A Hopeful New Year

I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful holiday season full of joy and good cheer. Reflecting back at the past year this has certainly been a year of revelations for me and my family. Persistence and hard work has proven to each of us that we can achieve our goals, no matter how big or small.

Every year I relish all the new experiences and the "firsts" that the boys have. They don't realize how special it is to watch them do or try something for the first time. I guess this is a privilege reserved only for a mother or father. Each new challenge is growth and it's always interesting to see how they handle it. This year Evan connected with his inner pirate and we have decided to give him a big boy room, like his brother, making that his theme. Jake has grown by leaps and bounds and seems to eat more eggs than I can keep up with. He has now grown big enough to ride his sporty new bike that we bought him for his 7th birthday. He finished playing soccer for a while and his first year of CCD. Evan started gymnastics and showed great dexterity and promise. I think he was amazed at what he could do. Both boys decided to start Tae Kwon Do and have been sticking with it so far. It is giving them focus and it's great exercise for them. They love to show off how high they can kick.. We did a thing I like to call "Mommy Camp" this summer. Money was tight so I made up my own camp for them and during one week I took off work and conducted a week-long program of non-stop fun and games. One of the games I taught them was UNO, a favorite of mine as a child. We kicked off this camp with a visit to a fishing Hall of fame, then headed to a zoo and two museums. Plenty of play dates at our pool were on hand as well. We were fortunate enough to spend two weekends of the summer away as a family, and that is always special time.

Jake headed into second grade while Evan started his second year of pre-K. Evan enjoyed a Power Ranger themed 4 year-old birthday party at our home. My hard work culminated in the end of a long journey this year. I finally published my book, A Wasted Life. It was released in November and the celebrations to share it with family and friends were so special to me. I thank everyone who supported me. I am grateful for all the lessons it taught me and I hope it shows the boys that if you want something and work hard at it, you can achieve it. The excitement led us right into the holidays as we visited Disney World with Nana and Papa. As I wrote previously, it is in Disney World where I received the first copy of my book. Gee I wonder if the kids are enjoying this "first" as much as I am.

Sitting with my boys on New Year's Eve, after a fun evening with friends at First Night, anticipating the ball to drop and the start of a new year, again I had a new or "first" experience... both of my boys were awake and rang in the new year with me. It was a happy moment for me. I saw the wonder in Evan's eyes about what was happening, even for just a moment. Wouldn't you know it but a moment after the event all he wanted was his pillow and some sleep, it was midnight after all.

A TRADITION- Last year I made an attempt at crafting a beautiful decorative box for my coffee table after watching Martha Stewart. Well it is okay looking ( I'm no Martha) but I wanted it to be a wish box. A box where we could write down our thoughts about the past year and write our hopes for the future year. Jake participated this year and this is what he wrote: 2009 I like to go places with my family. I am thankful for having shelter and food and water and a pool and a tv and a wii ( just received for X-mas). The End.

I wrote: 2009 -I am most happy for my wonderful family and that we all enjoyed good health and great times in 2009. We continue to grow strong in love and trust as a family unit. The joy they bring me is priceless. 2010- In 2010 I hope our family will continue to flourish. I pray for peace in the world, good health and that Jake and Evan continue being the good boys that we try to raise them to be.I hope this will be a year of lots of love, laughter and good times. John, Jake and Evan, I love you very much - you are my everything... Love Mom