The Larsen's 2009...in a nutshell (a long one!)

One of my friends did something like this on her blog....and I thought it was a good idea. Especially since I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards in December. So, here it goes....

Season's Greetings! (Okay....maybe I'm getting a little carried away....)

2009 was a crazy and busy year for our family.....especially the last half of the year. But, above it all - we've been blessed and we know that. Our faith has been tried and strengthened this year, that's for sure.

Anyway, we still made sure we had some fun. We went camping with my family, spent a week in Jackson Hole (MY FAVORITE) with Bry's mom and our nephew Jace, and played outside - a lot.

Our baby turned 3 this year. It's hard for me to see my little man growing up, but fun at the same time. He really keeps us on our toes. He is definitely ALL boy - sometimes too much ;) He has grown a lot in the past year - mentally and physically. He is only 2 inches shorter than Bryn and outweighs her by 1 pound. He talks really well and constantly tells us what is on his mind - good or bad! He likes to figure things out on his own and doesn't like being told what to do (much like his daddy!).

Rett on his 3rd birthday before church. Isn't he a handsome little devil?

He had a pretty rough year with his asthma and was hospitalized back in September. He'd had a rough day and later that night Bry took him in to Wee Care. We thought they would just give him a shot of steroids like they usually do and send him home in about an hour. That wasn't the case. I got a call from Bry telling me to meet him at the hospital - the Ambulance was coming to get Rett. His oxygen was down below 74 - it's supposed to be above 90. Our little man was struggling to breathe. Thank goodness my parents live close. I called them at 1am and ran Brynlee up to their house and headed to the hospital. He had to spend about a day and a half there. He's now on daily medication that has helped a lot! We're praying for no more hospital stays - that's for sure!

Pay no attention to how horrible I look in this picture. It was 2am in my defense....

We told Rett that it was checking to see how big his muscles were....so he was showing the nurse just how big they were!

Little miss Bryn turned 5 this year!! She was pretty excited to be a "big 5 year old". But our little girl is still little (as in height), but has a big personality to make up for it! She LOVED primary this last year and adores the music leader - Sister Wilcox. Brynlee loves to sing and perform. She really is our little rock star. She loves the band Skillet and rocks out with her dad quite often. Bryn also learned how to ride her bike this year and became a little speed demon! She really worked on her alphabet this last year and is now starting to sound out letters and spell words. She can write grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, garrett, brynlee and I love you without any help. She is getting really excited to start Kindergarten this fall.
Getting a "pep-talk" from dad. She was so frustrated that she couldn't stay on the bike.

Brynlee has been our healthy child. She has never been really sick....until 1 month after Garrett was hospitalized. It was a Thursday and I was supposed to be leaving for Vegas with my mom that afternoon. The day before, Bryn and Rett had come down with a little fever and a small cough. We just thought they were coming down with a cold. Well, by Wednesday night, Brynlee's fever had gotten a little worse and so had her cough. So, Thursday I thought I better take both of them in just to make sure everything was okay before I went out of town - that way Bry wouldn't have to worry about taking them in. Rett turned out to just have a small cold...but they ordered x-rays for Bryn's lungs. Later the doctor came in and said that I needed to take her to the hospital. She had bacterial pneumonia and possibly the swine flu. I broke down. I called Bry - took Rett back to Bry's mom's and met Bry back at our house. We packed our bags and headed back to the "Larsen suite" (as Bry named it once we discovered we were back in the same room that Garrett had been in exactly one month before). When I had taken Bryn in to the dr., her temperature was at 101....by the time we got to the hospital it had jumped to 104.3. Well, turns out she did have swine flu on top of bacterial pneumonia and was a sick little girl. We stayed in the hospital for 2 1/2 days and were "quaranteened" at our house for a week. She's doing great now and you would never know she was that sick.

I remember telling some of our friends and family that I heard we needed to try and be thankful for our "thorns" in life and not just the "roses"..... Sometimes those thorns can be pretty hard to bear, but there are certain people in our lives that make it a little easier. I truly believe that.

Now for the man of the house and his lady (that would be me...)! We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary in June. I can't believe we've been married for 7 years and have 2 kids. It's surreal. I love being married to Bry. It's not all easy - that's for sure, but we work at it everyday. I think we're blessed to have each other ;) and we help even things out between the two of us.

Bry stayed busy this last year building an awesome shed in our backyard. He's really close to finishing it. I need to go out and take some pics and post them. He designed it himself and put a little covered patio for a dog kennel (hopefully the dog will come this spring....we'll see). He's currently teaching the 14-15 year olds in Sunday school - they think he's pretty dang cool and they like to ask him questions on dating and girls. ha ha. He spent almost a week hunting with his brother Rod and got his first Elk the beginning of September! It was really exciting for him, Rod and even all of us who were at home - but got the call from him that morning.

And as for me? I'm still loving taking pictures and was able to shoot my first wedding the beginning of December. It was a complete blast. I'm currently serving as 2nd counselor in the Young Women's. I love being in with the youth. And I sure get a few laughs when some of the girls really remind me of myself at that age.....oh my poor YW leaders! ha ha.

Getting ready to shoot my first wedding at the Bountiful Temple (pic taken by my sis-in-law Heidi)

My sweet Grandpa passed away the end of August. I think of him often and the way he lived his life. He was an amazing man and I want to take his example and apply it to my life and live the way he did. It's made me think of how fast life really goes by. I'm trying harder to enjoy the little things around me. I'm learning to forgive and not hold grudges - no matter what the problem may have been. (It's a work in progress..... ;)

So, that's us in a.....long nutshell. This is more for me to remember what went on in '09 since I'm not the best blogger.

We truly are thankful for those of you who were really there for us this past year. Our Heavenly Father has truly blessed us with wonderful people that make us happy. We wish everyone a better 2010!

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