Year in Review

Thank you God for all the blessings of this year January started with sadness over friction between some people that I love and myself. Thankfully God brought reconciliation and is continuing to heal. March was a time of jubilation as Bobby and I traveled to Portland Oregon. It was a dreary and rainy time weatherwise but it was such a time of happiness to spend it with Benjamin. God blessed the trip because Benjamin was about to have to come home and it worked out on the last day of our trip that we found a place for him to live with Dexter and Thootmey. And then the next week he found a job that he desperately needed. What a praise to God! In May we saw Anna graduate from college which made my heart want to burst. I couldn't believe my two children had graduated from college. As a single mom I had always worried that they wouldn't be able to graduate college and/or they would dropout . This fulfilled a long, long and deep prayer of mine In June we got to take Breckyn to Chama, New Mexico for a week long trip . What fun hiking, having picnics, looking for gold , using the metal detector, etc. We taught him how to play battleship and slamwich and we also got scared by an alleged bear (aka Bobby). Ha ha! In July I got to go visit Anna and help her move into Bricktown in Oklahoma City. I also helped her move into her new classroom and see her new school where she was going to be teaching. I could not help but think of the words of my mother. She would always say to me, "You have such a gift and a talent to connect with children. You need to never hide that talent nor put it under a bush." It gladdens my heart to see my daughter continue and share the same talent that I have. In August we went on the Forrest family vacation to Dallas and Fort Worth. What fun it was especially since our two younger grandbabies got to enjoy and take part in visiting the zoo and the water park. I also got to go to my first Texas Rangers baseball game which was so much fun! In September (truthfully...it was the end of August)school started and I had an exciting challenge of teaching Spanish 4 after some years of not doing that. I also looked forward to working with the new principal who seemed to have great ideas and great encouragement to our staff. I also was excited to see our Spanish department increase to four teachers. This coupled with being the department head and having a student teacher for the semester brought challenge and excitement. In October I got to go back and visit Anna in Oklahoma City for the weekend. What fun it was to be shown the city especially all around Bricktown by Anna and John Mark especially since they had already gotten their bearings and could show me the cool and fun places to visit. Late October Bobby and I got to return to Taos New Mexico to celebrate , belatedly, our two year anniversary. This thrilled my heart because Taos is my most favorite place to be with him. It is a perfect example of his personality and my personality. His love for the outdoors and outdoor activities and my love for culture, learning, and craft. In early December we traveled to Corpus Christi to see McKenzie graduate from college. What excitement, what pride, and what honest determination of not ever giving up! Then there was Christmas. Christmas was the highlight of my year. Having myself, Ben, and Anna together under the same roof. The three of us had not been together in nine months. I couldn't help but reflect at all the hardships the three of us had gone through together. The years of single parenthood. Working 3 jobs, commuting to WTAMU, not having sufficient money for food, not having finished sufficient money for bills, and not having sufficient money to live day by day. We weathered those years together and we saw God meet every need and every prayer and every cry of our heart. Praise be the name of our God and Father! He truly blesses us - - I have Bobby now and Anna has John Mark now and Ben has lovely Jaclyn . How I thank God for this year.