I'm blessed

This past week has been a pretty big week of firsts around our house.  Last Tuesday, Michael's second tooth popped through.  (Ok, I know this is a "second" and not a "first" but that's ok.)  He is being such a trooper when it comes to teething.  He is such a happy, smiley baby and such a fantastic sleeper, even when he doesn't feel the greatest.  He is such a sweetheart, and he really adds so much joy to our home and family! :)  The kids think he is pretty terrific too!  They all fight over who gets to hold him, read to him, play with him, etc.  Oh, while I am thinking about it, last night was SO adorable!!!  I was sitting in the rocking chair, holding Michael.  He had just finished eating and was sitting up on my lap being cute and snuggly.  He would smile at me, then throw himself at me with a huge hug.  Then Emma and Timothy came over and he started making the rounds, taking turns throwing himself at us with hug bear hugs.  Then he would sit up and give us a huge smile and move on to the next person.  What a sweetie pie! :)


Abby had a big first last week also.  She (finally) had her very first haircut!  It kind of makes me smile that she is almost 3 and just had her first haircut, compared with Emma, who had her first haircut around 5 months old.  They just have very different hair, and that is ok! :)  The night before her haircut, when we were saying our bedtime prayers, Abby prayed for a good haircut. :)  Then the next day we went to the salon.  Emma got her hair trimmed first while Abby played.  When it was time for Abby's turn, she was little nervous.  I lifted her into the chair and Emma and I stood next to her.  She really liked the cape with the puppies on it, so that helped.  Then Val took out the scissors, and Abby turned to me and said "Mom, I'm not so sure about this!"  But she did a great job, and afterwards she thanked Val several times for her "beautiful hair"!  I think the sucker she got afterwards probably helped too. :)

Michael had a not-so-fun first last week.  Like I said, he had another tooth pop through the beginning of last week.  Then he was still a little fussier than normal and had a low-grade fever.  By Thursday, he was coughing quite a bit, and although he likes to play with his ears, he was really pulling on the left ear a lot.  So, we both went in to the clinic.  (I wasn't feeling great either- a very sore throat, etc.)  We both left with antibiotics- me for a sinus infection and Michael for his first ear infection. :(  Like I said, even when he is not feeling great, he is still such a happy, sweet baby.  He did SUCH a great job!  That night, he had a little bit of a rough time (and by "rough time" I mean rough for him, which is still probably better than most babies on a good night).  

Michael also had a more exciting first this week!  On Saturday, he learned how to go from crawling to sitting, and back and forth!  He is SO happy to be able to get around, and also to be able to sit up by himself when he wants to play!  He is getting so big and grown up!  It really does go WAY too fast!


So, even though we had a little bit of illness in our home this past week, we also had a LOT of fun and joy, and a lot to be thankful for. :) 

I'm Blessed

I am actually on time to post on my friend Gretchen's blessing party!  I know there are probably other things I should be doing right this minute, but I am really excited to post this and I want to make sure that I don't run out of time.  :)
Last week I was tired and crabby and had to dig just a little bit for blessings to share.  Not so this week.  I have more to write than I have time!  So, let's get started.
I am VERY blessed!  First of all, Michael is teething.  I know this doesn't seem like something that would be a blessing, but just hang on.  Emma and Timothy were not terrible with teething, but they weren't overly pleasant either.  (It's just not an overly pleasant experience, so I understand!)  Abby was...WAY beyond difficult when it came to teething.  Between that and colds, her sleeping pattern got completely and almost irreparably damaged.  I was really, really praying that things would be different with Michael, and boy are they ever!  Last week his first tooth came through.  He also had a little cold at the time, for most babies would make for a difficult and unpleasant time for everyone.  But Michael is not most babies.  Even with the cold and the teething, he was still the same happy, smiley, sleeping-all-night baby!  And that is truly a blessing!
Second, we had a fantastic weekend!  Every year, Randy and his 5 sisters take turns hosting a Christmas get-together.  Many times this happens in January, when things have settled down a little and schedules are a little more open.  This year was our turn.  The couple in charge can choose to host the group at their house or come up with a fun alternative.  Instead of exchanging gifts, we decided to all go to a local water park resort.  We have done this kind of thing before and it really makes for a fun time for everyone!  We all get to relax, visit and just have fun together, and that is a terrific gift.
Third, I have a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY awesome husband!  This Friday is my birthday.  My 35th birthday, to be exact.  (Yes, I did just share my age, but we are not discussing my weight!)  35 is one of those numbers that seems like kind of a milestone birthday.  I had thought to myself that it would be really neat if my beloved would plan some kind of fun little surprise, but I didn't say anything.  (Usually surprise planning is not necessarily his thing.)  A couple weeks ago, he asked if I would want to go shopping yesterday, since it was a holiday.  I said sure, since I am always up for doing something fun.  I just kind of assumed that he meant the whole family, and that seemed fine to me.  Then over the weekend, Randy said we should make sure we have a sitter to watch the kids.  So, we got that all lined up, and I was excited to have a day out with my beloved!  Now, the thought had crossed my mind that the place we were going was a little more than half-way between us and some of our very best friends and that with my birthday coming up, it would be fun to see them.  But again, I didn't say anything.  So, we headed out of town yesterday for our day out.  We stopped at a couple of furniture stores to look around.  This did not arouse suspicion since we have been kind of looking on and off at dining room sets, and this particular town is one where we have done furniture shopping before.  He did an excellent job of just keeping things casual, asking me where I would like to eat supper and talking about where all we might go.  For supper, he suggested the possibility of going to the Olive Garden, which I really enjoy.  I said that sounded lovely!  When we arrived, I found out that he had made reservations there.  That still didn't make me all that suspicious, since he knows we both like to eat there and it might make things faster to have reservations.  So, we were escorted to our table, only to find our friends sitting there waiting for us!  That's right, my beloved planned this whole birthday surprise for me!  We had a wonderful and relaxing supper with our friends, and then decided to catch a movie.  We saw Mission Impossible 4, which was a pretty good movie.  (I hadn't seen any of the others, but it didn't seem to affect the ability to follow this one.)  It was a really, really fun day!  And did I mention that I have a really, really, really awesome husband?  I am very, very blessed!

Physical Education

Phy Ed.  Phys. Ed.  Gym.  It all means the same thing.  Torture.  I'm not sure that there were many things about school as anxiety-provoking as those two words (with the possible exception of the timed math fact quizzes.  Those really stressed me out!!!)  Even just thinking about it now causes an involuntary shudder.  (Ok, it's maybe not THAT bad, but you know what I'm saying.)  I have never been particularly athletically inclined, to put it mildly.  I really loved academic subjects (particularly English) and academic activities.  Sports- not so much.  I have never been tremendously in shape (could that be related to the aversion to physical activity?), but after four kids...well you can imagine.  I have known for a long time that I really need to do something about this, but there are just so many possible excuses, including "I don't want to!"  (Ok, it's not a very good excuse, but it was surprisingly effective.)  I have, on numerous occasions, made the determination that I was going to change this pattern and really get into a habit of working out and getting healthy.  I think there are numerous reasons that I have failed. 
First, I had the wrong motivation.  I have heard many times that if your primary motivation is to lose weight and look better, you are much more likely to fail.  Been there, done that.  I think one of the greatest problems with this singular motivation is the fact that it really does take a while to really see results.  This means that it is really easy to get discouraged and give up.  Again, been there, done that.  
Second, I have heard many, many times that you need to start slowly, especially if you are not used to a lot of physical activity.  The reasons behind this are pretty self-explanatory.  (Can we say burn-out?)  Been there, done that too.  I tend to start out really excited, do too much too soon and burn out before I have really gotten going.  
Third, like I said earlier, there are a LOT of excuses.  As a mom of 4 kids, it's easy to feel too tired, too busy, etc.  These are not great excuses, I know.  I have heard that we make time for what is important to us, and I know that is true.  If exercise was important to me, I wouldn't accept excuses and I would make time.  But it really wasn't all that important to me, and that was the problem.  
Last Saturday, I was at a meeting of our local MOPS group.  The topic of the day was style and fitness.  One of the co-coordinators of our group, Natalie, was sharing during the fitness portion.  (Now, this is a lady who had given birth to a 10-pound baby, their fourth, 3 weeks earlier and looked like she had never birthed a child, ever.)   She talked about how fitness-related resolutions are the number one type of New Year's Resolution and asked people to share ideas on how they make fitness goals work into their schedules and lives.  As a certified Zumba instructor, she then proceeded to lead us all in a short Zumba demonstration.  (That's right...3 weeks after giving birth.  It's just not right!)  :)  
As I looked at her and thought how unfair this all is, I had to face the fact that I am to blame for my current lack of fitness.  But I also came away really inspired by the ways people talked about reaching their fitness goals.  The things that really stuck with me were how people talked about having an accountability partner and getting their kids involved.  It really struck me that I have a wonderful opportunity to put this to work in our family.  
One of my greatest challenges has been trying to find the time to fit in a good workout.  Between school, taking care of and feeding kids, cleaning, laundry, etc it can be hard to carve out a time just for myself.  There is usually some time free for me in the evenings, but exercising right before bed is not really ideal.  I could also try to wake up extra early to exercise before the kids are up, but that just combines two evils and is not exactly a recipe for success.  The idea was brought up at our MOPS meeting of having your kids be your accountability partners.  All of the sudden, the proverbial light bulb went off!  Of course!  I could work out WITH the kids and they would keep me accountable!
So far, our homeschool physical education curriculum has been a little bit lacking.  Twice a month, our homeschool group meets for a shared music and gym time.  Emma also takes dance classes every week.  Timothy has decided that he also wants to try Tae Kwon Do, which I think would be really good for him, but we need to get the details in order.  That has pretty much been the extent of things, other than the running around, biking, climbing, etc that the kids do all the time.  But I could definite see a need, or at very least a good use, for something more.  
At last, I could see all of the pieces coming together.  We have several good workout videos in our home library.  I also learned at MOPS that Netflix has some workout videos.  Not a ton of them, but a nice assortment.  Between these, we should have a nice variety of options to keep us from getting bored.  
Working out with the kids would mean several things.  First of all, it would mean more gym time for our school, which is important (and it does make a difference in how the rest of our day goes).  Second, it makes it MUCH easier to fit into the schedule!  If it is part of our school day, it's easy to make time, rather than trying to carve out a separate time just for me.  Third, it makes it a lot more fun to have someone to work out with!  (Plus, it is SO cute to watch Abby trying to do yoga and salsa!)  Fourth, they really do make great accountability partners!  Every morning, they are just itching to get to our gym time and it actually makes me excited to get moving too.  We are starting out small and working our way up, just the way we are supposed to.  And although I am excited to lose some weight and feel more comfortable in my own skin, that is not my motivation.  Right now, I am motivated by the idea of spending quality time with the kids, doing things that are really good for us: body, mind and spirit.  And when I look at it like that, physical education doesn't make me want to cry anymore. :)

I'm blessed

Wow, it has been a REALLY long time since I have posted along with Gretchen's Monday blessing party!  It's not that I haven't had things to be thankful for (I most certainly do!) and it's not that I haven't thought about all of the things I have to be thankful for (I really have!).  It's just that life has been busy and I haven't made it a priority to post on here.  And sometimes that's ok.  If I have to choose between spending time with Randy and the kids or spending time typing on the computer, my family wins. :)  But I also believe in the importance of "counting our blessings" and I can tell you that today it is really necessary. :)  


Again, it's not that I'm not aware of how blessed I am, but some days they are a little harder to see than others.  Today is that kind of day.  Abby has NOT been sleeping well at all.  (Not a huge surprise, since she has pretty much always taken the award for "Worst Sleeper" in our home.)  When she first pops out of bed in the morning, she is just a little ray of sunshine!  Seriously!  She pops up and runs into the room with a huge smile and a happy "Good morning!"  The other day, she said that she was happy and she wasn't going to be whiney.  Like many days, that lasted about 10 minutes before she dissolved into tears and whining and begging for juice and a movie.  The juice is ok, but I would much prefer that it accompanies breakfast.  (She is just not big on breakfast lately for some reason.  That probably adds to the whining throughout the morning.)  This morning she had a half hour meltdown because I wouldn't turn on a movie.  We have learned the hard way that tv during school does not keep Abby distracted nearly as much as it keeps the others distracted, so it stays off.  


Ok, I suppose I should set a good example and stop my whining.


Here are some blessings:


Abby is happily playing with some of her new toys from Christmas.  There was a plastic tea set (complete with kid-size plastic table and chairs) that she received.  Randy and I were not exactly enthusiastic about the idea of more big plastic stuff taking up space.  But, it does fit into her play area and she is absolutely having a BLAST setting up for her little tea party!  It's keeping her happy and quiet, and that is worth a lot!


Emma is SO loving and patient with Abby and Michael!  Seriously, she is an amazing big sister!  She takes time to snuggle with them, read stories, dance and twirl with Abby, and most of all, she does it with a loving heart, not with frustration at having to pay attention to little kids.  She really makes my day and I appreciate her more than I can say!


When Abby is happy, she is tremendously funny!  She constantly makes us laugh!  She can also be really sweet in what she says.  Like when I am not feeling like I look my best, and she runs up to me saying "Hi Mommy!  I love your hair and your clothes!  You look beautiful!"  And I know that she means it, which is so sweet and valuable.  The other one that makes my day is when I get out her clothes to get her dressed.  Most days, her face lights up and she says "You washed them for me, Mama?  Oh, thank you!!!!!"  It's nice to be appreciated!  


Here is a big one:  Even though Michael has a little bit of a cold and he is teething, he is still sleeping through the night and still just as sweet, happy and smiley as ever during the day!  THAT is a HUGE blessing!!!


Wow, look at that!  What started out as me being frustrated and admittedly a little whiney myself, has turned into me feeling really happy and truly blessed!  Thank you, Gretchen, for encouraging us to take the time to focus on our blessings instead of frustrations.  It really does make all the difference!  And thank you, Lord, for blessing me beyond measure!

I'm not Super Woman

I know this may come as a shock to some people, but I am not Super Woman. :)  Wow!  Glad I got that off my chest! :)


Seriously, I think that it is very common as women, and definitely as moms, to look around us and imagine that everyone else has everything together.  We must be the only ones who struggle with keeping our house intact, keeping our families fed and clothed, disciplining our children, etc.  (Maybe it's just me...and if it is, then I am really, genuinely happy for everyone else!)  I know that I struggle with comparing myself to other people.  Well, really not even that.  I find myself comparing myself to the near-perfection that I imagine others to be.  The more I look around, the more I convince myself that everyone else is doing a better job, and maybe there is just something wrong with me.  The truth is, it is simply not true.


I have struggled a lot with this issue all of my life.  (Here is the part where I get rather transparent.)  For as long as I can remember, my greatest fear was that the people that I love and care about would come to realize that I really wasn't good enough, and they would leave.  That's a really, really scary thought.  So, I put tremendous amounts of time and effort into trying to make myself appear as though I had things together.  I had to look smart enough (but not too smart that it would turn people off).  Here is how dysfunctional this got to be: In the course of conversation, someone might ask the name of a particular book, movie, etc.  However, even if I knew the answer, I would sometimes act like I didn't because I didn't want to be seen as a know-it-all.  I still find myself fighting with this, even though I know how ridiculous it is.  The problem is, trying to appear nearly-perfect is really, really exhausting!  Every single thing you say or do has to be filtered to make sure that it fits with the persona you are trying to portray (you know, one that is close enough to perfect to make everything think she is great without being so perfect that people don't want to be around you.)  It is more than a full-time job, and it is completely mentally and physically exhausting.  And not only is it impossibly impractical, it completely robs you of actually living and enjoying life.  


Over the past few years, I have come to understand all of this a little better, and I have learned (the hard way) that the source of all of this is pride.  Not the "Hey, I did a pretty good job on this!  Yay me!" kind of pride.  I mean the kind of pride that says "I don't need anyone else because I can do everything on my own" kind of pride.  The kind of pride that God mentions many, many times in the Bible.  The kind that robs us of joy, hardens our hearts and separates us from God.  


Probably my greatest lesson in this area is the time that I spent on partial bed-rest during 3 out of 4 of my pregnancies.  During the first two times, I still clung to the idea that I could still handle everything and I didn't really need any outside help.  (I just want to clarify that the "outside help" thing didn't apply to Randy.  He helped out TREMENDOUSLY with the kids, meals, house work, laundry, etc.  But, he still had to work also, and that meant that there was a lot to take care of.)  I figured that even if I wasn't really supposed to be out shopping, it was probably easier for me to just do the grocery shopping since I knew what all needed to be purchased, and besides it gets a little monotonous just sitting at home all day.  Needless to say, I did a lot more than what was recommended, and both of them were born around a month early.  (Praise God they were both healthy and able to come home right away!)  


So, this last time, I knew that I had to do better.  I had to listen and follow doctor's orders, not just for me but most of all for our baby.  Randy did a wonderful job of lovingly but firmly telling me to sit down and rest like I was supposed to.  I just have to say, at first the idea of bed-rest sounds lovely!  I mean, being "forced" to just sit around and relax and have other people take care of the chores and basically wait on you while you watch tv, read a book or whatever.  And for the first few hours, it really is a lovely break.  But it doesn't take very long for it to become rather monotonous and tedious.  Pretty soon you find yourself ready to go crazy from boredom!  (Thank you SO much to my friend Becky for having taught me how to crochet just a couple weeks beforehand.  It really was my sanity-saver!)  Anyway, the monotony is not the worst part.  The worst part BY FAR is knowing that you cannot do the things you need to do to take care of your family.  The worst part is knowing that you need help.  Every fiber in my being wanted to smile and say "No, we are doing just fine!" every time someone offered to help out in some way.  I desperately wanted to keep up the facade that I had everything under control.  But I didn't, and I couldn't.  And humbly accepting that help was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  Don't get me wrong- the delicious, home-cooked meals were not terribly hard to accept.  But having other people come into your home to clean and scrub while you just sit there, unable to help, is incredibly difficult. 


Through this experience, I came to understand several important truths.  First, I am NOT Super Woman.  (I know this should be obvious, and it really was, but it can still be hard to admit.)  Second, I cannot do everything by myself.  Third, I was never meant to do everything by myself.  God NEVER intended for us to face the challenges of this life in our own strength.  That is why Jesus calls us to come to Him, lean on Him and let Him carry us and our burdens.  We simply do not have the ability and strength on our own, and if we try, we will just find ourselves burned out and exhausted.  Fourth, not only do we have God to rely on, but He has placed people in our lives for a reason.  When people offer to help us or serve us in some way, they are obeying God's call, serving Him and showing His love, and they will be blessed for that.  When we reject that help, we are denying them the opportunity to be blessed.  This was kind of a shocking truth for me.  When I see a friend or loved one having a difficult time with something, I do not ever look at them and think "Wow!  That's so sad!  If they were a better person and had things together better, they might be able to do a better job and take care of everything themselves!  That's really a shame!"  I think "Wow!  I am so sorry to see someone I love struggling and I know how hard it can be, and I would LOVE to be able to help them out in any way!" We don't look down on our friends when they are struggling, so why do we assume that other people would think that way of us when we are struggling?  The truth is that this is a lie that Satan uses to try to isolate us and make us think that we have to rely on ourselves and our own abilities.  It is something that permeates our culture- the idea that we should be able to be totally independent and do it all and have it all without any help from anyone.  That is not how we were meant to live.  And every time I look at our precious children, I am reminded of just how blessed I am to have friends and family who love me for who I am (not who I try to pretend to be) and most of all, for a God who loves me just the way He created me to be.  I'm not Super Woman, and that's ok.

Catching up

Being that this is the beginning of a new year, I think it's natural to look back at the past year and what things we want to remember.  That was really my purpose in starting this blog in the first place.  So, I am going to go back and at least give an outline of some of the things that happened.  

2011 in a nut shell-

This past year really did contain quite a few big moments.  In April, Abby turned 2.  She is quite a piece of work! :)  She is definitely a social butterfly, willing to talk to almost anyone at almost any time.  (She is still 2, so things can be unpredictable.)  She is also VERY, VERY funny!  Some of my recent favorites include:  In the evenings, Randy will often ask Abby if she wants to snuggle with him and "be his pumpkin" for a little while before she has to go to bed.  She would frequently say no, since she knows this means it's almost bedtime.  However, one night she was trying to put off going to bed and decided to turn the tables on him, asking "Daddy, will you sit with me and be my pumpkin?  Come here, Pumpkin!" It really is rather hard to say no to something like that.  We do say no when needed, however.  For example, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we had some almond bark pretzels on hand.  Again trying to stave off bedtime, Abby asked Randy if he could get her one.  When Randy said no, Abby replied "Yes you can!  Just try!  They're in the kitchen!  You can go in the kitchen!!!"  Hmmm...has she perhaps heard us asking her and her siblings to simply try something?  Perhaps. :)  (And yes, the answer to the pretzel inquiry was still no.)  

July was also a very busy month in our home.  We started the month at Family Camp, along with some good friends of ours.  This was our second year attending, and it really is a terrific time of family, faith, fellowship and fun. :)  I was not able to participate in quite as much of the fun, as I was trying very hard to refrain from having a baby during camp.  (Also, by "Family Camp", I do not mean anything involving actual camping.  We were at a Christian camp, and we had very nice accommodations that did not involve tents or anything of that nature.)  I did end up spending a lot of time relaxing with my feet up and doing some crocheting, but I was able to attend all of the services.  We returned home on Tuesday, July 5.  Just a few days later, on July 8, we welcomed Michael David into our family!  He is a VERY happy baby and a terrific sleeper!  Less than a week after that, Emma turned 9!  She is such an amazing young lady!  She is extremely patient with Abby and Michael, and a tremendous help!  She is also a fabulous dancer!  She has such a loving, caring heart, and her love of animals is definitely a gift.

In September, Randy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary!  It is really hard to believe that we have been married for 10 years!  Time really does fly when you're having fun! :)  At the same time, it feels like we have been married forever.  (Not in a bad way!  Just in the "we have been together for so long that it's hard to remember what it was like to not be together" kind of way.)  My beloved is amazing, by the way! :)  He is one of the hardest workers I know, but still makes God and our family top priority.  I can honestly say that I love him more now than I did 10 years ago, and I feel VERY, VERY blessed indeed!  Two days after our anniversary, Timothy turned 7!  It is really awesome to see how grown up he is getting to be!  He LOVES anything to do with farming, almost anything to do with being outside, and creating/building/engineering things with Legos, tools, scrap wood, wire, string and anything else he can find.

In November, just before Thanksgiving, Michael learned to roll over!  While many babies get very angry about being on their tummies, he saw this as an opportunity!  When we set him down, he would immediately roll to his tummy, pull his knees up under him and try to go!  He was determined to keep up with the "big kids".  About 2 weeks later, he learned to roll onto his back again.  It was only a day or two before he realized that he could roll over and over to get from one place to another.  He has done a little bit of that, but he is still bound and determined to be crawling. 


So, December brought us a rolling baby and his very first Christmas.  We also did something different with Emma and Timothy this year.  I got the idea from another mom in our homeschool group.  It is called an Advent Jesse Tree (based on the Scripture prophesy that the Messiah would come from the stump or tree of Jesse- father of King David).  In addition to our regular Christmas tree, we have a small, fiber-optic tree that I thought would be perfect for this project.  Basically, every day from December 1-25, we started our day with an Advent devotion.  The book that I have gives a memory verse for each day, along with a Bible story and both a children's devotion and an adult devotion, followed by a couple of questions and a short prayer.  These devotions take you from the Creation all the way through to Jesus' birth, and each day has a symbol that goes along with that day's story.  We took a couple packs of felt and made an ornament for each day to hang on the tree.  (Ok, by the end we got a little behind on the ornaments, so we are still missing a few, but we have 11 months to get them ready for next time.)  I will post pictures on another post, since this is getting long.  We were able to get together with some friends of ours the day before Christmas Eve.  We then spent that night and all of Christmas Eve at parents' house, celebrating with Mom and Dad, my siblings and their families, and some extended family.  It was really a wonderful time! :)  We came home Christmas Day, and had a little bit of family time before having supper with my father-in-law and a couple of my sisters-in-law and their families.  We all got to hang out again on Monday before Tina, Josh and the kids had to go home.  Lynette, Dayne and the kids got to stay until Friday the 30th.  Monday night we all got together with some more friends and had a fun supper and game night, which was awesome!  Tuesday, Lynette and I got to go shopping all day, mostly kid-free.  (We did have Michael with, but the guys had the rest of the gang.)  Wednesday, we took the kids bowling and then to the new Chipmunk movie.  It was another very fun day!  Thursday, we just hung out and took it easy.  Everyone was getting tired and a little overwhelmed, but it was still very fun.  The guys (and sometimes the kids) were able to do a lot of ice fishing and quite successfully, which was very exciting!  (It's also very funny that that was really the only week that it was even possible to be on the lake!)  On New Years' Eve, we ran a couple errands, went out for supper with the kids and then came home for a popcorn and movie party, watching Rio with the kids.  And that was pretty much our year, and my cup runneth over with blessings! :)