What was & is to come! Happy New Year!

Last night as we celebrated the ending of 2007 & the beginning of 2008, we talked about our accomplishments of the year past and goals for the future. We each took a turn to tell what we felt was an important accomplishment for us individually. Tom lost 27 pounds, began eating healthier, ran six 5Ks, and bought a cabin & 10 acres of land. Chandler hit a grand slam, 4 home runs, ran five 5Ks, trained to run 6 miles, memorized loads of scriptures, and played 12 baseball tournaments plus a world series. Clay was excited to ride his first roller coasters (Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Space Mountain & Everest). He “ran” two 5Ks and won awards for his age division in both. I think one of my biggest accomplishments was to finish a degree in Organizational Management. I was also able to start, with one of my very good friends, the Enrichment Academy, a K-12 hands-on home school academy for local home schooled students. We have about 50 students enrolled, and it is a huge success. I was able to coordinate our Pioneer Clubs at church for the 5th year, and I've prayed more for my extended family than ever before in my life.

We then discussed what we had done corporately. We got our passports! We purchased season tickets to the Travelers games in the new Dickey Stephens Park in NLR and spent many days watching the Travs play. In March we traveled to Dallas to a Mavericks game to watch Dirk Nowitzki & Josh Howard play. Chandler participated in his last Easter egg hunt at church, which is a big deal! We traveled to TN for the Tanner Reunion. We spent a week in McKinney, TX, for the Super Series World Series. We were fortunate enough to be able to direct another youth camp and minister to many young teens. We traveled to Tupelo, MS, for the Thompson Reunion. We celebrated our ground-breaking for our new baseball complex. We made a trip to Oklahoma to visit with Tom’s family for Thanksgiving. Clay had plastic surgery on his lip to repair damage from the bat injury. We spent 7 fun-filled, exhausting days in Disney World and then 7 relaxing ones in Hawaii. In December, we lost my grandfather and our 17 year old cat. We passed around an intestinal virus, Chandler got the mumps, and I caught a cold from Debbie. Other than that, we’ve had a pretty slow year.

After we discussed what we had done, we talked about our goals for 2008. We want to travel. Tom is planning a graduation trip for me. Chandler wants to do more hunting, specifically, kill a buck with his bow at the cabin, and be a better power hitter & pitcher. Clay wants to save his money to buy a recurve (bow). Tom is running a ½ marathon this month in Carlsbad, CA, & wants to run a full marathon in March. (Why anyone would want to run 26 miles 385 yards when you could drive it is beyond me.) He also wants to finish the cabin. He is getting close. He has the electrical wiring almost ready for the electric company to attach to it…then he has to finish the plumbing. What will we do when we have a real toilet to use? Do I hear angels singing in the background? As far as what I want to accomplish, hmmm, well I would like to do all of the things I’ve neglected in 2007 finishing up my degree, scrap booking, reading, and lying on the couch eating bon bons. No, seriously, I haven’t really thought about my specific goals for this year. I have a list of goals. I’ll just have to see which ones I think are worth my time and energy this year. For now, I’ll just home school my boys, continue to try to be a Godly example to them, & have fun.

May 2008 be a year of new beginnings for you & may you "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind"! I will leave you with this Old Irish Blessing.

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!