New Year's Countdown

Most memorable from 2013:

1. I was able to spend my dad's last day with him, before he passed away on March 29, 2013.
In some ways it doesn't seem like he's gone at all. Other times I ache for one of his tight strong hugs.

2. My mom moved in with Mark and me in May.
"…and Nana makes three!" Not sure what you call it when empty nesters welcome an aging parent back into the nest. Whatever you call it, we like it.

3. My mom decided to be baptized into the Mormon church.
This was a sweet blessing I've waited 40 years to see.
She has a calling as the "greeter" to sacrament meeting.

4. We added three new grand babies to our growing clan.
Welcome to Avalon, Luke, and Emma! Mark and I now claim 24 grandchildren.
Stay tuned…#25 will be arriving in Ohio next month.

5. Almost half of our children went through major relocations in 2013.
Josh and Hillary moved from Utah to Arizona (new job, major choir for Hillary).
David and Holly moved from Wisconsin to southern California (new job for David).
Kendra and Chris moved from Kansas to Washington (new jobs and a separation.)
Julia and Scott moved from Oregon to Alaska (return to university for both).

6. Katie published her book!
This isn't really "my" event, but it's still pretty exciting to this wanna-be-author mama.
A couple of days ago her sewing book was ranked #8 at amazon.com in its category.

Thank you for the memories, 2013! Looking forward to what the new year will bring.