State of the Family Address

January, as you may be aware, is a month filled with State of the Union and State of the State addresses. I thought I'd chime in with my own -- a State of the Family Address.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Family and Friends -- It is my honor and privilege to be here this chilly January day to report to you the State of our House and project the outlook for our small family in the coming year.

I want to first thank you all -- family and friends, known and unknown readers -- for your prayers and otherwise general good thoughts aimed in our direction. They have been felt and appreciated. I also wish to thank you for frequenting my blog; your comments and readership inspire me to keep writing.

The past year has been a good one, though not without its own set of difficulties. We began it buried under snow and sliding on ice as we braved our first winter in Indiana. Once we thawed out, we discovered more opportunity to explore the place that has been our home for the past year and a half. Though we may be here devoid of mountains and droughts, we have more than our share of corn and soybean fields, quaint covered bridges, and Jar Museums. And rain. And humidity. And bitter wind chills. (Aren't we lucky?!)

We were blessed this summer to be able to travel back to the west to attend the wedding of my brother, Tyler. It was a joyous and memorable occasion, and we here in Indiana are pleased to welcome Amanda as our sister-in-law. Another very fun trip was taken at Christmastime as we traveled to Texas to spend the holidays with Blake's family. It was the first time in 2.5 years that we'd all been together, and it was as wonderful a visit as we hoped it would be. As we look forward to the coming spring, we find ourselves growing anxious to welcome yet another new sister-in-law as my brother, Riley, marries his high school sweetheart, Chelsea. Thanks, you two, for another happy reason to head back west.

The autumn brought a new school year and a welcome shift in employment for Blake. With the offer of a generous graduate assistantship, allowing him to work in the same building as wife, he was able to scrap his crummy and unreliable job at Sylvan Learning Center. He has since thoroughly enjoyed this more stable job, and I have enjoyed his regular company during lunches. The fall also brought the happy discovery of Thursday night television. We quickly became quite addicted to The Office and the rest of NBC's Thursday night line-up. (We were most pleased, it would be timely to report, that last night's Office was exactly as it should have been, Scrubs "The Musical" was absolutely hilarious, and I actually stayed awake for a full episode of 30 Rock, which turned out to be most enjoyable.)

In early November we were overjoyed to discover that our family of two would become a family of three. Unfortunately, this happy report was closely followed by the horrible news that a miscarriage was inevitable. Four miserable, morning-sick-filled weeks ensued before the doctor, as curious as we were as to what in the world was going on, ordered an ultrasound which informed us that there was indeed an alive and wiggly baby growing in utero. We are now anxiously awaiting the month of July and the arrival of the first little member of our family.

We are at an exciting time in our lives. Blake has officially begun the final semester of his master's program. He is expected to graduate from Ball State University on May 5th of this year. In the meantime, he will continue to plow through a few more courses, forge ahead with his research and thesis, and apply to every job opening that comes his way. We here in our home are greatly looking forward to the day interviews are offered to him, followed closely by offers of a first post-graduate career. Not only will we find it most pleasant to have a job to look forward to, but it will be equally as delightful to know where in the heck we will be living (and when we we will have to pack up and get there) six months from now. (Not to mention the unburdening of stress I will feel once I know where our child will be born!)

We are happy. The year 2006 offered us much, and we gathered all we could of it and ran! The new year is looking equally, if not more, promising. There is much to anticipate and much to be grateful for. We sincerely hope that all is happy and well in your homes as well.

Thank you, and have a lovely day!

[Hearty applause, followed immediately by wishful thinking]