Reflections...

As we near the end of the year, it's time to reflect back on the passing and the accomplishments and events that have shaped us. Our little family has so much for which to be grateful this year, it was such a whirlwind it's hard to even know where to begin.

First and foremost, we have each other and our health and happiness. Number One and I really have two of the most terrific boys:

H-Bomb, now age 6 1/2, finished Kindergarten and is now in 1st grade, says that math is his favorite subject and at his very first parent-teacher conference had already surpassed the yearly goal for reading. There is nowhere to go but up! He has several good buddies in his class, and it's comforting to see him forming friendships (some since preschool) that will likely stand the test of time. H-Bomb is an amazingly loving and thoughtful older brother to Sawed Off, always hugging and teaching him and spontaneously telling him "I love you, Sawed Off." It is wonderful that this persists in spite of the petty sibling stuff.

Sawed Off, who turned three last February, is a strong-willed and opinionated almost-four-year-old who can't wait to follow in his big brother's footsteps. He is such a sweetheart, with his little curly hair, full of hugs and always affectionate. It is amazing to see Sawed Off learning so much from his brother and yet still being his own little person. He also is very free with the spontaneous "I love you"s, which we love!

If we have done One Thing right, it is knowing that our boys Love each other
and Help each other and will Be There for each other.

Number One and I were kept busy designing and deciding and supervising the interior of the addition on our house. While he helped with the major decisions, it was really me in there with the day-to-day, even spending three days side-by-side with the contractor's son, installing kitchen cabinets, and then another three days with the contractor, installing the bathroom tile. Indeed, after about one day, the contractor would come in, lay the mud for the bathroom tiles, and then take off, saying "here you go!" So I really had a lot of hands-on and I learned an incredible amount! I also got to know our sweet contractor better, he really is a good guy. And throughout this entire project, we became friends with "she knows who she is," spending time together and realizing we have lots of things in common.

After the contractors were finished, it was up to Number One and I to paint! A big job, and thank goodness we did have some help from a couple friends. After that, Number One also had to sand and finish the wood floors--over 900 square feet!--for which he had some help from our then-farmer guy. And the floors look great! (you'll see!)

The remodel went so well, everyone is so impressed when they see the transformation, and I still can't quite believe that we designed it from the ground up--from the walls to the very last cabinet pull! Amazing. We are so thankful to ABEG for doing this for us, and to the Universe for reinforcing us and blessing us.

And I promise, one day soon you will get a room-by-room tour of the addition. Promise. Coming Soon!

In February we managed a trip to St. George, Utah, for a family meeting and had such a lovely time with Number One's aunts and uncles. We got to see them all again for the summer family reunion at the ranch house! What a great year!

This past spring, we had a delightful visit from Number One's high-school buddy and his wife, and had an excellent time hiking and cooking and just spending time with them for the few days they were here. We miss you guys! And later a visit from his buddy's dad for several days, with more hiking, more cooking, more wine, which was very enjoyable.

We had a visit from my parents this fall, and they helped a lot with the addition, varnishing most of the new trim, building and installing shelves in the master bedroom, spending time with the boys, etc. We got to go on a few hikes, and also enjoyed a visit from my mom's cousin and her husband.

Seriously, such a whirlwind that I'm having trouble distinguishing the events this past year that happened besides the house...H-Bomb took a Photography class, I was hired for a Photo Shoot, we met new friends who immediately felt like old, dear friends, I cooked lots of ranch meals...some of them are probably on the blog already anyway!

We are just so aware of how amazing and supportive and wonderful our group of friends and family are, from near and far, old and new, and we are so grateful to have such awesome people in our life.

It was really fun to get some of you together at our party.
We hope to see more of you all
(and especially the people we missed seeing this year)
in the coming year.

The tribe is coming together. We are so blessed.

Happy Christmas.