Happy New Year!

Wow, where did 2006 go? Our friend Suzanne says when your kids are little the days never seem to end but the years fly by. It is too true!

It was a real year of transition here:

• I had LASIK in January last year and for the first time since second grade could see without glasses. What an amazing change for the better.
• In March Abby turned 5 and we went with my parents to Disney to celebrate--our first trip there as a family and the very first time for Grandma, Grandpa and the girls.
• After coming back from the trip we decided it was time to move and put the house into what had been a red hot market-while we looked at houses it cooled considerably. We found the house in the beginning of May but didn't close until the end of June, plenty of time to sell our cute house-WRONG! Finally our old house closed at the end of August and we could all sleep again (we hoped). We love our new neighborhood and have felt incredibly welcome but man its hard to start over.
• Abby started Kindergarten and has loved every minute of it and oh, the stories she tells! I have been volunteering in her classroom and glad the only stories being told are on our side and not about us!
• Ellie started preschool, she misses the birthday cut off by two days but thankfully we found a school that had a class for kids with Sept, Oct, Nov birthdays and it has been a perfect fit (other than the fact she won't use their bathroom-she says it stinks!)
• Eldest stepson, the senior, made his first real appearance back into our lives in about two years. He's grown up and turned into someone I want to have around, his sisters are thrilled to have him back too.
• G-man started a new job where he works M-F and gets the weekends off. It took a little adjusting for all of us, no more six days off for him and no more weekends of just the girls but all in all its been a great change!
• I got a promotion at the beginning of the year, basically doing the same job but more strategically which has been a struggle at times--I love the details!
• G-man's sister announced she's getting married in the new year!

There were struggles:

• G-man's grandmother passed away
• My grandmother had a stroke on Thanksgiving weekend and is in rehab, they hope to send her home next week but she's lost a lot of mobility and independence. It has made me reflect on her life and the wonderful times we had celebrating with all of us in her teeny tiny house that definitely represents family and good times for me.
• The separation of our good friends. Although I think in the long run its the best thing for both of them its hard to watch the pain and struggling in a family we've been so close to.
• Now that the gallbladder surgery is over I wonder why I waited so long, the recovery hasn't been so bad (thanks Mom, Dad & G-man) and it makes me wish that I'd taken care of it sooner, it would have eliminated a lot of needless pain and grumpiness.
• The stress-between the house, my not feeling well and our inability to sleep we struggled a lot this year--with being nice to each other, with cutting each other some slack, and in general acting like married people and parents should.

So, here we are in 2007 and I want to take back control of my life--my weight which has crept up again, my family life where we need routine and time for just us, my spiritual life which would be noexistent if not for the wonderful church family who makes us feel like we belong here, and my life with g-man where we can rediscover the fun and romance that shows up occasionally but not nearly often enough.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy new year to all of you!