2009 Year in Review

2009

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us...

This sentence from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens sums up the year 2009 for us very well. The past year was a "season of Darkness" for us as it was filled with the passing of both of Shereif's grandmothers, my uncle, our close neighbor, and many other family members and friends. With age, comes more hardships and responsibilities. But, with each hardship, we learn more about ourselves and how to become stronger and better individuals. Shereif and I grew stronger as a couple and as friends as we prepared to become parents and to deal with the cards that life dealt us. Shereif was laid off from his job early in the year, which worried us since the economy is so bad and we needed medical coverage for the pregnancy. God answered our prayers, however, by providing Shereif with a great severance package and an amazing job that he absolutely loves now. Shereif looks forward to work every day and learns more about his job each day, which many people are not fortunate to have.

It truly was the circle of life as new lives replaced those lost, and we celebrated the births of our friends' and cousins' children in addition to experiencing the new life in our own family. Alyssa's birth made 2009 extra special and a memorable year for us. It was the "spring of hope" in May as we welcomed Alyssa into our family and transitioned from being just a couple to becoming a family of three. She has taught us a great deal about being parents and better people. We have learned more patience, love, and admiration for another person than we could have ever imagined. We were reminded of how fortunate we are to have such amazing family and friends who visited us and helped us. We cannot thank all of you enough for all of your continued love and support.

Even though our blog is filled with mostly good news and recounts happy times in our lives, many sad and scary things happen too. We choose to be optimistic and want to look back at our journal as one filled with mainly blessed events. May 2010 be a blessed year for everyone and one filled with continued success, happiness, and health! May it only be the "best of times!"