The year that was 2010....

I have wanted to do this blog for a couple of days but for some reason the words were just not there. And then I went to Church tonight, magically, I knew then and there exactly what I wanted to say.....

2010 had a lot of ups and a lot of downs....at the beginning of the year it always seems so promising and then life hits you with a dose of reality and you start to lose your oooompfh that you had going into the new year.

Some of the ups that we had was finding some of our new friends and trying to be more social as a family (very hard with Tobey). We found our groove this year....I am not sure how to put that in words. We found out who we are as a family and what we want to be as individual people. I have finally learned to accept myself as a wife, Mom and Christian and that I may have to do things s little differently than some people....that is OK.

I have been blessed beyond words with seeing Tobey come out of that Autistic world and to hear him say "I love you" was quite possibly the biggest moment of my life. I have seen Lena become a teenager and excel in school. I have seen Alison find a love for music. Edwin has developed a personality and extreme love for the holidays. Olivia finding her own little niche to fit into a large family. Emily has become one of the neatest kids I have ever met and Melody is a little spark of energy that is as tough as nails.

I have seen Eddie change into the best husband anyone could ever ask for and to see him grow in his faith and to become such a rock for our family. He has made me laugh through the tears and smile through pain.

I have started a blog (you probably knew that) and I have enjoyed every comment I have ever gotten whether on here or Facebook or in person. I have enjoyed every minute of it....except when I had to go political about gay rights. I won't go political again....I had a friend not talk to me for weeks!

Moving to our new house, which we LOVE by the way! I am so at home here and the kids are so happy....God did good finding this one!

But, I think the biggest high we had in 2010 was our life at Living Stones...the family that we have there has been our life line. I have been honored to have met the friends and family that I have there and can't believe that they love us so much despite of our failures and just loving us so faithfully. If you go to Living Stones I want to thank you from depth of my soul for your love....I love you!

I am not big on holding onto the past....you will never move forward if you stay angry or bitter and just not get over things. So this will be brief ( and I am freaking tired today). Our definite lows were lead poisoning, Tobey's health issues, the Insurance company, the past house where NOTHING worked, losing 2 cats, SUV impounded, 2 Golden Girls died and so on and so on.....

So here is to 2011 (lift your glasses now) I hope that you bring so many people joy and peace. I am looking forward to the adventures that another year can bring and lets make this one a great one! Oh, and if I may ask....no more lead!