Tsh @ Simple Mom has a post up at (in)courage today with questions designed to help you reflect on the previous year. I thought I’d write down my responses here and of encourage all of you to do the same.

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year? That would have to be the birth of my little girl
   
2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened? I’m not sure what’s been harder… my husband losing his job and our move halfway across the country for a new job … or life with a three year old. Seriously.
3. What was an unexpected joy this past year? our little surprise “vacation” in Illinois. Unplanned, impractical, but lovely just the same.
   
4. What was an unexpected obstacle? Dan losing his job and our relocation were very much unexpected – and huge to be sure.
   
5. Pick three words to describe 2009. big BIG changes
   
6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2009 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you). sweet new baby
7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, without asking). great new job
8. What were the best books you read this year? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Host by Stephenie Meyer
9. With whom were your most valuable relationships? my husband, my children, my parents and grandparents
10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year? Managing to maintain my weight throughout my pregnancy and then lose 40 pounds after BB was born.
11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally? experiencing the love I felt for my second child and the love I still felt for my first, learning to love them both at the same time (or really learning how easy that was to do).
12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually? We discovered Unitarian Universalism together this year and although we are not attending a church here in WI, the time we did spend was wonderful and more importantly, discussing what we believe and don’t believe (with my husband) has been really great.
13. In what way(s) did you grow physically? Exercise became very important to us this year. I can now walk much, much farther than I could a year ago and I’ve even toyed with learning to run. I’d love to walk in a marathon of some kind in the future.
14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others? My marriage has really blossomed this year which is surprising – how you can fall more in love overtime, when you don’t think it can be possible, but our relationship is like a great wine, it seems to get better with time.
15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home? Menu planning for each month has been pretty great – it’s one of the few “chores” that I always enjoy.
16. What was your most challenging area of home management? Finances have been tough on me this year. Being pregnant and then sleep deprived have made it hard to keep the numbers together, I’ve mostly handed the financial reigns over to my husband but I think I’d like to get more involved in it again because not being involved makes me less comfortable in some ways – like I don’t have the assurance that we’re doing okay when I’m not personally looking at the numbers.
17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year? It was probably games on Facebook since I get very little out of the “applications” i.e. time wasters on FB (as opposed to the positive things I get out of blogging and interacting with my online relationships). I now only play a very, very small number of games. I’ve been purging my FB experience a lot lately.
    
18. What was the best way you used your time this past year? Any time spent just enjoying my family has been invaluable.
19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year? That everything I think I know about myself in an “ultimatum” kind of way, is always subject to change. I am a work in progress and my likes and dislikes change so saying, “I dislike american made cars” or “I don’t like water” or “wheat bread” or other healthy foods has been largely proven false this year.
20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you. Everything changes, for better or worse. Life moves on with or without you.