Here is the year of 2009 as I saw it through my viewfinder or my mind’s eye…you can click on each photo for the corresponding blog post. The purpose of this blog since it’s infancy was to record the many lost thoughts and ideas I have whilst inviting you readers into the story. I’m planning on doing one of these posts each year as we open up a fresh one…after all, if you don’t record a memory…as in write it down or take a picture…isn’t it easy to lose it? We are the most photographed generation with the least photographs proving we’ve ever existed. I can’t let that happen. So…here’s some of what happened.
We started off the New Year with a special New Year’s Eve baptism service at Vineyard Westside Church. More than 30 people jumped into 2009 with their skin still wrinkled from a washing of grace.
I became completely and totally obsessed with the French Press in 2009. It was a good obsession.
We bought our first real Christmas Tree in 2008…
And we burned it in January…
I submitted this photo of the tree burning ceremony to the Capture Cincinnati photo contest and it ended up being published in the Capture Cincinnati 2009 Photo Book.
We found out Allison was preggers for the second time. Little did we know it would be a little Sinister Finnister growing in her belly. Now that I see his ultrasound after meeting him in person, it’s obviously him in the form of a tiny bean. It’s just a Finn bean. Kind of like the Ava Bean we took responsibility of just a few years earlier.
My friends traveled to Kenya and had their worlds rocked as they met in person the sister church we’ve partnered with halfway across the world. Another trip to Kenya is in the works for our church as we plan to show the love of God in practical ways by impractical means. They built a huge makeshift church to hold services in (that people walk for miles and miles and miles to attend) and we plan to paint it for them. It’s going to take a while…and I’m sure far more important conversations will take place.
I posted about tattoos and discovered that this is a popular topic on the interwebs. This is by far one of my most high-traffic posts in the history of this blog. Below is an image of my mother-in-law who got tattooed with the rest of her women’s bible study group. They’re completely and totally B-A.
Ava got potty-trained via a well stocked prize box…
I got my Lion of Judah tattoo on the inside of my arm. It hurt. Bad.
I burnt the bacon and Ava ate anchovies…
The winter months are rough when it comes to energy bills, but I think I got the highest one ever.
My friends Steve and Liz had their lives forever altered by a verse in the bible…a verse that would send them to Russia…twice…to adopt two brothers. They have Samuel and Rowan in their possession now. I’ve seen them. I’ve poked their bellies and patted their heads and given them high-fives. They’re completely and totally loved by two incredible parents.
I reflected on God’s goodness for my girls…
I made and devoured the best salad I’ve ever eaten…
We tore down our ugly shed…
Carrie got pregnant and eventually gave birth to a tiny human.
Allison and I celebrated six years of marriage…and that my friends…kicks some booty.
I finished the sleeve on my right arm…nearly 30 hours of tattoo work.
Ava and I did the LOVE T-Shirt project…
A group of us climbed some things we didn’t think we could climb…
I realized that I was a mighty warrior…
Our church hit record attendance with nearly 900 people attending our Easter services…
I found some old slides and I scanned them…
I went back to Honduras for the second time…
Friends and I administered shots to each other after getting the worst possible case of Poison Ivy experienced by the human race.
My nephew Lincoln was born while I was in Honduras…
I re-introduced “Matrix” into my life…
Allison (with Finn in belly), Ava, and I went and stayed at The Pioneer Woman’s ranch in the lodge…
My blog got the most comments it will probably ever see in a single post…
I cleaned and organized the fridge…it will never again be this nice.
I fell in love with Glen Hansard.
We discovered that Ava looks good on a Harley…
Ava’s barbies got viciously murdered, causing her to become the dog’s boss…
I learned a few things…
We embraced the summertime party…
Our friends Sarah and Brett got married…
We gave in to reckless abandon…
John Eldredge made me barf…
Ava grew the most incredible head of hair…ever.
Our men’s small group went camping at Red River Gorge…
We hit the parks hard…
We baptized 44 people outside on a warm summer day…
I got MRSA and it sucked.
Finn got borned…
Then he got cuter…
The he started looking like me…which made me think he was even cuter…
Then he absolutely, positively stole my heart and I won’t get it back any time soon…
I became unsatisfied with discontent…
Finn got big, but Lincoln got bigger…
My friend Jon shaved off his dirty hippie dreads…
Ava went to preschool.
Then she got her big-girl room in order…
I still don’t know what was happening in this photo…
We went on vacation to Surfside Beach in South Carolina.
Then I went to Catalyst in Atlanta…
Ryan and Carrie, who had lived with us for a good stint, moved out into their own place…with baby.
We went to the pumpkin festival where there were a lot of pumpkins…
Ava flipped me the bird…
We went to the Cincinnati Zoo a bazillion times.
Then our church worship band recorded a flipping amazing CD. It will be coming out soon.
And again with the cuteness and the getting older…
I shot photography and video from a helicopter…
Allison looked stunning…
We went back to Red River Gorge and climbed things we KNEW we couldn’t climb.
Finn finally realized how funny we are…
I grew a beard and then shaved it off…
In between those photos I cooked many things. We explored places without the camera. I officiated weddings and funerals. Laughed, cried, and hurled. This post was a year in the making and I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings to the table. The best is yet to come.
Thanks for giving us the grand tour, it was quite a trip.
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Cool!
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Ryan – That was seriously one of the coolest things I’ve seen on the web—ever. Thanks so much for sharing! I think I may have to steal your idea and do this next year. And it’s perfect, because that means I’ll have to be taking more photos, and blogging a whole lot more. Thanks again. What an incredible inspiration!
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What a great idea for a blog post. I would like to revisit my own 2009 in photos as well after seeing yours. Thank you so much for sharing this and your beautiful photographs! (loved Ava flipping the bird
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Mmmm frenchpress Mmmm Coffee… Mmmm OH MY GOSH! A KITCHENAID!!!!
(Thats what my brain was saying while looking at that photo)
Thanks for making me Smile
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A great recap of the year. A great post.
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I think this has pretty much become my favorite blog ever. Thanks for sharing, gorgeous photographs and a fantastic recap. Happy New Year!
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wow.. that was an aweseom recap of 2009. Plus it doenst help that your photo’s are just pretty awesome to look at.
praying that 2010 is just as great or even better for you guys.
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What a great post! May 2010 bring you as many happy memories! You are blessed…..as you bless others!
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Ok here goes my thoughts:
1.I bought that same dam coffee press after reading your post and used it once. Thanks. (just kidding)
2.The whole Barbie incident made me almost spew my coffee I laughed so hard (once again)
3.Ava’s hair!!!! (enough said)
4.Allison in the vader helmet. Let’s just say this.. Moterhood – it bring’s out the crazy in all of us. (I’m actually not kidding on this one)
5.If Finn get’s any cuter we will not be able to take it anymore. Ok, maybe we will. Bring on the cutness Finnster!!!!!
6.You became unsatisified with discontent in 2009. I FINALLY accepted it. Interesting huh?
7. The Frenchman beard pic was my fav. Great face on that one!
And lastly I love being one of your blog readers keep it coming! Here’s to 2010!!!
More blessings to you and yours Ryan!
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Great post Ryan!
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Awesome post! How inspiring ! What a positive way to reflect on ones past year. Thanks for the great post!
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I didn’t want this post to end!
Seriously, that post had to take fah-evah to make!
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TheDan says:
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@melanie,
How long do you think it took? Everyone take a guess. I won’t guess because he told me the answer.
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Love the post. What a great year you had. Have to admit I am one of the people who found you from the Pioneer woman. I have followed you since. I just don’t post comments LOVE your BLOG. Love Ava’s poor little finger. Love your recipes. GOD BLESS YOU.
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Thanks for a wonderful look at your year. I joined the party after you visited Pioneer Woman and I return every few days to see how your world if progressing. So far, great. Hope this year will be even better.
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This was fabulous. And my cute kid was loving seeing your kiddies! This post has me inspired to photograph more this year. It also makes me want to switch to Nikon. I just am so torn…
But for reals I’m pumped to take more photos this year!
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[...] This Is Reverb » 2009 through the lens… http://www.thisisreverb.com/2010/01/2009-through-the-lens.html – view page – cached Here is the year of 2009 as I saw it through my viewfinder or my mind’s eye…you can click on each photo for the corresponding blog post. The purpose of this blog since it’s infancy was to record the many lost thoughts and ideas I have whilst inviting you readers into the story. I’m planning on doing one of these posts each year as we open up a fresh one…after all, if you don’t record… Read moreHere is the year of 2009 as I saw it through my viewfinder or my mind’s eye…you can click on each photo for the corresponding blog post. The purpose of this blog since it’s infancy was to record the many lost thoughts and ideas I have whilst inviting you readers into the story. I’m planning on doing one of these posts each year as we open up a fresh one…after all, if you don’t record a memory…as in write it down or take a picture…isn’t it easy to lose it? We are the most photographed generation with the least photographs proving we’ve ever existed. I can’t let that happen. So…here’s some of what happened. View page [...]
Fabulous wrap-up of your year Ryan… what a great collection of images and memories for your family and friends to look back on.
You are one hell of a photographer!
BB
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i LOVE this post. its my second favorite one that you have done (the first being the baptismal video you put together).
I think i’m going to have to do something similar too. you are absolutely right when you say that if we don’t record a moment in history that it is too easy to loose.
happy new year ryan!
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Thank you for sharing your amazing life with all of us!
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That was beautiful. Thank you for it.
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Thanks for sharing your wonderful and beautiful life for all of us to enjoy. You are truly blessed.
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Love it!! Thank you,Ryan, for taking the time to put it together
I rarely comment on here, but I’ve read every one of those posts so it was like a trip down memory lane.
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I love this idea… I believe I’ll use a slideshow from picasaweb gallery to do something similar. Of course, I don’t have near the amount of photos you have Ryan. Mine will be short!
Happy New Year!
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i haven’t been following your blog for all of 2009, so i had to go back a read a couple of these posts. i’ve been wanting a tattoo for-ev-er, but when we lost our baby earlier this year i’ve wanted even more to get a memorial tattoo of that little heartbeat that we never met, but that was a very real person to us. yes, i’m terrified of how much it might hurt, but still. i wanted to ask, how have you gone about finding a reputable, safe, good tattoo artist/parlor?
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What.A.Beautiful.Year.
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Thank you for the year’s review! Loved seeing many of your former posts all in one place. God bless you and your family as you venture into the New Year.
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Great post Ryan! I am totally stealing this idea and doing a 2009 in Review post of my own!
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What a year. Fantastic post.
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What fun to take this trip down your memory lane!
I’ve been writing on livejournal for over nine years. This year my 70 y/o best friend died peacefully and unexpectedly in her sleep while visiting me over Thanksgiving. After she died it was so good to be able to scroll back through the journal and remember all of the love and laughter we shared during the years of our friendship via the words and photos I recorded. ~ Lori
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Cool remembering post and thanks for no hurling pics, my nephew started off the new year with that for me. And it took everything I had not to join him. Off to a good start this year.
Happy New Year!
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Thanks for the post — I am a recent follower of your blog and am so glad that PW led me to it! It is one I check regularly.
Have a wonderful New Year!
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This post is stinking awesome. I love it. And yes, Ava is the dogs boss ha ha ha ha, so funny. That picture of bob is so cool.
Ps. This year my fireworks party will be even bigger.
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awesome post. Is that an $8,000 electric bill and is that just for your house? and where did Ava get the adorable wedding dress
. Happy 2010!
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Thank you so much for sharing your year, your famili, your thoughts and your cooking… I always come back here when I feel restless and unwell, and it alsways reminds me of how wonderful the life is I have been given.
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I became a loyal reader after the Pioneer Woman episode. I’m never leaving. Happy New Year to you and yours! Beautiful review!
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2009 was rough in a myriad of ways, but one of the highlights was discovering your blog. Thank you for reminding me that God loves me, for sharing your beautiful family, for making me laugh and smile, and for the most bad ass recipe for Pasta Carbonara ever!
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I believe I’ve emailed you or commented before, but I have to say, your year in pics rocks… I hope that my ruggers take a trip to Cinci (we maybe due for a visit to Cinci given they came to us last season…), or at the least Columbus. In the event that they do, I may try to meet up with you… I’ll email you if the rugby world helps me out in my real world…. Thank you for this post, though. I love the year end ones, and this one was awesome – Finn is adorable. I love seeing how these 2009 babies grow and learn, just like my niece, Little C, keeps doing her own thing!!!
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I came via PW and I am not leaving. Love your pictures, and insight. Many blessings to you and your family.
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AWESOME POST! Great idea! I loved reading about your stories and looking at your photography in 2009.
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Ryan- I loved this post! SO great. I do want to ask you, though, whatever happened to the really high energy bill? I ask you this, because I am going through something similar with our local water department who billed us $8000+ dollars for 3 months of usage in our (gutted, vacant, NO plumbing installed because it was all ripped off, and main water turned off) income property that we were working on. I’ve been battling them over a year and a half and they still insist we owe that. It’s impossible.
All the best to you, Allison, and those gorgeous children!
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Your summary post led me to the most fantastic salad I’ve ever tasted. And let me clarify this with these facts: 1) I hate any lettuce other than iceberg; 2) I hate any cheese other than cheddar/mozzarella/boring cheese; 3) I have never had balsamic vinegar. I’m making it again tonight with strawberries instead of apples/oranges. YUM!
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Great post. Your family is beautiful!
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This is why I look at your site…I am completely in love with your dear family!
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can you please explain this $8,000 energy bill?!!!! I’m from california and can not understand how that could possibly be possible! haha.
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Absolutely LOVE this post! I’m putting a slideshow together for our childrens church kids of all the stuff we’ve done this year, and I’ve had so much fun looking back – it’s amazing how kids can change so much in a year (or less). ALSO LOVE the LOVE project you & Ava did….thinking of doing something similar with my 2 year old boy….wonder if I can keep him focused long enough to wear enough shirts to spell out MONKEY??
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http://marandalamping.blogspot.com/2010/01/2009-through-my-lens.html
This is my version of the same idea!
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful year and pictures. Your truly blessed with such a beautiful family and I always come to your site when i want to put a smile on my face.
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LOVE LOVE LOVED this post! Great pics!
I’d love for you to do a post on quasi-”actions” for Photoshop Elements…. I haven’t sprung for full-on Photoshop, but would love to hear your ideas on sprucing up photos sort of like actions does!
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What a great post. I didn’t realize that I had been following you that long. I enjoyed all the photos and I want to make that salad. This Florida girl is up here in northern Kentucky not loving the snow. It seems like a long time ago that I emailed you about moving up here. Time has flown by.
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Kimberly recommended your blog to me and I’m so glad she did. Thanks for sharing your life in pictures. I L.O.V.E the photos of newly baptized believers. Great shots and fun narrations. Blessings, SusanD
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Very cool post.
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Love the pictures and how you share your life and message here…thank you!
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