For those of you that are close to Donna and I, you already know that 2010 has been a year of ups and downs for us. With that being said, this Christmas letter might not have the same tone as ones you might have received from us in the past. I have been instructed to keep this short and sweet, so here goes…
Dealing w/ Setbacks & Moving Forward
We found out early in 2010 that we were pregnant again, but a few weeks later we had our second miscarriage. A few months later we found ourselves pregnant for the third time and thinking that surely the third time was the charm, and in the beginning that pregnancy looked viable, but a little later on we found out that this one wasn’t meant to be either. For those of you who have experienced this before, you have some idea as to what we went through times three. It just hurt, and hurt bad. We received countless cards, letters, flowers, and meals from our friends, and it still chokes us up when we try to describe everyone’s kindness and generosity. We couldn’t have pulled through this slump w/out you guys (you know who you are).
Looking back on this low points in our lives there were 3 positive things that happened for us. The first being that it brought us even closer together as a couple, and we learned that no matter what life throws at us, we can endure it together. The second positive for us we would learn later, after we had endured all that we endured on this journey it would have been easy for us both to lose hope but the opposite happened, our faith was strengthened. We now believe more than ever that our future includes children, and that leads me to our third positive from this experience. We have decided to pursue adoption and have left all doors open for God to build our family the way he wants. Starting this next year we are enrolling in parenting classes, learning CPR, and having all of the home study work prepared that is required for us to get into the DHS system to adopt. Seeing as how we have completely turned this over to God we sure would love to have each of you agreeing in prayer w/ us regarding this situation, and pray that the entire process will be a positive one.
Saying Goodbye is Hard…
This past year has been a year of great loss to Donna and I both. We lost her Grandmother Bakie this year, who we were both very close to. I picked up Donna for our first date at Bakie’s house and from the first moment we met we had a unique relationship. It was hard for everyone to watch her as the Alzheimer’s rapidly worked on her mind, and in her passing I think we all found comfort in knowing that she was no longer confused, and was reunited w/ her true love. One thing that Bakie always took a lot of pride in was her delicious Apple Pie, one day she sat down and shared that recipe w/ me, along w/ her BBQ Sauce recipe. We made sure that everyone who attended her memorial service received a copy of her Apple Pie recipe so that her memory would live on with us each time we all sat down together for special occasions.
This year has also been tough on my side of the family as well. I lost two Aunts who had been big influences in my life since the day I came into this world. My Aunt Mary was one of the sweetest ladies in Phillips County, and probably one of the sharpest too. Aunt Mary served as the vice president of Helena National Bank, a bank she had been with for 50 years. She was the first face you would see when you walked through the front doors of the main branch downtown, and for good reason, Aunt Mary was one of the prettiest women in the community. Even through her last days struggling with complication after complication, she handled herself with such grace and dignity that even the nurses and doctors that came in contact w/ her were impacted by her life. A short time after Aunt Mary’s passing we all attended her grandson Tripp’s wedding, it was a bittersweet event for everyone but one that we all felt her comforting presence as she smiled down upon us from heaven.
I also lost another powerful influence in my life this when my Aunt Linda passed. I can’t count the times that my cousin David and I would call her from the office while we were working late on a project and she would have dinner made for us by the time we got home. I also can’t count the times that Aunt Linda and I would just get on the phone to discuss life, she had a unique perspective that was not only wise but contagious. One of her favorite things to say was that when life gave us lemons we had to make lemonade. She also taught me that you can’t always control your destiny but you can always bloom where you are planted.
Some High Points from 2010
While we are eager to put 2010 behind us we can’t say that the year was a total loss. We did have some good times. On vacation this summer at Hilton Head Island we had a wonderful time w/ Donna’s parents traveling across the country. One highlight from the trip was a chartered fishing trip that I coordinated w/ a local fishing guide who took us out to fish for sharks. The fishing trip was a huge success, there’s a great rundown of the fishing trip on my blog, you can find that post here…
Businesswise 2010 was a great year for Pleth. We added several new faces to our team this year and opened a new office in Jonesboro. We will also opening an office here in Conway after the first of the year, but I will probably continue to do most of my work from home where I am the most productive, and where Donna can stand over me w/ a flyswatter when the ADHD starts kicking in…
My partners and I also purchased some investment property this past year and have been getting educated real quick on the fine art of being landlords. We also traveled out of state for some eventful conferences and meetings that renewed our corporate vision and helped us pinpoint new areas of opportunity for Pleth.
Ending the Year on a High Note w/ Bogey Sinatra…
Given all that we have endured this past year I really wanted Donna and I to end the year on a high note. After several months of pleading, I finally gave into the idea of getting a dog. Something she had passionately campaigned for since we got married. Her initial thoughts were that she wanted a Pug puppy but after we did some thinking we decided that we wanted to adopt a puppy from the Faulkner County Animal Shelter. We both felt great about what we were doing, even got to the pound about 20 minutes early to pick up the puppy we had picked out. We got the puppy to the vet to get its shots and have some tests ran and the vet told us that he was sorry and that the puppy wasn’t going to make it. It was too sick. We had owned this puppy 25 minutes, I looked at my watch.
I glanced over to Donna who had the most heartbroken look on her face when the doctor shared the news with us and I knew immediately what had to happen. We walked out of the vets office and got on the phone w/ a breeder in Mayflower who just so happened to have one Pug puppy left out of the litter she was selling. We immediately punched her address into the GPS and headed that direction. When we got to her farm she met us in the driveway and handed us this tiny ball of fur that we immediately fell in love with. We went through several names but finally arrived at Bogey Sinatra Rohrscheib for our newest addition to the family. My only remark after getting this puppy home, after our second vet visit of the day, was that the next living creature we brought into our home had to one day walk upright!
All in all though, I think it’s safe to say that we are going to leave 2010 on a high note and with great expectations for what 2011 holds. We hope that each of you reading this Christmas blog has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and a Blessed and Prosperous 2011.
Now, for the best part…
Click on the video below to watch our animated Christmas Dance…
Donna and I both wish everyone of you that reads this post a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Blessed New Year! If you would like to stay up to date with our everyday adventures feel free to connect w/ us on Facebook: Cotton’s Facebook, Donna’s Facebook, or on Twitter: Cotton’s Twitter, and Donna’s Twitter.
Questions or Comments?