2012: Year in Review

Well, we’ve almost made it to the end of another year.  And to think that only 9 days ago the world was supposed to end. HA!  I will, in faith, claim that most of us will make it another couple of days to ring in 2013.  That being the case, let’s take a look back at the good and bad of 2012 and then look forward to what 2013 holds.

2012 can be easily measured for the Myers family by milestones.  I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced so many HUGE events in my lifetime.

January

• We were secretly planning for a new baby to join the family.
• We put a “FOR SALE” sign in the front yard and by the end of January, it was under contract.
• Stacy did her final Couponing and Meal Planning Workshop, ending an era for Stacy Makes Cents.

February

• We rented a storage unit and opted to spend a couple of months with Stacy’s parents since our house sold so quickly.
• My brother-in-law fell off a roof and broke nearly every bone in his body.  Thankfully he has gone from immobile to wheelchair to walker to cane, and can now handle most walking without assistance.

March

• The sale of our townhouse closed (whew) and we were officially homeless with a lot of cash in the bank.
• We spent virtually every free minute planning for a new baby and looking for a house within our budget.  We found a house and made an offer that was FINALLY accepted.

April

• I went to Las Vegas.  I spent a few days at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute and a couple more perusing the strip and spending some time with family I hadn’t seen in YEARS.  I showed them how much they meant to me by destroying their doorbell system.  Oops.
• Stacy stayed home (she wouldn’t get on a plane) to work on the final details of our home purchase.

May

• We released Stacy’s first music video: “I’m Debt Free and I Know It”, a parody of “I’m Sexy and I Know It.”
• We closed on our new home, paying 100% cash for it.  Since we knew there was a lot of work to do, we recorded a video walkthrough of it so you could see the “before” where we started.  We agreed that we’d release an “after” video in May 2013.

June

• We spent hours (days) working in the new house.  Wiring, plumbing, carpentry, cleaning – you name it – we did it.  A few friends came over to help (THANK YOU) and we made some major headway.
• I was offered and accepted a new job as the Marketing Manager for Strongwell, a large manufacturer in our area.  It has been an excellent transition and wonderful fit for our family.
• My dad was killed in a car accident.  This was the hardest day of 2012 for me.

July

• We buried my dad and I began to recognize what a legacy is all about.
• Stacy was VERY pregnant, but we weren’t quite finished with the house.  On July 15^th, we rented a truck and emptied the storage unit and officially moved in to the construction zone.

 August

• We welcomed Andy into the world!
• We had our heat pump installed!  For those of you who have lived with temps of 90+ with no air conditioning, you know why I included this as a milestone.

September

• Adjusting to parenting with two small children isn’t easy.
• Jake and Jamey (Stacy’s sister) tied the knot.  Stacy did awesome as maid of honor and Annie was a cutie pie as the flower girl.  We all survived the heat (even 1-week-old Andy) and had an awesome day.

October

• Stacy went to Allume, taking Andy and her introversion along for the ride.  Stacy seeing all her friends from the blogosphere was priceless.  I think they set an annual tradition of meeting somewhere each year.  That’s cool with me.
• I spent most of the month finishing up projects around the house and helping Stacy maintain her sanity with two little ones demanding more than her full attention.

November

• After a lengthy police investigation, the woman who hit Dad and Brian in June was criminally charged.
• Stacy’s long-awaited book, “Crock On!” was released to a bigger-than-I-expected fanfare! J  You guys are awesome!
• Annie was sick on Thanksgiving so I stayed home with her while Stacy had lunch with her family, then she stayed home while I went to supper with my family.  Not exactly our plan for the holiday, but I am glad we could see our respective families and still care for Annie.

December

• “Not guilty.”
• “Crock On!” came out in print (limitedly) and for the Kindle and Nook.
• Christmas was a whirlwind of visits with family, food, gifts and way too little sleep.  We celebrated the birth of our savior and survived all the chaos.

Well there you have it.  As you can see, 2012 has been a long year with a lot going on with the Myers family.  We’ve had major ups and major downs.  As I’ve said in both of those cases, God has been so good to us that I can’t explain how blessed we are.  Through it all, you’ve been along for the ride, helping Stacy Makes Cents grow immensely.  By sharing our lives with you, you have in turn granted us the blessing of your support, encouragement (and occasional bashing – some of those comments are way out there!) and so as 2012 comes to a close and we venture into 2013, I leave you with this:

Yesterday can be an easy excuse to avoid doing something today but you’ll never get anywhere until you decide on a direction and get started.  If there’s something you didn’t do in 2012, don’t let that be an excuse – pick your direction for 2013 and get to it!