Well as 2008 winds down, and 2009 is creeping around the corner, this is a good time to reflect on all that has gone on this year and all that we don't know thta's coming.
I welcomed in 2008 the same way I will probably welcome 2009..asleep..it seems to work for me. There is a saying that the way you spend New Year's Eve will be the way you spend your year. If that holds true then I will be babysitting alot with a cold....oh well....

I thought about all that transpired this year...Billy was newly engaged in January and was plannng their wedding for May. So much to do so little time. Showers, decorations, dresses, etc. Alana turned 4 in January and Jonathan would have been 23 in February. By March time flew and after everything was in order and the bridal shower was coming up, Mom fell and landed in the hospital for over a month. She got out the day before the wedding....I was grateful she was there and we celebrated the event and all went well....we then moved into the summer and Mom's recuperation, and a new baby on the way. Bill and Laura were expecting in November. Again, showers, presents, planning and waiting for the newest gift from God. July came and Ava turned 3, Brooke turned 2 and we spent alot of time on the deck enjoying Mom's yard and just long summer days.....summer turned to fall and soon November was here and so was Andrew..They were all excited and Bill and Laura have taken to three kids, two dogs and the holidays in the great strides.... We had Andrew's baptism, our family Christmas at Greg's and our own private Christmas at home....time keeps on rollin.....
It is easy to sit in retrospect and think about all the things that have happened this year and be truely grateful for the good fortune in a time when that word is almost extinct. Good health as we are on the verge of a new adventure to loose all the padding we have put on, for the acts of goodness we have witnessed in a time when the news is so occupied with all the evil around us...for a moment when a stranger changed our day with just a smile or a kind word, when we were there and made a difference in someones life, for all the miracles we witnessed and the ones that happened and we were just to busy to notice...This has been a busy and full year.

My hope for 2009 is good health and happiness for Mom as she still continues with her recovery, for Katie to be safe and out of harms way as she works in a dangerous environment and as she carries a new blessing into the fall, for Amy and all the excitement that surrounds her and to bless her hands as she touches and heals, for Billy to find the time to slow down and really watch Andrew and the girls grow...time is to short not to notice..For Blake to stop worrying about age....and just enjoy the place you are....you have so much to teach and share and age is only a number and most of us don't know what it is anyway.....Eric, be safe as he goes into school to become a Fireman, he will be the one who is there when you are so afraid and you call out in the dark...for Laura to be patient and enjoy the gifts God's blessed you with and for the time when you have a babysitter....For Brooke, Andrew, Alana and Ava...please slow down and don't grow so fast...be little just awhile longer as we sit and watch you....you have the rest of your life to grow, but for right now at this time, let us enjoy who you are and wonder about what you will become....let us love you unconditionally and let us be loved in return...

So as 2008 is almost over, it wasn't a bad year...and I hope that next year will be just as rewarding and I have been blessed, for myself I would ask to never forget to say thank you...to always have a spare moment for someone when needed, to be there for my children always and to enjoy and love my Grand children.......Love to my family you are always in my prayers...my sister and all my brothers and their families....you are a huge part of who I am and in my heart you are always with me......Happy New Year.....