2007 Recap - DKM

It’s midnight on Christmas Eve and the presents are all wrapped. Kristen has been a real stinker this year and is teetering on the verge of Santa’s naughty list. I have been on the top of my game all year and have catapulted to the top of the good list. Partly to blame, Kristen has been dealing with a growing bowling ball in her stomach the past six months. I have enjoyed watching it grow. Sort of like a chia pet but without the green hair and on a much larger scale.

This year has been most righteous for us. We have enjoyed a few good trips together. In January we went to South Beach and the Keys, in July we made it to Virginia Beach, the Outer Banks in North Carolina (OBX if you are in the know), and Washington D.C., and a couple weeks ago we went to Cancun. So life hasn’t been all work and no play we must admit.

Our biggest news of the year is that Kristen and I are expecting our little Maddy come April 7th give or take a few days. Times are definitely a changin. More on this later.

Kristen had to patiently wait around the better part of the year for me to figure out my next career move. She occupied her time with her young women’s calling including going to Girl’s Camp. A week with a bunch of teenage girls camping sounds like sheer torture to me, but she actually made herself believe it was fun. Gotta give her credit for that. She enjoys her calling and puts in a good chunk of her time going to activities, preparing lessons, and what not. Recently she picked up tutoring a few hours at a local tutoring center. I think there are good days and bad days with that, but overall it is a positive experience for her. Kristen has been a good sport about the pregnancy. And she likes being able to eat for two now. I question the validity of that statement since most of the year the baby was about the size of a golf ball but anyway. Kristen endured the common morning sickness element and other common pregnancy growing pains. Feeling the baby move around has been fun for me. Kristen says the baby is trying to give me an uppercut, but I think we all know the real story.

As for me, I gave up the crazy business traveler’s life of living 3 weeks of the month in nice hotels, seeing foreign countries, and eating at the best steakhouses. Wait, why did I give that up??!!!?? Excuse me as I now try to run away from Kristen trying to smack me for that last comment……Seriously it has been a good thing being home more. I haven’t quite gotten used to this whole commute and rush hour deal, but that should come with time. My last trip with HON was to Caracas, Venezuela which was a pretty good way to go out. I've spent the little free time I've had this year taking care of the house, learning about the options markets, watching the Dbacks and ASU football enjoy better than expected seasons, and running marathons (kidding about the last one).

We realize how blessed we are to have the things we do in life. Time doesn’t permit the creation of that list, but needless to say we are grateful. We hope that the world can enjoy more peace, joy, and love during this time of year. So in closing I’d like to say, to all a Merry Christmas and to all a good night!!