Farewell 2009

As we embarked on our first year of marriage, I don't think anything could have prepared either of us for 2009. This year was filled with happiness, sadness, exasperation, relief, joy, and exhaustion. We learned a lot about each other and how blessed we truly are, and just to share what 2009 brought to the Kainers. Here's a recap:

In January, we got another puppy, Ranger. Ranger has taught us patience and that we are not ready for children. Here's a shot of Ranger just after a day at the lake:

February through April, we were busy with the new puppy, and I was finishing up my MBA at St. Edwards. At the beginning of May, I finally graduated from my MBA after 3 years filled with lots of coffee, group projects, and late nights.

After a trip to LA with my good friend Lyra to visit our friend Charis and her family, I returned to Austin and found out a week later that Patrick had lost his job. This job was one that had him traveling at least one day every week in the peak of its business, which was manageable when I was in school. The news was devastating, but I knew that we would rebound just fine. We had a lot planned for the summer, so Patrick took on the duties as a stay at home dog dad paired with my honey-do list. Needless to say that kept him very busy.

In June, we made the trip to Cape Cod, with a side trip to Boston, to see one of my good friends from high school & college get married. One of my best friends that I have known since junior high also joined us out there because her husband was a groomsman. Because of the beautiful backdrop, both couples attempted to take our Christmas card pictures on the beach, but due to a wardrobe malfunction on my part this was the best picture from the beach (too bad we couldn't this one of the four of us):

Early in July my cousin Brylan came to spend half the week with us. This was her first trip on her own to Texas, so as you can imagine we kept her very busy. We did everything from South Congress to the bats on the Congress bridge to a trip down to San Antonio to the Alamo and Natural Bridge caverns. Brylan has the same crazy hair that I do, so I did what any good cousin would do, and sent her home with flat-ironed hair. Yes folks, she's only 12, but looks so old in this final picture:In July my grandfather Paw Paw's health started to decline, and we knew that our time was limited with him. I was very close to him and had spent every summer with him and my grandmother Cille, growing up. There were so many great memories from those summers from learning to drive at 13 while my grandmother was taking her nap to daily trips to the drug store for real Cokes made at the soda fountain. Patrick and I decided that it was time to go be with him in Louisiana, so we packed up everything and headed to Alexandria. As we pulled into the assisted living home he was in, Patrick got a call that he had gotten a job! What a blessing in such a tough time! We arrived to the assisted living home at noon, and we lost Paw Paw at 4PM. Though this was so tough, he lived 94 wonderful years and had the opportunity to impact so many of us. As a positive, Patrick got to experience more of my family heritage as we went to my dad's home town for the funeral and buried my grandfather in southern Arkansas. Here's a picture of him while he was in the S. Pacific during WWII: In August Patrick started his new job, and we decided that it was time to put Ranger in puppy school. Ranger successfully graduated, but that has not stopped his destructive habits. The end of August brought the beginning of football season and the beginning of September brought me a new job at Dell and Patrick an appendectomy. One evening after returning home from work Patrick mentioned that he was having some pains in his upper stomach. Because this had been a recurring issue, I asked that we finish dinner and head to the ER. I knew there was a problem when Patrick didn't eat a bite of his dinner. We headed to the ER at 8PM and at 2AM he was admitted to the hospital. He didn't have emergency surgery, but did have his appendix removed the following afternoon. After just starting his new job, we had no idea what this would entail for us. Patrick was lucky in that his recovery time was much shorter than we expected. Since the surgery, he hasn't had any further stomach pains and are hopeful that this is what had caused all of his previous issues.

October continued to keep us busy with football season, and at the end of October we learned that I would be traveling to Ireland for the majority of November. So we started to prepare for this trip, making sure that we had as much stuff completed before I left. My time in Ireland was a great professional experience, and on the weekend I was able to go see some of the Irish countryside. My good friend Ger invited me to spend a weekend with her in Dublin, and I couldn't have gotten a more in depth tour of the city. We managed to sneak in high tea and had a wonderful time.While I was in Ireland, Patrick managed to stay busy with a trip to Wurstfest and a trip to Houston to see our niece's dance competition. We spent Thanksgiving in College Station for the football game and started to prepare for December.

In December we celebrated our first anniversary in Fredricksburg at the Hoffman Haus, and we were able to visit a couple of wineries on our way into town. We discovered our new favorite winery, Grape Creek vineyards, along our journey and hope to have the opportunity to visit again soon. That Monday, we were able to go to the dedication of the new museum of the Pacific War in Fredrickburg, where my grandfather's submarine mass is displayed in the front lawn. What a wonderful experience to spend time with veterans of WWII. The next weekend we had a mini-staycation in Austin where we stayed at a hotel in town and had a wonderful dinner with friends at Eddie-V's. The next weekend we embarked on our Christmas travels, and we received a new camcorder for Christmas. Below is my first video of the snow and our Christmas preparations in Dallas.

Because of the snow, our trip to Houston was slightly delayed, but we were able to make it in time for the festivities. While I was in Ireland I bought Sean a Munster Rugby jersey and all the girls Irish dancer dolls. As you can tell from the photos they all enjoyed their new toys.

We had a great trip to Houston and had the opportunity to have a long visit with Kimmi (Patrick's sister) and husband Chris who live in Phoenix, along with the Bivens and the Kainers. Despite being busy, we made the time this year to relax and enjoy the holidays.

As we rang in the new year with good friends, the Kainers are looking forward to a less-eventful 2010.