PEACE IS MINE IN 2009!!!

Hi Friends!

I hope that you will find joy and peace in 2009. This year is certainly looking up for me. I wouldn't necessarily trade anything that happened in 2008 or say it was too hard for me -- but what I would say is that it was a challenging year!

We had a quiet New Year's Eve at home with the kids. We were talking about having a party at our house that night, but things never panned out. I think it worked out better this way, and it was nice to just spend time together as a family. We watched GroundHog's Day, which the kids hadn't seen before. And Bill and I hadn't seen it since it first came out in the 1990's. We all found it very amusing. The movie was filmed in Woodstock, IL where Bill used to catch the train when we lived in Lake Geneva, WI (the first year after we got married). So, we had visited the set and it brought back memories to see it again.

Bill made dinner and spectacular ice cream sundaes and we had sparkling cider in "fancy" glasses at midnight. Thanks to Annie for the cider. It was a big hit!

I'm back to walking daily with Judi and I'm feeling quite good. It's nice to sleep in every day while the kids are on Christmas vacation. It will be hard when we all have to start getting up early again. After 5 days on antibiotics, my kidney infection is much better -- so here's hoping I make it a while before the next one hits. Bill's ear is feeling better, too. And Isaac's sprained wrist is much improved. He again wants to be very active and he is upset that we won't let him ride his bike with his cast on.

The kids are starting to get a bit stir-crazy since we've been home the last couple of days. So, tomorrow we're planning a hiking day trip and picnic to wear off their energy. Tonight they're distracted as 2 of the Malone kids from next door are spending the night. Molly has Heather (who's like a little sister to her) spending the night, and Nate and Isaac have Will spending the night. So, the girls are doing "girlie stuff" and the boys have built an elaborate tent city and are playing some type of war game. Cameron has nicely offered to sleep in Nate's room tonight so that Nate, Isaac, and Will can all sleep together in the room that Isaac and Cam share. Hopefully we'll make it through the night without any bunk bed injuries.

Bill is putting the finishing touches on our Bland Family 2008 DVDs. So, he's hoping to burn them and send them out soon.

Much Love,
Michele