Thursday, December 29, 2011

Another year to be grateful !





    As 2011 winds down and I look back over this year, I realize, once again, how much
I have to be thankful for. There will always be mountain tops as well as valleys in
life and I want to share a couple of my “High” points from 2011.

**Our jobs. Mike and I have BOTH been working part time this year by choice. He is
completing his 26th year at Cook Children's Hospital and I just finished my 15th year
with what is now Express Scripts. Working fewer hours has been WAY better for us-
now being able to spend more time with each other as well as friends and family. Not the
same as total retirement, but maybe the next best thing. We took a trip this November to
Sedona, AZ, one of our FAVORITE travel destinations. While there, taking in all the
beauty of the red rocks, and surrounding area including the Grand Canyon, we both
decided that this could be the place of our future retirement. So, we’ll see. We still aren’t
ready (or should I say able) to quit our jobs, but maybe in 2013?

**Our home and neighborhood a seemingly a small thing that I take for granted. I love
being able to walk Biskit and Cookie (they are now both seniors ) down the tree shaded
streets to the lake each day (even though the drought has made the lake a giant field this
year with grass growing under the boat docks !) and enjoy the safety and quiet nature of
our neighborhood in the midst of the big, busy, madhouse of the metroplex. Sedona has
no freeways!

**Our travels and families. Always on the top of my list. This year I was able to go
home to Ohio 4 times to visit my family including my Moms birthday in April, my
nephew Tim’s wedding to Gena in June, a surprise visit for my Dad’s 84th birthday and
back again in October with a special visit to my old friend Inez who is now in a nursing
home. PLUS my sister Debbie and her husband Mark went to Lake Tahoe with us for a
week in September where we enjoyed the beauty of the pristine lake against the
backdrop of the mountains. Breathtaking ! I have been busy working on the dozens of
photos I took (still a favorite hobby) so I can post a few on our website for friends and
family to view.  ( http://www.mikeandkathie.com )

** The Lord Jesus - without Him in my life I would be truly lost. So as I celebrate
this Christmas season I am reminded that
“ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17