2015 was a tough year.

I started off the year being unemployed, my contract with U.S. Steel (where I worked as a project manager) was terminated on August 15, 2014 because they ran out of budget to pay their employees on my project. We had just moved into the our house two weeks prior. The timing sucked.

Between the move and being newly unemployed, it was a difficult time. I looked for a job 8 hours a day between August 2014 and February 2015 trying to find some kind of project management job... I was able to finally land one with PNC Bank with a series of interviews that I had in February of 2015. I started work on March 2, 2015.

All while I was unemployed my wife was planning our wedding (March 28, 2015). She went to extreme levels of detail planning out everything for the wedding, she did an amazing job. The wedding was one of the best days of my life.

In April 2015 I only went trout fishing a few times, work kept me away from the streams. One of the things I cherish most in life is spending time fishing with my Pop. He's getting older now and it's getting more difficult, but I value this time.

In April, my wife and I relaxed a little bit since the joblessness and wedding planning was so stressful. I started hitting my stride with the new job.

In May, my wife and I went to a beautiful wedding in Chicago. Kelly lived in Chicago for years and really enjoyed the city, so it was nice for us to visit.

In May/June we tried to get pregnant, but nothing happened. It's crazy how such a fun activity can become so tedious after such intense pressure.

In July, we tried to get pregnant... BOOM! That resulted in a homerun.

Since Kelly was 40 years old when she got pregnant, there were some added risks that we had to manage. We had a series of diagnostic tests and chromosomal tests, Kelly is a worrier so this has been pretty stressful time.

In August/September we just focused on making sure that Kelly has been eating right and relaxing. Eating right was easy... relaxing, not so much.

October was a really, really sad time for me. My best friend (Best Man at our wedding) Jared passed away suddenly 2 days before his 40th birthday. He had elective surgery to help with his sleep apnea... he died 3 days later in his home from complications. It was unexpected.

He and I have been best friends since we were children, he had THE BEST sense of humor. You all would have loved him, just a great guy. He was so excited to be our son's "Creepy Uncle Jared." No matter what... I know our son will have the best Guardian Angel possible. Jared's wife Niki is heartbroken. They were going to try for children after his surgery. My heart aches thinking about him and Niki.

November was a good month for Kelly and I. Work was going very well and the last of the testing to check our pregnancy health was completed. All clear! From here on out, it is just about growing the kid.

December has been good. We are halfway through the month and work is going great for both me and Kelly. Kelly is restless at night because she typically likes to sleep on her stomach, but now she can't. When she is on her side and she moves just the tiniest bit on her stomach, our son kicks and punches her (bam, bam, bam) as a reminder to her that "hey, I'm down here!"

It's 2 days before my 40th birthday and I just wanted to thank all of you here at the Scrap Yard Forum for being a great place to come to for some "away time." I know I don't post often anymore, between work/life it sometimes becomes challenging to chime in. I always enjoy reading the thoughts and discussions here.

To all of you, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Justin