Blessings of the past year

Hello from here!!!
Can you believe that I just took the Christmas decor down yesterday?
I'm a little slow here.
I thought since it's the first of the new year that I would show some photos
I took over the past year and share some thoughts that have been on my mind
as I look back through the year 2013.

At this time of year I do what I know all of you do. That is to look back over the past year and 

reflect on the experiences that made the year most memorable.

It was full of many wonderful times with my family and also a few sorrows.

Isn't that the way most years go for all of us?

We have good times and we have hard times.
 I lost three beloved people in my extended family this year and they have left big holes, but in contrast,
I received a new little granddaughter and news of another grandchild that will be born in May.
All of my children are the joy of my life of which I never take for granted.

One of my greatest blessings year after year comes to me from living with a sweet angel son 

who is full of smiles and laughter everyday. These twenty-seven years with him are
 the best years of my life. He is dependent on Dale and I for all of his daily needs, but even with the worry and the stress, it is worth more than anything else I could be doing with my life. 

This year has been surprisingly free of illnesses that we usually face with Landon and that has been

such a blessing. March was difficult, but other than that he has done amazingly well. He is my little buddy during the days and has the sweetest personality.
Because he has no speech, he has to be patient with me while
I try to figure out his subtle cues on what his needs are, but for the most part I think our days go
along wonderfully well.  

Whenever I think of 2013 it will be with mixed emotions, like most years are for all of us, but all in all 

it was a good year for personal growth and I can only hope that 2014 will be as
full of blessings as it has been.

Landon and I (October 2013)

The photo above was taken during a shoot of the studio for the Where Women Create publication
that will be out soon (Feb/Mar issue). I loved the photographer Kirsten Shultz and we had a great day
that went surprisingly well. I was pretty uptight at first but she put me right at ease. I was nervous that
my studio seems so sparse when compared to many of the studios that their magazine
features, but if you remember, my studio is only being featured
 because I won the honor when Jo Packham chose three different studios from the
Where Bloggers Create party, and not because I'm some great artist.
 I reminded myself that Jo must have seen something about it that made her choose it
and so I relaxed and went with the experience and just enjoyed it.
And I did enjoy it!

I'm thankful for the blessings that came to me and my family in 2013 and hope that we will
all find much joy in 2014!