12:01 - Happy New Year

12:01 AM - 2015

Happy New Year!!    Goodbye 2014 - you were a real roller coaster ride.   Super high highs and super low lows.   It was real and it was fun, but maybe not real fun.   Valerie was promoted.  Christopher was promoted TWICE and is now a salaried member of management.  We went on a fabulous family vacation to DisneyWorld.  Kids were involved in swim, scouts, dance, soccer, and piano, and we made a life altering decision to homeschool our children.    We also lost our Grandma Faye unexpectedly and our dear friend, Phil, to tragedy. Our lives were touched by moments that tried to knock us down and take us out, but we are still standing and wow...what a trip!     Hello 2015 - here you are all shiny and new.    This time of year is one of reflection, hope, and promise.   There are many things I hope to accomplish this year (I will not list them here....you're welcome), but more than that....there are many things I hope to become this year.   This year I want to actively be the author of my own story.   At the end of this year, I want to look back and say  "man....that was a great story!"   and be proud that it is mine.  Problems that will arise this year will not BE the story, just plot twists to refine the characters and keep the story interesting.  My entire focus this year I have summed up in one word  -- LOVE.  When my dear friend, Phil, passed away so tragically only a few weeks ago it gave me cause to reflect on myself and those around me.   Sometimes things don't make sense and you have to hold on to something so hard just so things can keep going.   I am choosing to hold onto love.  I want to be the kind of person who breathes it in and breathes it out.  I want to curl up in it like a blanket and use it to shelter the ones who I hold dear.  I realized this year that every goal I have, every resolution I make, they all go back to this one word.   I pray that this year, regardless of how many resolutions I accomplish and how much progress I may or may not make on paper, that I may keep my focus and love more completely-to send it out in the universe and to receive it back unto myself.   
Happy New Years to my friends and family!  Love and peace to you all!      

All of the cousins 12:01 AM 2015