New Year beginnings...

A New Year... a clean slate... What will this year hold? I wish I could say that last year was easy... but it wasn't. It was incredibly challenging and darn right hard at times.

The loss of my Dad in July was very unexpected - followed by my Mom's diagnosis of breast cancer in September - followed by Rick's episode of memory loss and the resulting medical testing - followed by Melissa's accident involving a mailbox and the car...

What I learned is to be thankful that God is faithful. In the midst of everything He alone was my anchor and my rock. To question "Why?" serves me no purpose - I rest in God's sovereign will - that he has plans to prosper us and not to hurt us.

The blessings that He gave us were many - We spent a week with my Dad in Tennessee for Family vacation before his passing. We had the opportunity to say goodbye and tell him that we loved him - so many do not have this incredible blessing.

My Mom's cancer was caught on a routine screening mammogram at a stage I. It is an aggressive cancer so she is undergoing chemotherapy. We are thankful that she has a chance for a recurrence-free future.

Rick's testing was all normal. Whether it was a seizure, a TIA, or an episode of transient global amnesia - he is back to living life... We are thankful that it was not something lasting. Finally, we are thankfull that the only thing hurt in Melissa's accident was the car - and her pocket book.

So as we start the New Year, I put behind the trials and look forward to God's perfect plan for this year...