My Holiday letter

Every year my mom sends out a holiday letter with her Christmas Cards - telling everyone how our year went. I get a few of these from others as well and I have to tell you, I LOVE THEM. I love to hear about people's lives. I know it takes time, thought and effort to get those out and I appreciate that. I don't take any of that (time, thought or effort) and so no letter and even worse, no cards. Ugh. This year I haven't even put up the tree. I am going to take out my ornaments and visit with them, even though they won't get to hang on the tree this year.

If you read my blog regularly, you have gotten my Holiday letter in pieces all year long! I'm going to do a recap here...if I WERE to put out a letter, it would go like this...

2009 was a good year in the Bryant house. We have lots of plans and goals, most of which came to fruition this year. Some unexpected things appeared on our doorstep and we welcomed them with open arms!

January was a good month for our business - our first Max Muscle Sports Nutrition store really hit the ground running in January. Everyone was making resolutions to lose weight and be healthy. We were there to help!

February seems so long ago! We celebrated the 6th anniversary of my 29th birthday! 35 - hard to believe it.

March was a busy month for us - we headed to Denver for a few days for our nephew Bryce's 1st birthday party. Grammie Richards was there. We also got to visit with some friends from college that I have been out of touch with for about 10 years. It was so good to see Shellie, Matt and Tom - it was like no time had passed. At the end of March, Trevor had his first Mixed Martial Arts amateur cage match. He did not win, but he put up a great fight. It was a life changing time for us - click here to read all about it and watch the video if you can stand it!

Trevor broke his leg in the fight and was out of commission for a few weeks. At the end of March we officially began training for the Lake Stevens Half Ironman Triathlon AND the Portland Marathon. We were assistant coaches for Vancouver Fit, which is a 26 week training program. We met the most amazing, inspiring people, many of whom are now friends.

In April we went on our first and probably last cruise. We had won a gift certificate at an event and finally used it. It was good to get away, but wasn't as great as I had hoped.

Trevor graduated college in May with his Bachelor's degree. This was the end to a two year journey of night, weekend and online classes. I was really proud of him. It took a lot of hard work and dedication and he saw it through to the end.

June brought several surprises. The first was our initial triathlon of the season and the surprise was how difficult it was. I went into shock over what we were planning for the rest of the season and needed some serious talking to by some good friends to get myself back on track. The next surprise was a new addition to our family - a cat named Norwyn. That makes 4 cats for those of you keeping track. He showed up on our deck on night and wasn't leaving, so we brought him into our home and he became a part of our family.

July - another busy month full of triathlon training. This was the month that I really started to own my experiences with the multi-sport events. We completed our first Olympic distance triathlon and I have never felt more strong. In July we also celebrated our 9 year dating anniversary.

August was a big month - we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversay by completing a Half Ironman Triathlon. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. The 30 seconds before crossing the finish line were the most exhilirating seconds of my life. It made every minute of training and sacrafice worth it. I crossed that line and said to myself "there is nothing you can't do". Doing this with Trevor made it even better.

August was a big month for our business as well - we won the "Outstanding Store of the Year" award for our first store and opened our second store at the end of the month.

September brought one more triathlon and a focus on the upcoming Portland Marathon. The end of the month brought yet another surprise - a new puppy named Maggie. For those of you counting, that makes 3 dogs. Its a zoo here.

October was the marathon. I had a great day and overcame my previous experience with the marathon, which was not good. Trevor did not have such a good day - he stepped in a hole and broke his foot at mile 6. Another four weeks of being out of commission! I was blessed in October when the Phillies went to the World Series again and allowed me the opportunity to watch them on TV!

October 30th was my last day at The Oregonian. We parted ways and that was probably best for both of us. I loved working there and don't miss it one bit.

November brought a new addition to the Richards' side of the family, my brother and his wife had another baby. We'll go see him early next year.

Now December - Trevor turned 36. Holiday parties, catching up with friends. We lost a friend this December - Jake Jacobsen passed away, along with his brother in law Rick. This was a sad way to end the year.

As we prepare for 2010, we are looking back on this year. It was a good year - lots of things to be proud of. We are enjoying our family of animals and every day feel blessed that we have added to it and not lost any from it. Trevor and I are grateful for all that we have.

This would be my letter, if I were to write one!! I'll be preparing my year in review on our goals and thinking of goals for next year. Life is all about moving forward. That is what we plan to do now and always.