Happy New Year!

Happy New Year all! 2011 has been an awesome year for my family and I hope that 2012 is even better. We have had so many things happen this year that we are SO thankful for and some that we wish had not happened (don't we all have those days).

One thing that I am SO thankful for from 2011 is the weight loss my husband and I both experienced. The picture on the left was taken in June 2009 and the picture on the right was taken in Sept. 2011

My husband and I also accomplished an awesome goal in 2011, we participated in our first 5K! We did it in 47 minutes, but it was really like 42 minutes because when we passed the start clock at the beginning it was already on 5 minutes. 

 Another very important and exciting part of 2011 was a trip to California that my husband and I took. My husband was able to reconnect with his daughter (my step-daughter) after not seeing her for 11 years and we got to meet our granddaughters in person for the very first time. It has been such an awesome year and we are so thankful to have her in our lives again. Gary and I had an awesome trip. It was our first big trip together and our first trip without our kids and it was our first cross country trip. Lots of firsts! Below are a few pictures from our trip - The first one is the first morning we got to meet our precious grandbabies

Getting ready to go down into a gold mine

All of us at Yosemite!

2011 was a great year for our 23 year old daughter Ashley as well, this year we were so proud of her as she began her teaching career and as she and her boyfriend bought their first house together!

This is a picture of her classroom 

(yes that's me sitting in the background - I made the 2 hour drive south to help her set up her classroom) 

 This is her house all done up for Christmas

My oldest son Bobby had a great year as well, he passed the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test which is the entrance exam to the police academy. He is now on the waiting list and is hoping to enter into the academy in earl 2012. I am so proud of him and absolutely terrified at the same time. He will follow in the footsteps of his uncle (my brother) and his 2 cousins (my brother's sons) who are all law enforcement officers.


Our "baby" is 18 year old Garrett and, while 2011 has been a pretty good year for Garrett, he ended the year with a bang, literally. He was in a go-cart accident shortly after Thanksgiving and he injured both of his ankles (which required him to use compression boots and crutches),his left foot, his right knee, right leg, and had minor cuts, bumps, and bruises on his head. He lost control of the go-cart and hit the side of a parked truck. It was very scary but he is doing much better now. He still has to wear the compression boot for his left ankle/foot for a couple more weeks but considering the impact he took I am so thankful that he was not more seriously injured.

All in all 2011 has been an amazing year. My husband and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary, wished a Happy 27th, 23rd, 21st, and 18th birthdays to our kids. Our own relationship has grown stronger and stronger and, as the kids get older and it becomes just the 2 of us, we are rediscovering each other and falling in love all over again.  I am looking forward to 2012 and all that will bring. I pray that God continues to bless our family and protect us as we move along the path that He has set us upon.

Happy New Year to everyone and I pray that you are all blessed in 2012!

Happy New year from Cindy and Gary 

(Gotta love Florida in the winter)