A new year

Happy 2009!! What a year 2008 was. It brought many changes and many blessings to our family. The year had begun with us in search of a church to hold Ashley and Dan's wedding...yep, by the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 Ashley had a beautiful sparkly ring on her finger and a wonderful fiance at her side. The year had held many trials for these two but they stuck together kept God in the middle of their lives and watched as He saw them through this journey in their lives. Ash and Dan were so excited to be looking at churches and trying to decide just where God would have them exchange their vows to each other. We all walked into the perfect place one saturday afternoon~it happened to be the same church that Russ had grown up in and the one his eldest sister had been married in as well..."beautiful" was I think the word that we all shared as we looked at this house of God. Around this same time we would lose our Aunt Gladys, the matriarch of our family at the end of January. The Lord carried our family through this time knowing that there were happier times on the horizon.
By May we were celebrating with Nick. He would reach yet another wonderful goal that we thought we may never get to experience with him~he graduated from SRHS, what a blessing it was for our family to watch as he walked across Baily Field with 400 of his closest friends. We all sat and watched/listened as his name was called and he received his diploma.What a marvelous night that was! I think, no i know that all Bailey Field heard our family as we screamed, yelled, blew horns and laughed as we watched this wonderful young man cross into yet another journey in his life.
Then came the summer...OMGosh, and wedding plans were in full gear. During that same time we celebrated nick's 18th birthday, had a bridal shower and were saddened by the loss of our Aunt Polly. At the same time that we were happy and celebrating we lost a very sweet, loving woman to lung cancer...despite this incredible loss we indeed celebrated Ashley and Dan's wedding. Moved them back to La Mirada into a very cute apartment. Nick started college as well at the SRJC where he is beginning his journey into law enforcement.
As 2008 came close to ending we had lost our great dog Maggie and had to put our cat Miss Penny down and send her on to be with Maggie. So needless to say, 2008 brought the highest of highs and some pretty low, sad times as well. Even in the sad times we were always reminded of the how much god loves us and watches over us. Our family had been blessed abundantly with great news of Nick being taken off the Lung transplant list and of Dan's tumors shrinking to almost unseeable and the tumor on his pancreas maybe not even being living cancer anymore!! PRAISE GOD!! Thank you Jesus for as Ashley said "...leaning down and listening to our prayers.."!
I look forward to what 2009 will bring and know that whatever it is the Lord is charge and we couldn't be in better hands. May this new year be a blessing to us all and be full of more laughter, more love and more family!! We love you all...God Bless you.