It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times.

As the year draws to an end, we take a look back at all of the happenings in 2009. It was the best of times. My darling, Grayson, was born along with many friends and cousins. May proved to be a fertile month with our friends and family. Four very close friends and one cousin all had babies within weeks of each other. In July our nephew, Benjamin, was born. Then in December, my good friend from childhood welcomed her baby boy into the world.

Here is Grayson on his birthday.

It was also a very hard year. We had more than our fair share of funerals, with the first being for my cousin, Wesley, and his two boys Cody and Tanner. (Lori, if you are reading this at work, you may want to stop now--Courtney, this goes for you too.)

This is a picture of Wesley from the very early 80s. He was 5 years older than me and was the closest thing to a big brother that Courtney and I ever had. We will never forget how he would take atomic fire balls to the bathroom in Camacho's and wash off all of the red stuff so we could enjoy them too. He told us our first "dirty" joke. He helped me shoot a shot gun the one and only time I've ever tried. He was one of the first (if not the first) family member outside my immediate family that Jerry got to know. They got along really well, but Wesley said, "I really like Jerry, but if you ever need me to kick his (butt) then I will."

Then in the middle of October, my precious grandma passed away. Although it was expected, it was still hard. Here she is holding a big tub-o-lard (me) when I was just a few months old. So many wonderful memories of the woman who cherished her grandchildren more than life itself. The next month, her older brother passed away. Again, it was expected, but sad at the same time. He lived very close to Cal Poly Pomona and I would see him on a regular basis. He would give me fresh produce (he loved gardening and I loved receiving them) and his wife would make delicious meals.



Two days before Christmas, Jerry's grandpa passed away. This was unexpected. He was 88 and passed away peacefully in his sleep with his head resting on his wife's shoulder. Here is a picture of four generations of Woestmans that was taken in March. Sadly, we were looking forward to taking another picture like this on Christmas Eve, but that never happened.

So here are a couple of wishes and prayers for the new year. Although we lost some of those we love, we cherish those we still have. We look forward to good times with our family (whether through blood or marriage) and friends (because friends are the family you choose). We look forward to nurturing those relationships that we have, strengthening those that are strained and creating memories in 2010 that will last a lifetime.