The many blessings of the New Year

The new year gives us the opportunity to look forward in our lives, to make better choices, to re-examine and reset our priorities. For me, I'd like to look back at 2008 and remember how blessed I am.

Blessings of 2008:

A fabulously comfy bed

We actually bought the new bed in 2007, but it is still a blessing to Mike and I. It is fabulous! Our first King and so glorious that I look forward to crawling in each and every night! Truly the best money we have ever spent and a nightly blessing .

A new fridge

For the past 2 years or so, the fan had been out on our fridge. Mike replaced it once and it died again, so as a stopgap, I placed an $8 Walmart fan behind the fridge to cool the compressor. Ugly, a little awkward, with the fridge sticking out some, but effective. Well, in June, we broke down and bought a new fridge. It has French doors on the top with a freezer drawer below. It's an amazing appliance. The water purifier makes it so that we don't have to purchase nearly as much bottled water and there is a special compartment for the milk that keeps it 5 degrees colder. YUM! Ice cold milk! A simple pleasure. . .



The opportunity to travel

This year we saw some new places and visited some old favorites. We got the opportunity to drive up the East Coast and briefly visited the cities of Savannah, GA, Williamsburg, VA, Washington, DC and Solomon, MD. Just a taste and we are planning to go back, if possible, soon. We also visited the west coast of Florida and saw Weekiwachi Springs and Homosassas State Park, both amazing. We also had a brief visit to Honeymoon Island before McKenzie fell off some rocks and we cut our trip short!

We revisited the Olympic Peninsula in Washington with some good friends and had one of our most pleasant vacations ever! Good friends, good food and the best views ever! Between the girls and I we took over 1000 photographs in 5 days.

The opportunity to say good-bye

My grandfather passed away early this year, and although I did not get a chance to see him, I feel blessed to have had such a wonderful person in my life and I am thankful that he has passed to a better place.

We did, however, get the opportunity to see Mike's dad just before he passed away in June. I consider it a great blessing that my husband and my children were able to say goodbye and to bring some comfort to Ron and his lovely wife, JoAnn, in Ron's last days. Ron has left behind a wonderful legacy, the three people who bring me my greatest Joy.

A reliable car

My Chrysler Pacifica is now three years old but it continues to be a great family car. It has never let me down and suits our needs well. It's very comfortable on long car rides and short jaunts to the store. I haven't always been so lucky and got stranded repeatedly as a teenager so I don't take this blessing for granted. Mike's car is starting to show his age, and I think a new vehicle may be in the near future for him.

A great dog

Sophie entered our lives last December and she has been a great addition to the family. She keeps us active and makes us laugh. She gives Becca somebody to boss around. And I am really, really close to training her to bring in the newspaper for me in the morning.

Fabulous friends

I am blessed to work with my very best friend and I get to eat lunch with her every day. She looks after my children, gives me advice, and makes me laugh. She plans vacations for me, translate Spanish when I need it, volunteers her time with me. She is the big sister I always wanted (and needed!). Claudia, what would I do without you?

A laptop

I love my laptop! It has changed my life. Truly! I love having all my music, photographs, and the wealth of knowledge and information available on the internet, sitting in my lap. I also like that I can sit on my big, comfy, leather couch, with my feet us on my big, comfy leather ottoman and watch TV or talk to my kids or visit with my husband and still have my computer right there. From my favorite seat in the house I can see outside through the French doors, I can see the front door, I can see into the office right where Mike sits most fo the time and I can see the loveseat where my children like to sit. Plus the kitchen is behind me so I can't see any of the dirty dishes. Sweet, huh?

My family

I spend a lot of time on my blog telling everyone about my great family, but it never hurts to say it again, right? My husband is patient, tolerant, kind, honest, brilliant, helpful, and the greatest dad ever. McKenzie is bright, creative, artistic, and a problem-solver. Becca is empathetic, thoughtful, smart, and patient. Together we make a pretty good team.