OH my Gosh....I thought it was March that came in like a lion and out like a lamb....well January has truly been a flurry of activity. January started off with the shock that my sister-in-law Bonnie, my bother Phil's wife, was diagnoised with Lukemia and is currently in the Univeristy of Chicago medical center undergoing Chemotherapy. When we heard the news it was as if someone hit you with a mack truck. Our prayers and thoughts have been with her and her family as she undergoes a tough journey. So far Bonnie has weathered the chemo and is remaining extremely strong and has received her second treatment this weekend. We are all hoping and praying for her recovery.

This last week began with Bill and Laura looking at a new house that just went on the market. It is perfect for them, it has all the room that they need for a growing family. It has four bedrooms, family room, living room, dining room, basement, fenced in yard everything. They went back on Tuesday looked at it again, put an offer in, the couple countered, they countered and before Wednesday dawned they had purchased the home....Wow who buys a home in 1 day...they did I guess and they were very excited...

All week Laura was not feeling good, by Thursday she ended up in the hospital and by Friday morning she had surgery to remove her appendix.....yikes. Bill has been playing Mr. Mom and new homeowner and now has a new respect for Laura and all she does... it has been a tough week for them. Laura came home from the hospital Friday and Saturday they celebrated Alana's 6th birthday at the bowling alley with 20 of her closest friends and family....

Happy Birthday Alana... I couldn't help myself...I was amazed at the true bliss Andrew got with just a simple sucker....my kind of kid....

While Saturday morning, Amy was scheduled to have knee surgery to repair some dangling cartilidge and was back home recouping on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday came and we all, gimps included, attended a mass for Jonathan. It seems strange to think it has been 6 years since he died. My biggest fear was that I would be here saying someday...I can't believe it has been 30 years since he's been gone. Time passes so quickly and so many events have passed with it. He is missed always and next month his birthday turns him 25 while he remains always 18....I know it has been said that time heals...true enough I guess, but in reality it doesn't heal, it will always be a wound that lies just under the skin. Time transforms you into different people and I know for myself that I will never be the same person I was then and the current person will go on to be a part of all the new events that are constantly happening and he will always be our special silent obseverer from a close distance.

Well as we close out this week and begin anew tomorrow...one never knows what this week will hold.....keep your fingers crossed...anything is possible....

Well Happy New Year to my adoring fans of one or maybe two.....

New Year's Eve came and went very quietly..mainly because I could not find anything good on TV and from sheer boredom gave up and went to bed at 8:45...I am a thrill seeker. Seriously, I searched all the stations, I had already watched all the DVD's, but before I went to take the dog out I flipped through the channels and settle on one but a commercial was on so I went to take the dog out...when I came back in Mom was laughing hysterically and watching the TV. In hopes that something funny or good was on I asked her what she was watching and she replied whatever you put on, but it was all about the Penis and the Vagina...I'm like OH MY GOD...I seriously need a life and apparently so does she...but at least she laughed her way to bed and New Year's Eve came in very quietly.





I did get up early and went outside and though everything still looked exactly the same as it did the night before, we had entered a new year and a new decade as well. As I stood in the peace of the early morning and the snow was falling, I tried to imagine what this year will bring. I can only hope that health, happiness and love made the top of the list. If you have all of those the rest can be overcome. This should be a busy year, they all seem to be after a while. Plans are being made for Amy's wedding..(not telling Mom exactly when though, she seems to get creative during even years and years when one of my children will be getting married!!).

Brooke has been struggling with how to walk for the next six weeks. The doctor put quite a large cast on her leg. I tried to explain to her my 3 day rule for illness, but she did not seem to grasp the idea that if Christ can die and rise again in 3 days, surely you can get up and try to walk. It took some days and practice and now I believe she should be ready to get back to school as she has learned to walk on her own. Actually she has tried to dance with the cast on as well.

Well with the New Year slowly aging into it's first week, the resolutions of losing weight, getting organized, or starting fresh with new ideas are slowly starting to dim and slipping back into the comfortable ways of the past seem to be taking over. I will try to blog more, if nothing else for my own journalizing...I may need it in the future to remember the wonderful times of my dwindling youth....

But with all sincerity I do wish that all the wishes made and hopes renewed with the dawn of a new year come true for all.....we shall see....