2012.

2012....It was the *best* of times....and the *worst* of times.

That really sums up 2012 for us. It was definitely a mixed bag. We started our IVF cycle in 2012-which failed and also made me very sick. We lost Dan's grandfather (Opsie) and my best friend's father died very unexpectedly on Saturday. I knew him since I was eight. He was a wonderful man, a spectacular father and always showed such patience and kindness...even when he was carting a bunch of 16 year old's to the mall or the movies. I had my kidney stone and massive kidney infection that landed me in the hospital with sepsis and delayed our IF treatment for several months. My husband's cousin had a tubing accident and is now in a medicated coma with a TBI :( My family, friends and I have also lost several acquaintances this year. I just seems like there was a lot of bad news to go around.

But then....there was some spectacular stuff that happened too. Dan and I bought a beautiful house. We had our summer trip to Australia....we got pregnant on a frozen cycle that NO ONE really thought would take. We had our anatomy scan and, so far (knock on wood) baby girl is healthy and all looks good. Alex is growing into a beautiful, smart, funny, precocious, amazing older toddler. She gives us such joy. Every day. And she makes every year amazing. We look forward to seeing her with her sister in 2013.

So yes. It was a tough year. At some points, a grueling year. An amazing year too. It's what Glennon Melton (blogger) would call "Brutiful". Which is a mix of brutal and beautiful. How apt is that??? Brutiful. Definitely.

So here's to 2013. I hope that we have a healthy baby girl in about 3 1/2-4 months.  But most importantly of all, I wish for health, safety and togetherness for our family of (soon-to-be) four.