Bye 2014 and Hello 2015

  Joel and I can not say that 2014 was a bad year. To us it was a decent year. God blessed us with another year together. What ever happened good or bad we were truly thankful to God for what took place. Spending time with each other making wonderful memories has been awesome. Our Mother- Son relationship has grown, and been blessed because of the Lord.
  Don't get me wrong it was a long up and down year for us, but we knew that God had reason for everything that took place. Joel and I have learned to pray in the hard times, and thank God for them because we knew something better was going to happen. 
  It was also a pretty busy year for us. As most people know even with my heart condition Joel and I stay pretty much busy all the time either together or not. Joel saw his year in Kindergarten end, and his year in 1st Grade begin. He rejoiced because he got Mrs. Gibson again. It has been neat seeing him grow in learning. He loves to be challenged. It was neat to see him in his first spring concert this last year.
  We also stayed busy with sports. Joel played spring and fall soccer. Which getting ready to sign up for spring soccer again soon. He is in his 3rd year of wrestling. Soccer is just in town, but wrestling had us traveling to different places in Iowa. Joel has swimming lessons over the summer. He doesn't like Tee Ball so he didn't do any summer sports. He is waiting to be able to play regular Baseball. 
  Since Joel didn't play any summer sports it gave us chance to do other fun things. We went camping with Joel's godparents. We also made our annual trip to Arkansas. We went site seeing to new places that neither one of us seen before. We went to the George Washington Carver Museum, and the Harry S. Truman Museum and Library. I would recommend both if you are travelling in Missouri. Joel and I like to see things that are free or very cheap. Both places are educational for young and old a like. Joel enjoyed both places. The George Washington Carver was free, and the Harry S. Truman was cheap about $11 for both Joel and I to go through. It was neat to share something together neither one of us had seen before.
  While we were on vacation in Arkansas we also got to do some fun things. We went back to Hot Springs to go through Bathhouse Row. We got to go swimming at the pool in Mena. Joel, my Dad, and I went and collected crystals from a crystal mind in Board camp. It was so much fun. Digging for the crystals was not cheap, but it was so much fun to do together. Every once in a while spending a little extra is so worth it. Even if this Mom get totally worn out. 
  There were other neat things that happened in 2014. Joel started Cub Scouts. He loves it. He is looking forward to camp, and things. We also got to go to the Iowa State Fair as usual, but this year was Joel's first year in the Grandstand. We got to see Duck Dynasty live. FYI: Yes, Uncle Si is just a funny on stage as in the show. It is nice to see a family talk about their faith in front of people at the Iowa State Fair. I also watched Joel go from a 6 year old to a 7 year old. This year he got to have more than one birthday. One for family and the other with friends. I thank God every day for my God filled, fun loving boy. Who knew that a little boy would change this Mom to love so much things she never thought she would. I can not wait to see what 2015 brings for us.

What We Thank God for in 2014
- A new vehicle since our broke down
- A new place to live that we could afford that was bigger
- No surgeries or long hospital stays for me that would keep me away from Joel
- Joel was pretty healthy all year, even if he had a fever all afternoon New Year's Eve this year, but thankful in a few hours he broke it. It was nice just to spend quality time just the two of us.
What We Wont Miss of 2014
- Moving
- Family Drama (want to know just ask)
What We Are Looking Forward to in 2015
- What ever God has planned
- Going to Arkansas 2x once is spring, and this this summer for Grandpa's 80th Birthday ( we are so blessed he is still with us)
- Joel has plans to go skiing and snowboarding with is godfather
- Joel going to camp
- Sight seeing across Iowa
- Sports ( Joel finishing wrestling season, then has spring soccer)
- Joel will be doing football instead of fall soccer
- Joel finishing 1st Grade and Head to 2nd Grade
- Doctors figuring out what needs to be done to keep my heart from getting worse so Joel and I can make more memories