Reflections at Another Year's End

I started this tradition last New Year's Eve...and found it a perfect way to recap the year. (Click here if you want to see last year's post.) It's hard to remember all that happens in a year -- a mere 365 days -- and this is a great way to keep track.

One of my favorite activities to do when I was young was to buy the Life magazine "Year in Pictures" issue. I would pore over it with great anticipation and interest. It's amazing how much goes on in a year that we forget.

As a shutterbug myself, I find it very difficult to pick only one photo to represent the happenings for that month. Indulge me, if you will, as I try to limit myself.

January:

2007 arrived! Emily donated 12 inches of her hair to "Locks for Love," a group that uses hair donations to make wigs for cancer patients and others who might need one. A week later I joined her.

February:

Edward turned 6 on Valentine's Day. We went to the Air & Space Museum Annex outside of Dulles Airport for his birthday adventure, but we had so much snow it kept getting postponed. I hosted my 12th Annual Valentine's Tea. Earl Grey (Emily's bunny) and his bunny brother Clementine celebrated their 1st birthday with a birthday party in Emily's room.

March:

March followed on the heels of a very snowy February, and we finally started our homeschool learning group 3 weeks late. We had dry weather until a major snow/ice storm hit on March 16th -- the same day Edward ended up in the ER at Reading Hospital with asthmatic bronchitis. Stuart and I travelled to Washington, D.C., to see the end program at the D.C. Independent Film Festival and a Q&A with Kiefer Sutherland et al and another big-screen viewing of the rockumentary I Trust You to Kill Me. Rocco Deluca and the Burden played live after the film. We even saw Jude Cole (though I was too shy to go up and ask for a photo and autograph).

April:

Easter came mid-month. It was warm and sunny. Emily celebrated her half-birthday, and Tax Day was delayed due to the 15th being a Sunday this year. Stuart and I travelled to Philadelphia for our first local Rocco Deluca concert. We saw them along with The Feeling and Mat Kearney.

May:

Stuart's parents came for a visit, and we drove to New York City to pick them up. We enjoyed trips to Philadelphia to ride the DUCKS; Ocean City, N.J., to enjoy the beach (don't be fooled by the above photo -- it was NOT warm *grin*); Strasburg to ride the trains; and through Amish Country for a yummy breakfast. Another friend from the U.K. visited, and we hosted a BBQ for him at our house with both sets of parents. My blog turned 1! Stuart and I celebrated 11 years of wedded bliss. *grin*

June:

Emily had her dance recital, and we celebrated Father's Day. One of our gifts to Stuart was a book of photographs called Hollywood Dads. The above is the photograph I took to put in the front of it -- that's the "star" in our house!! The bun-girls (Bubble and Squeak) turned 2.

July:

We spent a hot, humid morning watching the annual Wyomissing Independence Day Parade. Edward lost his first tooth. We got to go to Dorney Park (a local theme park) for Stuart's annual company picnic. We said goodbye to our dear cat, Abigail, and Stuart spent two weeks in Brazil, hanging with Kiefer doing a sound survey on several gas platforms.

August:

Our vacation to Nags Head came a month earlier. We rented another beach house and spent the week together as a whole family -- a first in many years. We nearly melted due to record high temps (in the 100s all week) and spent most of the time parked at the edge of the ocean with our feet in the water. We welcomed Chaucer, a new "kitty," into our family. Edward had his half-birthday, and we enjoyed some horse and buggy rides at our 4-H picnic. Stuart and I went to yet another Rocco concert in Philadelphia -- how could we resist seeing this awesome band?

September:

School began on time -- and at home for a change (we're usually at the beach). Stuart celebrated his 37th birthday. Emily started her 8th year of dance class with two classes a week, and Edward began his first season doing a team sport: soccer. He loved it and was a natural! (He's already signed up for the spring season.) We drove up to New York to meet a long-time online friend, Lana, and her family. Our homeschool learning group began, and I started teaching a high school journalism class. We took the kids to their first Rocco concert -- the end of tour concert held outside in Baltimore -- and even met the band members afterwards. It was fun to share the experience with them, and Edward lost his second tooth on the way.

October:

Our birthday brought double-digits to Emily who turned 10. I turned 37. We spent our birthday in New York City so that Emily could use some of her birthday money to buy a "trendy" new outfit. We headed back up there a week later to see the 24 Season 7 trailer live on the big screen in Times Square -- where we met Mary Lynn Rajskub, the actress who plays Chloe on the show. I met Norma, another wonderful online friend/fellow Kiefer fan, who was in R-City for a skating competition. Emily and Edward dressed up as Star Wars characters for Halloween. The Nutcracker Season began. We finished replacing the rest of the windows in our house, and I reached 10,000 visitors on my blog.

November:

Some marvelous school photos were taken. We replaced the floor in our kitchen. Jack and Tony, the two Holland Lop bunnies, joined our menagerie. A fun Thanksgiving feast was held at my aunt's. I started Book #14 in my "bestseller" *wink* manuscript.

December:

I drove the kids solo to New York City to visit our friends and go to Macy's. Originally, we were going to see the "lions" at the public library...but we figured that could wait for another trip. Emily danced as an "angel" in her fourth Nutcracker performance. We enjoyed the annual "Breakfast with Santa" that Stuart's company hosts for the children. Emily finished her 2nd year of 4-H. Stuart was asked to read scripture at our church's Christmas Eve service and discovered that night that the seat of his pants had a huge rip in them. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with my family on Christmas and played games afterwards. Boxing Day came with the usual English feast and some fun company. Pagoda Day brought its usual fun trek up Mt. Penn to get our annual night-time photo (the camera slid off the car and thank God didn't sustain any damage).

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We are so grateful for God's blessings on us, and we stand now at the gate of another year, wondering what adventures lay ahead. In faith, we'll hold tight to God's Hand.

Happy New Year -- Goodbye, 2007! Welcome, 2008!