Reflections on 2013

This has been an interesting year.  We have been quite busy, and honestly, a lot of it has been a blur for me.  That being said, I still want to kind of recap what I thought was important.

Ryan has had a big year this year.  He broke his first broken arm(no cast, thankfully).  He is now a big, bad, middle schooler.  He is in all high level classes, and seems to be challenged this year.  He has started playing the violin in the beginners orchestra, and is proving to have a talent for music.  Of course this makes his musical mama proud! :)  He has a huge fondness for Lego's and is a part of the Lego club at school.  He is also going to be competing in the Science Olympiad in January, which we are excited to see how that goes. 

Jenny is having a great time at school this year.  She gets to be in the same class as her best friend from kindergarten, so she has been super happy about that.  We have found out that her speech issues are actually physical, so we are working on finding out what we need to do to help her on that front.  She LOVES doing crafty things, and is often found doodling on any scrap of paper she can find.  I love the elaborate stories that she can tell with her stick figure drawings she does.

Samantha had the milestone of getting glasses this year.  She was so excited when it happened, but like most of us, the excitement has worn off.  She is a very energetic, fun loving little girl.  She loves playing with her siblings and running all of her energy off when she is home from school. :)

Eric.  What can I say about that little bundle of cuteness?  He loves anything with trains and big construction vehicles. He is quite shy sometimes, but once he opens up to you he has a very sweet disposition.  He can also be very silly and mischievous at times.  He loves to call everyone "backpack" for some reason.  Still haven't figured that one out!

Meagan has definitely hit the terrible twos, though she is not that age yet.  She has no fear, resulting in a broken collar bone back in March.  She has a love of life and fun that can be infectious.  She and Eric get along REALLY well, and can be found with their heads together plotting and giggling almost every day.  It is fun to see the love those two have for each other.

Darrell is doing well.  Still as annoyingly healthy as ever. :)   He is doing well at his job in inventory and shipping and receiving.  He loves listening to The Glenn Beck show, and listening to audio books.

I have made some big goals for myself this past year.  Back in May I decided I wanted to start losing weight.  I contacted my friend Nikki Mason who is a beach body coach and with her guidance I ended up losing 20 lbs between then and now, for a total of 30 lbs since the summer of 2012.  I ended up having some old injuries flare up, so I had to stop on my exercising goals.  I have another friend, Christine Martin, who happens to be a life coach.In meeting with her, I have been able to work on other goals, along with my fitness goals, to get me closer to the person I aspire to be.  I am grateful for the help I have had from these two ladies, and look forward to working more on myself in 2014. 

As I sit here, I am asking myself what has been the thing that has most impacted my life.  I think that it has been being a small part of the journey my friend Carli Webb and her family has been on. Back in April, her three year old son, Liam, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.  After his third round of chemo, he got sick with RSV, and stayed in the hospital. The Saturday before thanksgiving he passed away from unknown causes.  The cancer and the RSV were proven to not be the cause of his death.  I don't think anyone believed that he was going to die.  He was only 6 months older than Eric. I think because Liam and Eric were starting to be friends, it has impacted me even more.  I get so sad some days to think that she doesn't get to hold her little boy anymore.  It makes me that much more thankful that I get to spend each day with Eric, seeing him laugh and love and grow, along with all of my other children.  I am grateful that we have been able to be a small part of Liam's life, and that we were able to know such a sweet, wonderful, valiant spirit such as his.