2010 was quite the year for us .... where to start?Well lets see ... the highlights .... October 10th had to be the biggest ... the day I got to watch, anxiously, as Laura walked down the aisle towards me ... and a little while later she said "I do" to become my wife.
Of course there was lots around that story .... leading up to the wedding and afterwards. A lot of the things that 2010 brought us were challenges and the fact that we made it through to October showed how much we were willing to work for each other ... to support each other ... to comfort each other and along the way find time to have some fun and share our love.
January started off as a good month with the Christmas break extending into a nice New Years with the girls. Then of course we get to start the New Year with two birthdays ... Sam's and Laura's less than a week apart ... which meant for a lot of cake. The month turned rough when we received news of the tragedy in Haiti. This hit us very personally as Laura has worked with many people in Haiti over the years and we spent many days trying to track down where her friends and colleagues were ... making sure that all was ok with them. It was no surprise to us that we found out that many had not just gotten through but now were dedicating themselves to doing everything in their power to help those in even greater need. Of course in the midst of that we were facing a deluge of snow here in Northern Virginia ... it reminded me of the heavy sows that I would see when I lived in Ottawa and even then it was rare to see as much snow as we did so quickly.
We made it through January to face yet another challenge when we found out that Laura's father has passed away at the beginning of February. I was in Nashville when we got the news and rushed back to make sure that Laura was not alone. It was a time that brought out a lot of emotions in both of us and in fact still does.
February did have its great moments as well. The end of the month saw the birth of Isabella Bridger. I had not thought about it much until lately but now I have 5 nephews and 2 nieces. Leslie keeps us updated with lots of pictures of Isabella ... and they always make us smile. It was great to get to meet her in October.
The summer of 2010 also did not lack for excitement ... more college visits ... a road trip for myself and Martika, before she disappeared to VCU in Richmond .... great celebrations of Canada Day and July 4th ... and Laura made my birthday so very special (and no not just by getting me an iPad). Tika's graduation started the summer off and Laura just kept doing wonderful things for me ... finding nice places for lunch or dinner and then taking me to wonderful wine shops and joining us for a Bugs Bunny night at Wolf Trap. Mine and Martika's trip took us to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara, Buffalo, Sandusky and Pittsburgh. We had a great time touring cities, seeing friends, concerts, roller coasters and great eating. And then she disappeared off to college ... that is one of those bittersweet moments ... so proud to see her grow up and go off on her own but knowing that we will miss her (and we will still be paying for most of what she does ...).
After returning from our honeymoon we had a few weeks home before we took off for Nashville to celebrate our first Thanksgiving as Mr and Mrs Moore. Laura has made Thanksgiving a special time. She loves to go to Nashville and stay at one of the best hotels. She makes sure we have time to spend at Cheekwood and we always find time to see some other bits of Nashville, this time a wonderful gallery next to our hotel. Of course I get to eat at Noshville, but the highlight is the family dinner. Lisa does a wonderful job of hosting. You can see when you are at her house that she is a very wonderful and open person. She has friends stopping by for a drink or just to say hi. We of course eat too much but it is great food , great wine and great company and I am thankful that Laura has made the occasion such a special one for me.
And finally December ... and more firsts. Samantha's first involvement in a school play and our first Christmas as husband and wife. Laura made it special for everyone and it was obvious that everyone had fun. But December was not just about Christmas ... Laura capped her year by getting her two patents finalized.
It was an amazing year. It had very emotional moments .. some very low lows and some very high highs and in between lots of little challenges and lots of big victories. We laughed ... we cried ... we smiled ... we traveled and we learned lots about each other. It will be a year to remember and when I do I know I will smile.
Thank you for staying involved with it by following us.
All the best for 2011.
Gary & Laura
