Trimming the tree...

We decided that we were going to cut down our Christmas tree this year. I have never done it, but Jim has when he was a kid, so we thought it would be a fun thing for the family to do... so we set out last weekend to search for the perfect tree. Our house has 10 ft ceilings, so I was all about finding the "Griswald family" tree, but I don't think they grow that way in New Mexico...

We got our permit, and searched high and low (in the rain) for the better part of the day, but all we could find were different sizes of Charlie Brown trees.Now, it very well could be that we were being too critical of the trees we did find, there were lots of people heading back down the mountain with trees in the back of their trucks.

But regardless, we drove back to town, and purchased a 9 1/2 ft tree... and it is B-E-A-UTIFUL!

The kids in front of the tree.

I may be biased...

But seriously, how cute is our son?! Jim just rolled his eyes and apologized to Tommy for having to wear the outfit, but I thought he looked very cute is baptismal suit! Granted, he does look a little scared in the picture, but he liked it.

My sister JoAnn and her husband Dave are Tommy's Godparents, and the priest who did the baptism I have known since I was a little girl, and before he was a priest.

Tommy screamed through the entire thing, until they actually poured the holy water on his head and he was officially baptized, then he went to sleep.

blah blah blog

So I've finally decided to get on the "Blog Bandwagon" and share pictures, random thoughts, and whatever else might come our way, and thanks to my dear friend Rachel for getting me set up. The only question was, where to start? I decided that since we are nearing the end of 2007, what better way then to recap the past year, and what an exciting year it has been!

It's hard to believe that this time last year, Hanna and I were anxiously awaiting the Christmas holiday when Jim would be home for 2 weeks from Afghanistan. We had such a wonderful time, although it went by entirely too fast. And just when I thought that Jim being home with us was the best Christmas present we could've asked for, January brought another surprise. We found out that we were expecting another child. I don't know what's in the water over in the Mid East, but ours is certainly not the only R & R or post-deployment pregnancy!!

In February, another milestone (for me anyway). After almost 18 years, I quit smoking! If wasn't near as difficult as I thought it would be, although the simple act of not doing it took some getting used to, and I had to find other ways to occupy my time while talking on the phone, or driving.


The end of March brought Jim and the rest of the 27th Engineers home from Afghanistan safe and sound. We were so glad to have them back with us, and so proud of all their accomplishments overseas.

April and May went by in a flash, between visiting Jim's family in Florida, and traveling to Colorado for Jim's best friend's wedding, not to mention preparing to move across the country and getting ready to put our house on the market.

The month of June is a blur. Hanna celebrated her 7th birthday at our house with a Little Mermaid themed party in our backyard. She then graduated from 1st grade, we closed on our house, said good-bye to our friends, and left North Carolina for our next adventure.

We took our time getting to New Mexico, and we were able to spend time with several friends in the DC area.

We then stopped in Ohio at the Great Wolf Lodge -(sidebar - if you are ever near a Great Wolf Lodge, they are super-fun whether you have kids or are just a kid at heart!)

We then travelled to Missouri and spent several days with Jim's sister Kathy and her family.

After almost 3 weeks on the road, we found ourselves in our new hometown (for a couple of years anyway), Albuquerque, New Mexico. We found a house to rent in a town just north of the city, Rio Rancho, and moved in in mid-July.

In August, my sister JoAnn and niece Ellie, came for a visit and brought my mom down to stay with us until the baby was born. It was so nice having her here. She helped us get unpacked and settled in the house, and prepare for our new arrival. Hanna also started 2nd grade at her new school, and fell in love with it instantly. She also began gymnastics, joined a Girl Scout troop, and started religious education classes at the church we attend.

The last nine months also included my ever-expanding belly, but finally, it was time for our little boy to arrive, and my c-section was scheduled for September 14th. Thomas Ryan was born at 12:41 pm and was 20 1/2 inches long, and weighed 7 lbs 12 oz. After a short stay in the NICU, he and I came home on the 17th. He is such a joy and Hanna loves her little brother. We are truly blessed to have two beautiful children

In October, my mom went home, and we were left to fend for ourselves. :) But we survived, and have been going strong. We are on the go almost every weekend. Jim and Hanna have been fishing several times, and Tommy and I have even tagged along twice. We can't get our son started too son. We went and got pumpkins at a huge pumpkin patch with a corn maze. We had a great time carving pumpkins although Tommy slept while his was being carved. He also slept through Trick or Treating, but Hanna had a great time and came home with enough candy to rot the teeth of every kid at her school.

Jim's mom came to visit the beginning of November, and Hanna and Tommy loved having their Granny here. Another milestone in Hanna's life, she got her ears pierced, much to her daddy's dismay. He had agreed she could have it done once she was 7, and she hadn't started asking until then, so he couldn't really say no. She looks so grown up, it's amazing how a couple of holes in the ears will transform a little girl into a young lady... Lord help us, she'll be wanting to wear makeup and shave her legs before we know it. She was also chosen to compete in a Spelling Bee at her school, and she made it to the 4th round. It was 1st through 5th graders, and they started out with 55 kids, and were down to 12 at the beginning of round 4. We were amazed at the spelling words... marsupial, bonsai, tarantula... just to name a few. She did really well and we are so proud of her. We travelled to my hometown in Nebraska for Thanksgiving, and had Tommy baptized while we were there. We had a nice time, but as always, it went by quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to head back home.

Now you're caught up on the Fitzgerald's so far in '07. I'll be posting more and adding more pictures, etc. as I get more accustomed to the Blog. I promise my future posts won't be this long! Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment. In fact, I highly encourage it, I don't want to feel like I'm blogging to myself! :) In fact, I would appreciate you commenting just to spite Jim, who said "Geez, your post is too long, no one is that interested in our life!"