2009 zipped by - but was another fabulous year for us.
In February, John did a tank haul in Honey Creek Cave in Central Texas. This basically means he hauled scuba gear through mud and water underground for 17 hours. During this time, while the divers did their dive, he got to rest for 5 or 6 hours - huddled under a trash bag, trying to stay warm. (sounds fun, huh? :-) Donna's definitely still not getting this caving thing - but John is clearly having a ball.
John got (back) into swimming this year. He swam a 1.2 mile open water race in June. And in one weekend in August, he swam a 2k in 30 mins, 18 seconds, and a 5k in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 35 seconds. And then moved slowly and gently for a few days. While John was swimming, Donna sat at the end of the pool, counting laps and tracking lap times. The hand with which she held the stop watch was in outstanding shape and wasn't even sore following the weekend.
John's re-engagement with swimming inspired Donna.... Her swimming included no "k's" but she could often be found swimming laps in our pool.
In February, John did a tank haul in Honey Creek Cave in Central Texas. This basically means he hauled scuba gear through mud and water underground for 17 hours. During this time, while the divers did their dive, he got to rest for 5 or 6 hours - huddled under a trash bag, trying to stay warm. (sounds fun, huh? :-) Donna's definitely still not getting this caving thing - but John is clearly having a ball. John got (back) into swimming this year. He swam a 1.2 mile open water race in June. And in one weekend in August, he swam a 2k in 30 mins, 18 seconds, and a 5k in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 35 seconds. And then moved slowly and gently for a few days. While John was swimming, Donna sat at the end of the pool, counting laps and tracking lap times. The hand with which she held the stop watch was in outstanding shape and wasn't even sore following the weekend.
John's re-engagement with swimming inspired Donna.... Her swimming included no "k's" but she could often be found swimming laps in our pool.
At the International Congress of Speleology in June, John set a new record for his age group, and tied the world record (all ages) for "sit-stand" rope climbing. He climbed 120 meters in 7 minutes 48.3 seconds.
Since that wasn't enough exercise for the day, he also set a new record for his age group by climbing 30 meters in 1 minute, 9 seconds. And "just for fun", he climbed the cable ladder, beating the times of all the 6-8 year olds who'd climbed before him.
In August, we went to northern Florida for a weekend of R&R at the beach.... A last trip before Donna was grounded. With Hurricane Bill churning its way up the Atlantic seaboard, John had great waves for boogie boarding and Donna enjoyed hanging out on the beach, reading, drinking smoothies, and generally just relaxing (no dirt bikes or skydiving this year :-)
The highlight of our year again happened toward the end of the year (well, it was cooking for ~9 months of the year...)
Katelyn Nicole Kerr was born on Oct 19. Donna has loved being home with her as she grows and changes every day. Katelyn's already a "daddy's girl" and John's chest remains her favorite pillow.
Everyone told us we had no idea how our lives were going to change after she was born. And they were right. But the biggest surprise has been ... not the way our hearts melt when she's lying peacefully in our arms, or the perfection of her tiny fingers and toes; not the number of diaper changes a day (our first box of 900(!) baby wipes from Costco lasted all of about 3 weeks - partly due to user inexperience and fastidiousness) ... but the inordinate amount of laundry generated by such a little person! 
Katelyn's pediatrician told her to "keep 'em guessing", and she's doing a fabulous job of following his advice... Every time we think we've figured something out, she changes the game - but we're having the time of our lives trying to keep up with her. It's been an amazing, awe-inspiring, exhilirating, educational, joyful few months ... that have absolutely flown by.
We have much to enjoy and look forward to with her in the years to come.
We wish you happy holidays and health, joy and peace in 2010.
