Friday Five: New Year's Eve

From RevGalBlog Pals:


For some of us, this has been an incredibly difficult year; for others it has been a year of many joys. For all of us, there have been challenges and questions and there have been blessings and--maybe even an answer or two! As we say our goodbyes to 2010 and look towards 2011, share with us five blessings from 2010 along with five hopes or dreams for 2011.


My blessings for 2010:


1.  Having a chance to visit with all my sisters and their families over the July 4th holiday.  We all live in different states - NH, NY, MI, and IN- so it was a wonderful blessing to gather in MI with all 3 of my sisters and enjoy some wonderful family time.


2.  Having a chance to visit with my "little" brother and his family also in July.  He wasn't able to join us for the MI reunion earlier in the month, but my husband and I were able to go down to Virginia Beach to help his daughter celebrate her engagement.  


3.  Having my 2 of my sisters and their families, both my sons, and one son's girlfriend spend Thanksgiving with us.  I miss having big family gatherings.  My MI sister and my NY sister and their families were able to come for Thanksgiving, as was my Los Angeles son and girlfriend, and our MA son.  We had a wonderful time and everyone when home with a great story "The year Aunt Debbie (Mom, Deb,) tried to burn the house down."  I had a huge grease fire in my oven as the turkey cooked.  My MI sister gave me a fire extinguisher for Christmas.


4.  Having our health is always a blessing.  My husband had a heart attack 10 years ago, and I appreciate every year we have together.


5.  Being able to complain about work!  With so many people unemployed or under employed, it's a blessing to be able to have a job to complain about.  And my husband is an employer so it's a blessing that he can offer 35 people jobs.


Hopes and Dreams for 2011:


1.  That  Elder Son find new work quickly.  His job was eliminated as of Dec. 23rd.  He was told Dec. 21st.  He is optimistic, and in relatively good financial shape at the moment.  My dream is that he finds the type of job he wants, quickly.


2.  That both my sons find happiness with someone who loves them.


3.  That I am up to the task of taking on a new role as church moderator.  It's a huge responsibility, and I have huge shoes to fill.  


4. That I can find a way to be happier with my current work situation.  


5. My hope is that I will take better care of myself -- physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  I need to find balance, and I need to find ways to feed my spirit.


Not too much to hope for, and mostly things that I have to rely on others and lots of prayer to accomplish!