Hello All Again,

Well, the big news this year is of course the new house! People keep telling me how large it is, and I know it's very pretty, part of why I liked it. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a family room and a living room, and a kitchen full of wood! It's also only 20 years old. But the best part to me is that it's actually in Ann Arbor! I've been bicycling to work most days, until it started snowing in December. Now I take the bus that stops in front of my neighbor's house. I have wonderful neighbors behind and in front of me too. Despite fighting a persistent leaky toilet, a broken shower pipe, and the furnace dying and needing to be replaced just a few weeks after I bought the place, things have been good. Halloween was so much fun to decorate for! And the place looks beautiful for Christmas too! Pictures online: www.jennifersuniverse.com/gallery/

But a lot happened this year before the house, and a couple things since. First, my family got together and threw me a big 30th birthday party. It was wonderful! Friends, family, and lots of kids! We played childhood games like wonder ball, pin the cork on the wine bottle, egg racing, and toy car rolling. And of course there was karaoke. Also a time of sharing where I babbled a lot, and later people came up and said wonderful things about what my future holds. A very good time!

Then I had a cancer scare with my thyroid. But thankfully it turned out to be nothing.

Next up, I interviewed perspective students for Harvard College this year. What an amazing experience! I interviewed eight teens, and one was even accepted.

I called this the year of medical issues. For in the Spring I had problems with my vision and vertigo. Turned out it was the spray on sun block I was using. Weird!

Then over the summer I had surgery to remove a 4-5cm ovarian cyst. The surgery went very well, thankfully. My Aunt Bonnie, Mom, and Dad all helped me a lot in turn. My recovery was weeks longer than I had been quoted, but I'm doing fine. I remember a lot about the whole experience, more than will fit in this letter. But I want to mention two things that stand out to me. I had some awareness during the surgery, and about ¾ though I realized whomever was sitting with me had been replaced by God. After a while I got worried, because if God was there did that mean I didn't make it? I turned to ask, but as I started to, God pushed me through a door and I woke up. Good answer! Back when I had been prepping for the surgery, I made a list of phone numbers for my Aunt to call once she had news. While putting it together I realized just how many close people I have in my life, and it was a wonderful feeling. I truly am blessed.

Other than a couple trips out to Massachusetts, I only made one "big" trip this year. I drove down to South Carolina in October to visit my new godson and my first godson and their parents. The baby looked JUST like his older brother did, and the older one is now such a sweet blonde 2-year-old terror! Despite lack of sleep, we all had fun!

I also had another godchild born this year, back in May. That makes three godsons and one goddaughter for me! But he and his family moved to California shortly thereafter.

I hope you all had at least as good a year as I have, and wishes for a better one still!

Labels: Year Summaries