Something old, Something new

2009 turned out to be a lazy year for me...blog-wise, that is. Oh, sure...I still wrote a lot...but the time I spent writing was on facebook, and not on blogger.  Bad me, bad me. As someone who loves to write (who lives to write), it is certainly a good thing that I don't write to live or I'd be in mas trouble.

As I look back at 2009 I think "Whew! I made it!" Not that it was a horrible year, but it definitely had it's moments. There are some things that happened in 2009 that I hope NEVER to have happen again. As I close out this year, I can say that the past few months have been an improvement (with the exception of the death of our beloved dog, Luke) over what came earlier in the year.

The highlights of this year included:

My 20th Wedding Anniversary with Sherry and our trip to Springfield, with stops along the way. We spent several days in Strafford and got to visit with some old friends we hadn't seen in ages, as well as visiting spots we hadn't seen in years. The boys had fun playing on my elementary school playground and we really enjoyed the Precious Moments Chapel and Museum and George Washington Carver's Museum too. It was nice.

The Weather was amazing this year! Spring lasted most of the summer and this is the first year I ever remember where we had green grass the entire year and I ended up mowing until November.

Luke's last day with us sounds like it would be a sad one, and it was one of the saddest days of my life, however... For mid-November, we had more of the amazing Spring-like weather with temps in the mid-seventies. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice road trip with Luke and Socks. The ending was sad, but I hope my last day is as beautiful as Luke's was.

This fall we took another trip to Springfield to say "SEE YA" to Sherry's Cousin, Tim, who went to fight the war in Afghanistan. It was a bittersweet time, but was nice to reconnect with some of Sherry's family that we don't see often enough. It also gave us a chance to renew our hope and faith in our fighting forces and give well wishes to a soldier that we actually know. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU, TIM,  COME HOME SOON!

Dustin's grades improved in school and his talent as a musician continued to grow. I'm also proud of Dustin's computer skills. He's VERY bright with computer related topics and is turning into a decent writer and photographer... I'd like to say that the writing and photography part are hereditary. Dustin is a funny kid with a good sense of humor and his Dad's great looking, curly hair. (I hope he holds onto it longer than I did!)

Jared's skills as an athlete continue to amaze me. There are a lot of good athletes on both sides of mine and Sherry's families, and although neither Sherry or I are great athletes, we seem to have carried the gene. Jared pitched a near no-hitter, (He gave up no hits at all in the innings he pitched but the pitcher who relieved him in the last inning gave up three runs), became a good little Catcher, and was great at laying down bunts for his team, THE BULLS. He also had a very solid run in basketball last season and so far this season, THE TIMBERWOLVES are undefeated! Jared is a straight-A student at school and although he's ornery...he's not all that bad...

Sherry continues to grow more beautiful with each year that I spend with her. She's smart, funny and talented...as well as being very tolerant of me and all of my silliness. I thank God every day for the gift that she is to me.

Kevin...
With the loss of Luke we felt an enormous hole in our lives and in our hearts. Socks felt it as well and began to show some pretty serious signs of depression. So for Christmas this year, we adopted a lovable yellow lab named "Kevin," who has been a fun, amazing addition to our family.

Socks...
The best dog anyone could ask for. Huggable, lovable, loyal and sweet...she took Luke's death pretty hard, but took in Kevin with open paws. After only two weeks together they seem like they've been together forever. She plays Mom to him and isn't afraid to warn him if he gets too goofy, but will also join in on the fun if she's in the mood to play with him in the snow. I wouldn't take a million dollars for Socks...she's priceless.

I won't even go into the bad parts of this past year. It was the usual stuff... car troubles, finances, teenage angst and growing pains. Health issues, parental worries and worries about our parents too as they grow older...All in all, it could have been worse.

And me... I hope to lose some weight and write more. Those are pretty easy goals... I think I can do it.
2009 was the usual mix of "The Best of times and worst of times."
When I wake up tomorrow it will be 2010 and I'll get to start all over again!

Happy New Year to all of you and may God bless you in the New Year!

David