2008: Year in Review So the beginning of 2008 was pretty ordinary, I was a high powered Assistant District Attorney in Tulsa County and Heather was charge nurse at St. John Medical Center. Our lives were not very exciting. But the year of 2008 brought with it many surprises, blessings and challenges. And over the next 12 months, God was about to teach us a lot about ourselves, our faiths, and our love for each other.
In late January I was asked to step into a leadership role with our Community (Sunday school class) and accepted the invitation. Within 2 weeks we learned of Heather’s dad being diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer.
Heather took some time to be in Norman taking care of her family, while I continued my career in the DA’s office. This means for a good part of the year, we were miles apart. During the first 6 months of 2008 I tried 7 jury trials, and obtained a guilty verdict in every single one (that means that I won for you non-Law and Order buffs.) While serving at the DA’s office, Heather and I made some dear friends, Jake and Courtney, who got engaged to be married this year. We have grown remarkably close to them, and continue to enjoy their presence in our lives.
Throughout the year we continued to grow closer to our Covenant Community friends. God was surrounding us with good company; friends that would pray for us; friends that would cry with us. In May, Heather and I, along with 13 others from the class, took a mission trip to the Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky, located in the Appalachian Mountains. There we were challenged in new ways. Heather and I had both been on plenty of mission trips before, but not one like this. God re-taught us what Grace was that summer; and like the family we were serving, we as children of God tend to take advantage of the blessings God has given to us, rather than being grateful. We have so many great friends that have stemmed from this community and our Asbury church family. We are thankful that God has placed the Waltons, Coopers, Adams, McCants, Meyers, Keifers, as well as the many others in our lives.
Over the 4th of July, my family got to gather together at my parent’s new lake house in Bella Vista, Arkansas. It is rare for all 13 of us to be together, so it was nice to have a place and time that was relaxing. Heather and I also made a trip with my dad and his family to Williamsburg, Virginia.
A special day to remember will be the day that Heather and her sister, Holly, invited 200 of their parent's closest friends to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. Hosted by the Hill's good friends, Steve and Lori Lindsey, this was a site that brought tears of joy to everyone's eyes!
The Fall of 2008 didn’t bring much relief for us. We discovered that Heather’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our dog, who is really our only child, Petie, went into shock and nearly died, and would have died if not for our dear friend Lauren Cornwell. That was a rough couple of weeks, however, we are pleased to say, both Petie and Heather’s mom are doing quite well.
Speaking of the Cornwell’s, Heather’s best friend, Lauren, had her baby in November of 2008, welcome Campbell Cornwell; as did our other good friend, Emily Walton, having her baby in December, Harper Grace. We also are excited to welcome Ty Waldenville, Noah Goodnight and Ella Hartsock into our world. And speaking of babies, Heather and I found out that we were pregnant; and we have 3 tests to prove it! We also were able to celebrate the many pregnancies along with ours, inlcuding my brother Chris and his wife Tanya, as well as cousin Patrick and his wife Gretchen...and we thought the holidays were fun this year!
I am no longer at the DA’s office, but have since accepted a new position with Cimarex Energy here in Tulsa. Cimarex, an oil and gas exploration company, is an excellent company to work for, however, oil and gas have pretty much plummeted since I joined. I hope they don’t hold me responsible.
Of course we had the usual weddings and OU Football to fill our schedules; however we were able to be apart of Kinsey and Jared’s wedding, which was special. We also had our first OU Tailgate, it was a blast!
2009 looks to be a great year! New job, babies, another run at the National Championship, and I was also able to talk my good friend Brad and Ashley into moving to Tulsa, so we are excited about the next 12 months. It will be tiring and it will be hectic; but I am certain that it will be filled with lessons from above, and more importantly, His Grace to cover that in which we mess up.
But we are most excited to tell our story. Just 50 weeks back, this was a story we were not very fond of. It was far from a story we wanted to tell others, as it was hard enough, at the time, to hear for ourselves. However, as Heather's dad continues to defy the odds, and her mom has been declared the "best case scenario" by her doctor, we have a lot to be thankful for! We will live our lives affected by this cancer, but not infected by it. Our lives will continue, as our God continues. We will, through His strength, live strong!
Rob and Heather
