Happy New Year

This past year flew by... How can it already be 2014?! How do we have two daughters? How do we live in Dubai? How have I been out of college for a decade.... Jesus!  I literally feel like I blinked and 2013 began and ended! We have had some awesome experiences this past year and some pretty awful ones thrown in the mix as well.

February brought us our bambino número dos, Corby.  She was two weeks early and has been getting her way ever since. We love her dearly and her little Aryan blonde haired blue eyed self is the perfect example of how recessive genes work!

With a newborn and a two year old I felt like the spring was a blur of school runs, birthday parties, swim classes, feedings, and naps.  Jon was promoted to General Manager of the Middle East and I couldn't be more proud!!!  My mom came for a visit just after we had Corby and then my sister and her husband came at the beginning of summer and helped me fly back with our newest little family member.... And to enjoy Dubai of course!

The summer was great in Texas.... But I now have so much more respect for single/working parents! How do they do it? I had family around and didn't have a full time job and was still felt like I couldn't get everything done.  Kudos to all you parents working full time out there!  I got to visit with friends and family and it was great, but hard at the same time.  It feels like life should stand still back home while we are gone but it doesn't obviously... People get older, jobs change, children are born, friends get married. Makes me cherish the times we get to go home, but also reminds me to enjoy and take full advantage of our experience overseas!

The sad stuff came in the late summer.  The deaths of my father in law in law, Jay and our sweet Charlie bear.  Now I am not trying to compare the death of a human to an animal but both were huge parts of our family and Jay, more then anyone would totally understand our dual grief. I can't begin to express how sad both loses made our family.  The passings of both Jay and Charlie made us feel empty and alienated.  It was a rough few months around the cumberworth house.... And to be honest it is still rough but we have learned to cherish the humor, love and joy these two bright souls brought into our lives!

Once Leighton's school term started this fall and we fell into our new routine, the fall seemed to pass in a single breath. There seems to be an endless amount of holidays in the fall here, so Jon got random days at home to mix it all up!  Add in swim lesson for both girls and play-dates galore, a trip to Barcelona and we found ourselves at Thanksgiving and then in a rush came Christmas! We chose to stay here this year and while is was a hard choice to make because holidays are always about family, we could not be happier! The weather in Dubai cannot be beat right now, I don't have to fly for 16 hours plus another flight with two kids and deal with jet lag after, I didn't have to live out of a suitcase in multiple houses for a month, and I didn't have to pack all our crap to get it back.  I didn't get a stress rash on my hand which always comes a few days before going home... Hooray! And most importantly we got to focus on our little munchkins and soak them in!  This was the first year that Leighton really understood who Santa is.... And it was amazing.

This year I sent out New Years cards instead of Christmas because I chose to send them from Dubai and well, the UAE postal system is on its own schedule. I mailed all the cards on December 3 and the postal worker told me it would take 7-10 days to make it to the States, inshallah (God willing). Ha... Well, I know a few people still haven't received them. Needless to say next year they will be sent from home because triple the postal and no delivery isn't what I would call a good deal!  So, if you usually get a card from us or if I asked for your address and you don't have a card yet it legitimately got lost in the mail... Seriously! 

Here it is in its training potty glory... I know, Leighton might kill us one day and that is why we have a therapy savings account setup in lieu of a college fund!

 

2013 was a quick one but there were some pretty life changing events that happened. Hopefully 2014 will slow down a bit and we can soak it all in and travel a little more, because we are really enjoying Dubai and our life here!
Happy New Years Y'all!

Until later...