2017 Wrap-Up

I have been thinking the past few days about the highlights of 2017. As the years pass, it seems they roll by faster and faster, blurring together as one. So, I want to take a moment to outline my top 10 highlights of 2017. Here they are (in no particular order):

1. Our family vacation. Roy worked nights the entire summer which was definitely not a highlight. And so, we went on a family vacation the first week of August when his night shifts were finally over and just before the kids headed back to school. It was an amazing week touring Texas - the beach, Sea World, fabulous restaurants, swimming and laughter proved to be some highlights from the week. It was a grand time.
2. Trips to Oklahoma - as in plural. For years and years, I have only been home once a year as I have always lived at least a thousand miles away. But now? Well now I can go home at a moment’s notice. And anyone who knows me knows that Oklahoma with its red dirt, grazing cattle, golden sunsets, and my precious parents holds my heart. And so, I was able to head to Oklahoma in the spring, in the summer, in the fall, and then again, of course, at Christmas. Four times. That, my friends, is a beautiful thing.
3. Roy’s job. In September 2016, Roy started working as a Quality Acceptance for an engineering firm called Lamb-Star. This past November, Roy got a call from a company called LJA and was offered a job doing the same thing with a few more perks. It made our heads swim. I am so grateful for a job where Roy is appreciated and applauded. It has made all the difference.
4. One of the perks of my job is traveling to places across the USA where I host alumni events. During 2017, I was able to see Jacque in California and Estee Marie in Albuquerque. I spent a splendid weekend with Savana and Guerin while hosting in Orlando, and, at my event in Denver, Tami Condon and I explored Estes Park while I reminisced about Roy’s and my time in Colorado during our early years of marriage. I saw so many friends at my event in Oklahoma City, and when I served shortcake at the Arkansas campmeeting, my sisters traveled along to help. It was an overnight trip filled with so much laughter as we sang along with the radio and chattered the miles away. 
5. My sister Tami and her cute fam moved next door, and my other sister Lori moved two miles away. If someone told me ten years ago that this would be my reality, I would never have believed it. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself that Jace has a math tutor and a piano teacher; that many weekday lunches are spent with my two closest friends who happen to be my sisters; that Saturday night activities are a given; that looking out my back window and seeing Chas with his Farmer Jones hat and riding his tractor would be a normal scene. Yes, my life is sweet.
6. Our Family Christmas. This is always a highlight of each year, but this year? It was just something special. Darian was home for about three weeks, and Savana and Guerin were here for nine blissful days. DJ joined the crazy for about a week as well. Seven of us were squeezed into our little home, but we were cozy and happy and warm. We ate out at some fabulous restaurants, kept a fire crackling in the fireplace, played some rousing games that brought the fire out in all of us, dined on Savana’s delectable dishes (she made a seafood dinner for those of us who like that sort of thing, and a homemade lasagna (made with her sauce simmered from tomatoes, garlic, and fresh basil) for those of us who don’t. We jumped on the trampoline, watched movies, told stories, and laughed. Mainly? We laughed. And loved. And lived. It was perfect.
7. My back porch. We only live a few blocks outside of city limits but this place of ours? It’s the best kept secret in town. When I’m sitting on my back porch, it’s like we live in the middle of nowhere as the view out back is just country and trees and skyline. It’s the perfect way to begin each morning and to end each day. And so, even though it’s not a specific memory, it’s one of the greatest joys of my life.
8. Friends coming to visit. This year we’ve had the privilege of having Jacque, Debbie & Carlos, Ed Pelto (though his visit was like lightning), the Condon's, and Pamela Kay at our home. These people? They are the stuff that make life worth living. I am grateful.
9. My parents in my home. Dad and Jo came up for a couple of days and we spent hours hanging out on the back porch. Having Dad and Jo in our home is a rare treat and I soaked up every moment. Mom came down several times as well. And of course, having Mom here is a little piece of heaven as well. She is so kind, so giving - she makes life easy when she’s around.
10. Gina and Eric and their amazing kids. There’s nothing like family and these peeps? Well, they are Family. We’ve learned how to smoke the best brisket from Eric and we’ve dined around their table at pretty much every major occasion. We are so grateful for the Johannessen's and the joy and love they bring to our lives.

2017? You’ve been good to me and my family.

I am grateful.

And? 

Arms open wide, I’m eager to see what 2018 holds.