2008 in Sum

This year in lieu of sending out our yearly cards and family update, I'm referring people to this blog post. We just couldn't muster the energy this month to send out individual cards and letters. Please forgive...

2008 was our bipolar year. We've experienced deep happiness followed quickly by the bad and terribly sad. In the midst of this right now, as we learn to cope with our recent loss, we've developed an even deeper appreciation of our blessings. Looking over most of this past year has been therapeutic. There have been a lot of happy times with family, friends and each other, and a lot of great accomplishments. We are so grateful for these blessings.

Jeremy had quite the "to-do" list this year:
-Graduate with Master's degree in physical therapy

-Complete full-time summer internship (pay tuition while providing free labor)
-Work for Nike Club Run SF (training program for Nike Women's Marathon)
-Compete in triathlons (1 team, 1 individual) and half marathons

-Start classes towards Doctor of Physical Therapy degree
-Pass board exams to become licensed PT
-Obtain first full-time PAID job as a PT

Jeremy is currently enjoying his work at California Pacific Medical Center, and loves his 15 minute bike commute. The awesome news that he passed his board exams got overshadowed by our turmoil this month, but it is nonetheless a huge accomplishment. He is half-way through his course work towards his DPT.

Liz's tasks for the year....not so daunting:
-Lose fitness (stop racing/training) to optimize fertility. No problems there....now if we could just get our gametes to cooperate and do their job.
-Keep working full time at UCSF Children's Hospital (I'd have to try pretty hard to get fired at this point).
-Work for Nike Club Run SF--(we especially enjoyed the days we were assigned to the same pace group.)

-Weekly Tuesday night entertainment of six 8-9 year old boys at church.

Liz is still employed full time at UCSF Children's Hospital, but is temporarily on leave, using some of her vast store of sick days. Between our employment with Nike over the summer, and Liz's racing team's Nike sponsorship, she has been busy creatively finding ways to keep our apartment from looking like a Nike Warehouse. Anyone wear a size 8 running shoe?

And in the time in between...
(our "happy list" is so much longer than the sad one)

The sad:
-the passing of Jeremy's grandma Lil in January. We miss our visits with her, and miss enjoying her spunk, sense of humor, and sincerity.
-the loss of our first pregnancy at 6 weeks earlier in the year.
-the loss of our second pregnancy this month, a little boy, at 20 weeks.

The happy:
- Last Christmas at the McMillan home with the whole McMillan family present.

-Trip to Hawaii during Jeremy's winter break; first time together on Oahu since we met there, and Liz's first time to Kauai. Right now, even more than before, we acutely realize our greatest blessing of all-that we met and married each other.

-Meeting our new nephew Sean (Alex and Amy's) for the first time, on a lovely trip to Pennsylvania

-Visiting Jeremy's brothers Brandon, and Kalen in Southern California.
Jeremy and Kalen:

Liz surfing San Onofre:

-Celebrating our 5th Anniversary with a trip down the coast to Santa Barbara and Morro Bay.

-Living our dream to travel to New Zealand, traveling with Liz's sister Emily to visit her parents while they lived there.
Jeremy surfing Raglan:

Visiting the tropical glacier, apparently not an oxymoron:

-Backpacking and swimming in Big Sur with Liz's uncle James and family, and sister Emily.

-Jeremy's birthday, surfing on his new Red Beauty board in Santa Cruz

-Cashing in the tickets to Japan that we won, meeting up with all of Liz's siblings there.


-Celebrating Jeremy's dad's 60th birthday with his parents and brother Ryan:

-Celebrating Liz's grandad's 90th birthday at a surprise party in Venice, CA

-Visiting Utah for Labor Day weekend.
Jeremy with his sister, Ashley:

-A romantic post-internship getaway to stay at Pigeon Point Lighthouse

-Camping at Yosemite with our friends

-Visiting Portland and family/ friends therein with Liz's cousins

-A beautiful November morning in San Francisco, when Jeremy ran a half marathon

-The birth of our newest nephew Samuel (Brandon and Lucy's), who we look forward to meeting--further evidence that the McMillan men supply only the XY chromosome.
-Filling December with very long walks...realizing we live in the most beautiful city.

While all of the above events and interactions with loved ones are happy memories, this happiness pales in comparison to the joy we felt from the anticipation of a baby in our lives. We are full of hope and prayers for the future. We thank God for each other, and for our family, friends and everything else we have been given. Although this holiday season is not what we hoped for, we appreciate the chance to reflect on what is most important, and to spend time with loved ones.