The Year in Review...

When 2008 began, we quickly developed a theme for the year: "2008 Is Gonna Be GREAT!" Well I don't know that I can say it was great..... but we had some ups and downs.

A highlight at the beginning of the year was the four legged addition to our family. We finally got Todd to agree to get a dog. Of course there was some smooth deal making done to get this to "fly" which I'll tell you about shortly

Kaydee was born January 9th, 2008 and has got to be the most mellow lab you will ever meet.

Shortly after the arrival of Kaydee, our family hit an extremely rough patch. Growing up, my family has always been very blessed with good health and happiness, and then I am fortunate enough to have the same as an adult with my family. I guess we were about due for some trials.

On March 31, 2008 my family's lives would change forever. This is the day that my Dad had a heart attack. Little did we know, we would spend the rest of the week sitting by our father's bedside in the hospital.

Then on April 4th, 2008 my Dad passed away at the age of 60. I had never lost a family member before and then to top it off, it was one of my parents. The hardest part of this trial at the time was watching my Mom's heart breaking as she watched the love of her life slip away.

I am thankful for the love and support so many of my friends and extended family showed to me, and my family at this time.

As we worked on moving forward, Todd REALLY worked at making a change in his life. After working on Mercedes for 17 years, Todd made a change.

He began working at RTD as a Light Rail Technician. The thought of being paid a salary and knowing what your paycheck would be on a consistent basis was rather appealing. In addition to that, the benefits including retirement options were a strong selling point.

So here is where getting Kaydee comes into play. With Todd now being the "low man on the totem pole" he would have to work nights. Well having the family at home at night all alone was a little nerve racking for all of us..... however, if we had a "guard dog" everyone would be at ease. (At least that's what we wanted Todd to think)

Things were looking up for Maddy about this time as well. She was beginning to prepare for the scary world of HIGH SCHOOL! And to top it off...

...she made the Varsity Cheerleading Squad! She loves it! Our bank account hasn't loved it so much, but we are glad she has found something she really enjoys and it keeps her busy.

As for Dylan, both he and Todd have found a new hobby themselves...

FISHING!

We have worked hard at spending a lot of time this year as a family and have enjoyed trips to Grandpa Larry's farm...
And enjoying some hiking at Mt Falcon Park.
Between the other various trials I have watched my brother's go through, from trouble with the law, loss of a job, a helicopter crash in Iraq and divorce, it has continued to be a long and tiring year. We have worked at staying positive and being thankful for the time we have with each other.

We are grateful for the blessings in our lives and for the support of each of you this year. We hope as the year ends we can reflect on the experiences of this year and learn and grow from them in a positive way. I can say that 2008 has gone by extremely fast and I look forward to starting a new year.

We hope all of our friends and family have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!