Year End Reflections

10 Highlights

1.  Family cruise with dolphin swimming,  frozen key lime pie,  karaoke singing, chocolate lava cake and celebrating Laila's 13th birthday.

2.   Landon and Alex's HOT wedding with  Sophia, Andrew and Alfie walking down the aisle holding a balloon

3.  Andrew's baptism with Laila speaking and Wayne confirming him.

4. Seeing Truman in Shrek the Musical, Laila in Peter Pan, Bre in Little Mermaid and Addison in Young Frankenstein

5.  Laila making Cheerleader

6. Hiking Angel's Landing with the Madsens

7. Bear Lake beach time with Family

8. Showing Laila  NYC for her first time

9. Meeting  beautiful new grandbaby Tayla for the first time
while we hung out in the door way and saw the nurse and Monson hold her up...we squealed and cried.

10.  My 5 Carol's show...for the 4th year

7 Disappointments

1. Marcie dying.  We were supposed to grow old together and share our grandchildren and long lives with purple hats and blue hair

2. Watching my boys drift farther away from the LDS word of wisdom standards

3. Having Landon and Alex still in court with child custody issues 

4.  Laila struggling with self esteem, friends and staying motivated in school

5.  Not getting our driveway situation figured out.  We need more cement or fewer cars.

6. Finding out none of us were put in charge of Dad's banking affairs before he died, so we had to spend a lot of money to get it figured out.

7.  The new church policy for LGBT....so sad

3 Game Changers

1. Marcie dying from ugly cancer

2. Dad dying and now we have to settle his and mom's estate and solve money and things and stuff issues and sell the house.

3. Monson and Lexi  and Truman all moving back home.... we have a full HOUSE

3 Things you Focused on

1. Treasuring time spent at Marcie's bedside and Dad's chair side....talking about the daily and the important

2. Going to the Temple more to find peace and perspective

3. Moving forward.  Getting out of bed in the morning and not going to bed too early at night. 

3 Things You Forgot..or did differently

1. Thanksgiving at my house.   We ate on chinet plates instead of china to wash etc..

2. We spent time at Marcie and Gary's beach house for dinners at Bear Lake instead of under the trees. 

3.   No more Christmas eve sing along at Mom's house ending with the Hallelujah chorus.   We are missing a tenor, soprano and alto....and enthusiasm for it.

Reflection

 It was a good, tough year with a lot of growth happening for me.   We had two deaths, two weddings, two kids moving back home and a birth.  All emotion filled experiences. 

The day Marcie and Gary came to my home to share the news that Marcie had Cancer .... I can still see her hopeful face and sense the emotion and feel the pit in my stomach.  

When dad passed I loved his last breath experience where we thought it was over then he gasped again and we all laughed....then we realized, Oh, he is gone.  It was crazy funny.  

Looking forward to 2016.  I know it will be a year of ups and downs just like every year.  I know we will get through it with love and grace.  I've been thinking about my word for 2016 to focus on.... Love, Friendship, Loyalty, Happiness, Fun, Change....still debating.