My version of a Year-In-Review

I was composing a post in my head as kind of a "2013 Summary!", but it was turning into a downer and nobody wants to read that.

Instead, I wanted to talk about the awesome things that happened in 2013.

• We saw a lot of our families! More than we expected, but that was great! With 2 family reunions, and people staying with us for 6 months of the year, our kids know their relatives a lot better. Thank you everyone for taking time out of your lives to help us! We love you!
• We kept the U.S. Postal Service in business (also Amazon). Thank you to everyone who sent us packages and notes! I'm pretty sure I haven't written over half the thank you notes I need to, but we truly, truly appreciated ever single letter, gift, or package. I know they came from family members, old and new friends, ward members, and friends of friends. It was like a hug with every box. No one feels as loved as we do.
• Our ward went above and beyond with taking care of us. I cannot even count the number of people who have helped us with watching the kids, cleaning our house, making us food, dropping by gifts, coming by to chat, writing notes, sending gift cards, and praying for us. We have felt so loved and supported by our ward family (our old ward is included in this).
• We met a lot of other people in the cancer world. Although it is sobering to think of the number of people with this disease, we also feel hopeful about how many amazing survival stories and survivors themselves there are out there. 
• We also met wonderful doctors and nurses who have helped us every step of the way.
• Our family has been thriving this year. The kidlums have grown and learned so much. They are delightful when they are not maniacs and we look forward to watching them grow more.