A Very Good Year

Yesterday was my birthday, and my family and friends made me feel very special.

Chip and Ronnie made me dinner - yummy honey mustard grilled chicken, a large salad with veggies fresh from our garden, and blueberry muffins with huge, juicy blueberries.



There were cupcakes from my favorite little cupcake shop - delicious flavors like Mai Tai, Pina Colada, Key Lime, and Lemon Coconut.



And there was a basket of my favorite things from Amy and the kids - my special lotion from Bath and Body Works, a handmade trivet, tickets to Eclipse, a new book, a lovely scarf, and of course, chocolate. And both Amy and my ex-husband sent flowers!



Quite the celebration, don't you think?!

When I went to bed last night, I began to reflect on my past year, and realized that is was a very good year, indeed.

No one was hospitalized.

My oldest son graduated with honors from high school and completed his first year of college with a 4.0 grade point average.

My sweet Ashley started high school, and despite all my worries, things went very, very well.

Jessica moved into an adult group home, one more step towards realizing her dreams for her future.

We had a wonderful 'unplugged' family vacation at a cabin in the woods last Christmas.

I survived layoffs and furloughs at work.

We lived through yet another bathroom renovation and also had a wheelchair ramp built.

My old van finally died and we got a lovely family sedan...just to realize a few short months later that we really needed a van again....because...

My newest son joined the family!!!

And the list goes on and one. Yes, a very, very good year...