was a whole other ball game, and it was a really special time for us and my family. Tons of great memories were made!

The fam

So I may or not have dressed up as Tinkerbell...what's it to ya? The sad thing is my awesome costume got drenched at Wild Animal Kingdom and I had to change right after lunch.

So funny thing...apparently Disney World is good for your fertility. Your vacation packages should come with a warning label. "WARNING: All this lighthearted childlike fun and Disney-character-themed food will send your ovaries into overdrive." Because despite the fact that you have had two doctors tell you in the past that you would more than likely not get pregnant without medical intervention (if only I had know Walt Disney was looking down from above and laughing) and despite your best efforts at the fertility awareness method to PREVENT pregnancy (apparently, Micky Mouse never read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility"), it is highly likely that some magical Disney pixie dust that fell on you during your trip will cause you to conceive your first child approximately two weeks later.

And on June 20...we found out I was pregnant.

Christmas Day - 31 weeks. Apparently those Dole Pineapple Whips you stay with you a LOOOONG time after you leave the Magic Kingdom.

The nice part is that once he is old enough for us to drop the bomb that he was conceived after a trip to Disney World - BOOM - he is never going to want to go there again. CA-CHING! Money saved!

And the year was only half over...