January 6, 2013

 Happy New Year.  Can you believe that we already have a week behind us.  I have been thinking about the things that have happened in our lives the past few months.  I am so grateful that we have the Lord to go to when we have things going on in our lives that we need guidance to deal with.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.  I look at my children and know that Dave and I have done a good job raising them.  Stephan has such a wonderful family.  I love his wife, Kim, as if she were my own daughter.  I love the boys and how they make us laugh.  They fulfill something in our lives that only a grandparent can know.  We have watched Ben and Kyle grow into wonderful young men, setting an example for Noah and Ashton. 

Donna is an amazing young woman.  She has had to deal with more in her life than any one person should have to deal with.  To watch her have so much pain makes me so sad.  When I think that just a few short years ago she was helping move her father during the time he was paralyzed, and now she can hardly walk, hold a plate, take a shower, or even send her friends a card.  She connects with people with her I pad and phone. I pray everyday that she will have a good day and that maybe there may be something that the doctors have not tried that may help her.

Then there is Dave.  He is the love of my life.  My best friend for 47 years and my wonderful husband for 42 years.  We have had a great married life.  We have made memories together that will bind us eternally. I am so thankful  for our life together.  We have learned how precious life is and how to overcome very stressful situations.

In May when we were told that Dave had a mass on his skull, I went into panic mode.  Dave remained very calm and told me not to worry about it, because it would be just fine.  Just as he promised, in September when the mass was removed in was benign and we were thankful.  This month we embark on the round of follow up CAT scans and Doctors visits.  I keep reminding myself that we have beaten Guillian Barre and the removal of that mass.  God has given us the faith to get through all we must.

I miss my brothers and sisters.  Yes, at my age I would still like to be home with them.  I worry about my brothers.  Both work way to hard.  Roger is at the Spagetti Warehouse all the time, Ray hopefully will actually be retiring this year.  Working for the Highway Patrol is not an easy job, but I do know that both boys love what they do!  My sisters-Pam is a workaholic.  She hasn't learned yet that a job is only a job.  You don't have to work yourself to death over it.  Claudia was smart.  She retired and is totally having fun at it.  Rhonda is a little more difficult.  She has MS and has good days and bad days.

As for me, as I crammed on the 30th and 31st of December to get my 15 hours of Continuing Education done so I can continue to prepare Income Taxes, I wondered where will I be next year at this time.  I went back to work in 2012, I am still trying to finish that Human Resource degree, and still doing taxes.  My plan was never to go back to work full time, but I did and love the job and people, but I know that I will be looking at how much longer I want to keep working.  We want to travel and that is pretty hard when you are working,  Want to buy new furniture this spring so that is my incentive to keep working.

Well, at the end of the day I am thankful for my family, friends and our church family.  The Lord has been good to us this past year.  To all that read this blog, Have a happy and prosperous New Year!