Gee I'm glad its raining - Ernest

Last Monday my husband turned 34. He never really wants to celebrate his birthday, and this year I did not fight him on it. So 7 balloons and one garland and 1 medium cake with the family was all we did this year. There has been a lot going on and I was not feeling particularly festive anyway...

School was a lot harder than I expected and I saw all my extreme efforts of last year going down the drain as I am in no way passing the emergency course I had to take to complete my minor. I got sick the first week of the year, which in a three week course period puts you so far behind, it's quite impossible to catch up. Especially if it is a chemistry course, my weakest subject by far. So no diploma in the fall. All of which sucked.

But nothing compares to the other big thing going on.
Last year just before the summer, we were in Kampen for fieldwork with my year. We knew then, for a while, that our classmate Sangeeta (then 19) had been diagnosed with a tumor in the stem of her brain. Double vision, the loss of some use of her arm and other issues were starting to show, but still she joined us.
To make a long and sad story short, at the beginning of this year we got the news that the doctors told her that nothing could be done. To build new memories and say goodbye. A final round of chemo was the only option of treatment possible, but it would be a hard one.
So we rallied as a class and were busy thinking of things we could to to help. We are putting together a book of pictures and well wishes and getting everybody involved, her teachers, our friends and families to help with some financial stress relief. Within a week, we had 800 euro. We are planning another cupcake sale next week to reach the 1400 we wanted for a overdue bill the family has.

Everybody thought we had more time....We were there last Sunday, her best friends and me, her class-mom. We came to tell her about the fundraising and just visit with her. We left telling her we would see her next weekend, before the family would go on an all expense paid trip to a special medical vacation facility to get away for a bit.
And then we woke up to the message that Sangeeta has passed last night.

Words are not adequate to express the feeling of complete unbelief and the frustration of unfairness that is going through me now. So I will try with dance....

Feeling good - Nina Simone

So I was in the car at 7 am last week, on my way to the south to help my baby sister with babies with some moving. Seven in the morning in December means that it is pitch black, just as it had been since 1730 the day before. After a week of exams and an even busier weekend in spite of all of my pj’s and couch plans, the 6 am alarm was….-let’s just say-…not easy. But as I dragged myself in the car and started programming the navigation system, the I-pod picked up at a good song and kept doing that for 1,5 hours straight. And it was in an eclectic EDM, Latiin, golden oldies and originals loop that never happens. Good music always really makes my day! ‘Cause really, I like Michael Bubbles ;p just fine, but nothing beats Nina Simone singing Feeling good as you cruise along surrounded by beautiful sound…..

Especially because we are. Feeling good I mean. We have had a good year, 2014 has been a year of upping the ante, as predicted. We had a lot of wonderful firsts, seconds and can't get enough of's.

So here is our year in pictures:

We lost family, my mother's sister Enid passed.

We also gained family on both sides

Baby Bes

And baby Leo

Many many soespraisboxes

We had plenty of quality time

Road trips

Athletic achievements

Minor medical issues

Stem cell donation

Dogbite

Good food

Fluffiest cupcakes yet

And in the words of the Internet (as I could not find the source): 2013 was practice, 2014 was warm up and 2015 is GAME TIME! This is the year in which our hard work and sacrifices are going to pay off in a nice piece of paper around the fall somewhere. Still can’t believe it!

We wish you all a very happy and healthy 2015 and we hope to see you all in person this year!

Cindy and Joris