top 9 of '09

leno has ten at ten, letterman has his top ten list, oprah has her favorite things... and now i have my top 9 of "09! these are the moments that have camped out in my mind as my favorite moments of the year. i think of them often and replay them over and over again in my mind. and so without any further introduction, here they are (in the order at which i was able to locate the photos, not in order of importance).

no.9 of '09: a visit with great grandma and great grandpa kindl

in august we made a trip to michigan to say goodbye to scott's family. the time that we spent with his grandparents was so special to me and so memorable. i love these two human beings so much! it is always such a gift to spend time with them, but this time was even more so. delaney's middle name was selected to honor his grandmother. it was so neat to let "millie" spend time with millie (she calls delaney "millie" and delaney ate it up. she thought it was so fun to have another special nick-name). we had been told that they might not be up to visiting with us, but decided to make the trip anyway. we are so glad we did. we ended up staying several hours and enjoyed every minute of our time with these two special people.


(somehow we didn't take pictures in august, but the photo above is of great-grandma and great-grandpa and aunt merritt. it was taken at merritt's rehearsal dinner party a few years ago. and for the record, we also loved our time with aunt merritt and uncle jon!)

no. 8 of '09: walking into our california rental home

when we finally sold our home in chicago i was just a few weeks away from delivery. although we knew we needed a home "on the other side" we didn't have too many options. since i could no longer travel i could a.) send my husband to california by himself and trust him to buy a home without me and hope that i didn't go into labor while he was gone or b.) rent a home. i chose b. the only problem with that was that it had to be sight unseen (or we'd be left in that laboring without the daddy situation). it is one of the biggest leaps of faith that i can remember taking, but since i didn't really have too many other options at the time, we went with it. we found a house on-line, we looked at some pictures that the landlord sent us, and we asked a lot of questions. i will forever remember that drive from our california hotel to meet the landlord and see the home that we had rented for the first time. i was terrified! the list of "what if's" was getting pretty long in my mind, but i shall say that it has been the best thing that we could have hoped for. the sigh of relief that scott and i let out as we walked through the place we would call home for the next stage of our life is still audible in my mind.

no. 7 of '09: a visit from my aunt pam and uncle gary

in december, my aunt pam and uncle gary (whom i lived with for my first few months of life while my momma was recovering from her aneurysm) came to california to visit us. my aunt pam had been trying to figure out a way to help us with the move and things just didn't work out for july/august/september, so this is what we came up with. it was the most delightful weekend! i loved spending my first few months here anticipating a visit from family and the time they spent here is time my family will cherish. we took a trip to san francisco, went to e's tennis lesson, visited some local wineries and spent quality time together. they played on the floor with my girls and made them feel so special. this special weekend means so much to me and i loved sharing one of my "mothers" with my girls. the girls fell in love with her as much as i do and they now refer to our guest room as "aunt pam and uncle gary's room".

no. 6 of '09: watching my momma walk out of the hospital and into her new home with my sister

at the end of january, after two long months of hospitalization, i was blessed with the opportunity to be present when my mom was finally released from the hospital. thanks to the sacrifice and willingness of my hubby, i was able to fly to philly and help with the transition. seeing my mom walk from the car into the house will forever be etched in my mind and the joy that i felt knowing that God had rescued her will last a lifetime.

no. 5 of '09: an end to the big belly and finally meeting the nine month resident from within

as i have blogged about at nausea, i was two weeks late with poppy. '09 will always be marked by the day that my sweet third baby girl emerged on the scene. to say that i was happy to no longer be pregnant is an understatement. to say that we were happy to meet her, does not do justice to how anxious we were to see who was residing in that great big belly of mine. she is truly a gift- one that this momma was thankful to finally "unwrap".

no. 4 of '09: a special day with my own "american girl"

right before we moved, e and i joined our good friends (jen and payton) for a lunch date at the american girl cafe. we enjoyed petite fours and finger sandwiches, tea and good conversation. it was a girlie delight! i have watched these two little gems grow up together and have come to love them like a sister and a daughter. e's love for them is the same. we miss them so much but i am thankful that e (and i) will remember this special day with our special friends for years to come.

no. 3 of '09: celebrating gigi's 90th birthday

in june, e and i boarded a plane. we met up with my dad, step-mom, sisters, brother, nieces, nephews, cousins, second cousins and gigi (the guest of honor) in niagara falls. we spent a weekend re-telling old stories, sight-seeing, making new memories and celebrating the matriarch of the browning family. she is such an amazing role model as a wife, mother, teacher, friend and woman. i am continually amazed by this woman! she is as funny, elegant, and hip today as she was in my earliest memories of her. i feel so blessed that this celebration fell at a time when i could still travel and that i was present for this very special weekend.

no. 2 of '09: a final trip to my hometown

it is a little strange that this memory makes the list as the weekend was grueling, but there are parts of it that were special beyond explanation. in march my mom, sisters, aunt, cousin and i made a trip to my childhood home to pack up my mom's belongings. we spent the weekend boxing up all of my mothers belongings and put her home up for sale. that part of the weekend was marked by a bit of sadness, but in doing so my sisters and i relived so many memories. going through the artifacts of our life was filled with rich memories of a wonderful childhood with our amazing mother. it was filled with lots of stories and lots of laughter. and then after everything was packed up, we were richly blessed by a celebration in my mom's honor at my childhood church. person after person stood up to share how my mom had enriched their lives. it was a morning that touched me deeply- to see how mom had lived her years in winchester loving God and reaching people was inspiring and brought me to my knees. the words that were shared and the love that pored out during that service was a gift that will keep on giving in my mind forever.

oh, and that hat? yep, that's the hat my mom used to wear on her daily walks. oh, if only i could hear what the neighbors said. giggle!

no. 1 of '09: an end to the snow

if you know me well, you know that i am not a fan of snow. the winter of '09 was filled with snowstorm after snowstorm after snowstorm. i can vividly remember sitting in our family room with delicious d looking out at the great white piles, watching ellie play and daddy shovel. while those memories are sweet, even sweeter is the fact that my new little plot of living doesn't include much white stuff! can i get an amen?