Everything Must Come to an End

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu.  Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you.

To say that time flies seems so cliché.  Three hundred and sixty five days seemed like such a long commitment on January 1^st.  As I said in the beginning, I’m a starter.  I have a closet full of incomplete blankets and scarves, a craft drawer full of projects that I got bored with and never finished and a storage bin full of “things” I’ll eventually get back too.  And I must admit, quitting seemed like a wonderful idea on several occasions.  But as Napoleon Hill once said, “A goal is a dream with a deadline”.  And thankfully, I had three people remind me of my daily deadline (four, if you count Mom!).  So the lesson here….follow through, it’s well worth it in the end.

And oh, what a year it’s been.  The summary is stunning.  Will turned fourteen.  Hunter turned seventeen.  Austin turned twenty one.  Will started his first year of high school while Hunter began his final journey towards graduation.  Jeff and I celebrated our seventh year of wedded bliss.  Austin announced his career plans and pending deployment.  We spent another wonderful family vacation in Blue Ridge.  We all have a new appreciation for the Ross Heart Center at Ohio State.  Hunter got into the colleges of his choice.  Will went to his first school dance.  The house underwent major changes with paint, furniture and complete room makeovers.  Willow found a new best friend when we brought Zoey home.  And those are just some of the highlights. 

If you’ve been with me since the beginning, you know what the intention of the blog was.  It was a snippet of our lives – the good, the bad and the funny.  One small moment in a lifetime that was captured to give Hunter, Will and Austin a log of memories.  What I didn’t realize is the effect it would have on me and everyone else in the family.  It’s touched me in a way I’ll never be able to describe.  So the next lesson…share your life with others.  You never know what may make someone else’s day. 

In closing, I want leave the boys with one last thought.  It’s a quote that I’ve seen a million times, in a million places.  I’d read it and move on.  Today, it’s the perfect ending to the perfect year.

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”

Happy New Year to everyone I love so much!  I wish you all the best of health, happiness and love in 2012.  If this year is any indication, it's only going to get better!  Thank you all for being such an important part of our lives.  I love you all!

Pocket full of Kryptonite!

Green apple Jolly Ranchers.  Could anything make them better?

When in doubt, make them into a drink.  Mark and I found a recipe weeks ago for Green Apple infused vodka and decided that new years was the perfect time to try it.  Mark supplied the candy, we supplied the vodka and we're all ready to chill it for tomorrow night.  Are we all excited to taste test our little experiment? Sure.  Does it look like something that could kill Superman?  Absolutely. 

The Last Updates

As promised, tonight finishes my "year in review" project.  It's awesome to see all we've accomplished, goals we met and how everyone has progressed throughout the year.  I'm reminded again how thankful I am for having started the project to begin with.  So here we go....


July 24, 2011 - I complained about our lack of rain.

And here are our YTD totals...what was I thinking!

July 30, 2011 - Will's Bedroom Makeover

After!

August 30, 2011 - Chelsea begins her deployment to Afghanistan.



And we're down to less than 40 days!



September 3, 2011 - College football started and we became a house divided.

Michigan came out on top, but both teams are bowl bound!

October 7, 2011 - The fence was done.  Another project checked off the list.

And the girls love it!!

November 30, 2011 - Our first snowfall of the year...and I was ready to move.

It's it's been the only snow!  So I'm staying in Ohio for a little longer.

Well, that's it.  It's been a wonderful year!  And with only a few days left, I'm actually wishing it would last forever.  There is no better way to close out the year than with all of the boys home! 

  









A Few Updates

Don't you love watching the news at the end of the year.  There is very little current news, but show after show of the year in review.  You'll see who was born, who died, the years best movies and music and the top events of the year.  It's a 30 minute overview of the last 365 days.  And each time I watch one, I realize the year flew by.  So here I am, with only four days of blogging left and I didn't want to be left out.  So here are some updates from the Thomas year....

January 3, 2011 - I couldn't decide on a paint color for the spare bedroom....

Here's the color I picked!

March 8, 2011 - Ohio State announces rule infractions and Tressel suspension

  

Urban Meyer was named Head Coach of Ohio State on Nov 28

March 20, 2011 - I showed off my new plant!

Here's the new plant...after Hunter forgot about it.

April 27, 2011 - The office was undergoing a little "spring cleaning".

The painting isn't done, but it's certainly clean!

 

May 21, 2011 - We found new tenants in the garage.

I don't have another picture yet....but the little bird is back and living on the top shelf!

June 10, 2011 - Hamilton Maineville Elementary Closed...indefinitely.

In Nov, the Little Miami Levy passed and the elementary school will reopen in August 2012.

Wow, what a year it's been.  Stay tuned tomorrow for the remaining updates!

Brotherly Love

Every one has one of those people they know.  The ones that no matter how much time goes by, no matter your age, when you get together its like no time has passed at all.  I remember taking this same picture years ago (although Jeff snapped tonights!) when the boys were all much younger.  Austin is in the door five minutes, the boys leave and this is how you find them.  Snug as bugs in the bonus room, enjoying a little brotherly love...and friendly video game competition. 

On a day like today, when the court was less than friendly to Hunter, this is always nice to see.  And now that the power problem is fixed, they'll probably sit up there all night.  Oh well, it's just nice to have all the boys home.

Christmas Hangover

Anyone out there have a Christmas hangover?  Not the "I went out and acted too jolly" kind of hangover.  Just the plain I'm tired, Christmas was a lot of work, is it really Monday kind of hangover.  The day after Christmas is always a busy one for us.  It starts at the crack of dawn.  Jeff and I hit every store in the area (and some more than once!) scooping up the after Christmas savings by the cart full.  Wrapping paper, bows, bags and tags.  I even found a couple of stocking stuffers for next year - yes, I start shopping on December 26th!  But as you can see, we had a little different approach this year.  In addition to our wrapping supplies, we also stocked up on organizational items that will make next year a little easier.  Pamela inspired me a few weeks ago with her well organized, well though out Christmas system and I'm going to try to duplicate it.  I don't know that I'll ever be that organized (it's a goal!) but I'm certainly going to give it a go.  So hopefully by the new year, our Christmas clutter will be all cleaned up and ready for next year.  Only 364 days until Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It never ceases to amaze me how months of planning, shopping, wrapping and decorating all concludes with a one hour frenzy of gift giving.  That being said, it's my favorite hour of the year.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the looks on the boys faces when they open that one special gift that Santa delivers.  And yes, we ALL still believe.  Thank you to Jeff, Hunter and Will for definitely the most special gift I've ever gotten (and I wasn't referring to my Michigan jersey!).  So now we're off to watch movies and fry foods.  Unless Hunter decides to continue standing outside in his nice, new coat.  Actually, we'd probably have to pull Will away from Skyrim to watch a movie.  So I guess Jeff, Mark and I will just sit here, enjoy the good company and enjoy the last of a wonderful day.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!