But as I sit here wishing the year away and making plans for 2015, I cannot help but be thankful for the lessons learned in 2014.
My lessons were:
Trust my instincts.....when a fever is high, skip the call to the doctor and go straight to the ER. Also, when doctors are over their heads, call them out on it and ask for a transfer. I am pretty confident that the transfer from our neighborhood hospital to the amazing hospital an hour away saved the husband's life. Also, when the kitchen is way messier than when you left the house, get out and call the police!
Mourning is different for everyone.....no, we didn't have a death in the family but I spent a lot of time mourning this year. Sad for moments I missed, sad for moments that were so frightening that I can't even describe them, and sad for changes in my plans that I didn't want to change. There is a kind of mourning that I did this year that it hard to explain. What I thought this year would hold and what I thought my family could do this year and where I thought my career would be this year didn't happen. And yes, I mourn those lost opportunities. I also am feeling grateful for them because without those disappointments, I wouldn't have learned some of these lessons or seen how amazing my family is during times like these. So mourning, while sad, was a good thing for me this year.
Friends make the world go 'round.....I have great friends. I have friends who have sat in hospitals with me. Friends that are always willing to grab a glass of wine and chat. I have friends that make the crazy pre-teen years bearable because they are in the midst of it too and understand the madness. I have friends who have seen me at my best, at my worst, and at every level in between. This year, I realized that I have friends that I don't see every day - some I haven't seen in 10+ years in person. But they are there. I am eternally grateful for all my friends.
Help is hard to ask for and sometimes hard to accept - but when someone reaches out their hand to help, grab their hand and amazing things can happen. I ave tried typing more about this lesson, but I can't find the words. Just know that the help given to my family at the end of this year was more than we ever thought possible, could have ever known was there, or could have ever expected. We are humbled and so grateful and will forever be working to pay it forward to other families who need to feel love and friendship.
Even the strong need to break sometimes. It took a robbery for me to cry this year. It also took the robbery for me to realize that yes, my family needs me to be strong but sometimes, its okay to sit on my bed and just cry and yell and be angry. Cause the next morning, I can pick myself back up and get it all done with new energy. I also learned that the hubby knows exactly what to do when I do break -- -just sit quietly and wait for me to need the hug. Love you babe.
There were so many more lessons but those are the ones I am taking with me into 2015. The ones that changed who I am and who I want to be moving forward.
2015 is going to be great -- its going to be full of paying it forward, keeping my family healthy and keeping me healthy, and making sure that I remember to lean on my awesome village when its needed.
Adios 2014 - you won't be missed. 2015 --- let's do this!!!!!!
Typical scene at the pool over the summer----floats and beers. 
The new typical---more kids than dads in the pool. 
5 friends all dressed up and watching fireworks in the backyard, during the rain. 
My little fish. Yes, she is tall enough to stand on the bottom of the pool already.
Yesterday was an early pick-up day at day care. I thought it would be fun to spend time with Grace doing a craft about Thanksgiving. Having her assume the holiday is all about eating turkey is fine right now but I do want her to know that the holiday actually stands for something. 
