Our M and J Show

I decided to start a new (for us) tradition and put together a list of our most prominent memories from 2008. We really enjoyed this trip down memory lane!

January

• I began my 5th semester of grad school, still wondering if I was ever going to make it.
• I helped a friend move from Phoenix to Denver and managed to avoid my desire to stay there with her!
• I got to meet a guru in the eLearning field and tried not to giggle like a teenager. 
• Jon spent 3 weeks in Delaware launching a new datacenter for work.
• I finally started hanging pictures (we’d lived in this house for over a year by then!).

February

• We took the plunge and booked our trip to Peru. Holy smokes!!

March

• I went to Colorado for Tubbs annual Romp to Stomp out breast cancer snowshoe event in Frisco. A group of 6 of us went up there, ate too much food and snowshoed and visited and giggled and had a great time. (Here’s to a 3-peat in 2009!).
• I acknowledged the 5 year anniversary since we lost my Dad.
• My aunt Anita and cousin Julie came to visit from the northwest and we had a great time. We went to Sedona with a stop at the Out of Africa wildlife park (I wouldn’t recommend the park, but Sedona is awesome) and tooled around. It was hot at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.
• Jon and I went to Arizona’s Renaissance Festival and I gave up red meat. Weird coincidence there, I know

April

• I traveled to Seattle to support my cousin and his family in the heart wrenching and sudden loss of their son Ryan. It was a sad time. That week, I finally felt reconnected to my Dad’s side of my family.
• For Jon’s birthday, we spent a fun weekend in Durango, rode the train, and visited Cliff Palace. I was even given the title of honorary park ranger for helping to lead a tour group (that still makes me giggle!). That was a fun trip and something I’d recommend doing if you’re in the Four Corners area.

May

• We were so excited to host a visit from Jon’s mom and 2 youngest sisters. Yay! Boyce Thompson Arboretum turned out to be a fun way to see native plants and wander around. And there’s almost nothing more fun than gettin in da poo, with wetsuits and everything, even though they didn’t let me take pictures of that part!!

June

• We tried not to sweat ALL day EVERY day.
• We went to Oklahoma to celebrate Jon’s parents’ 35th wedding anniversary and hung out with family.
• I flew back to CO to support and cheer on a friend doing the Rocky Mountain Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and again squashed a desire to just stay there instead of return to the desert.

July

• My portfolio for school was due this month, so I was super busy trying to get that done.
• I traveled to Salt Lake City to attend an eLearning Development conference for work.

August - This was a super busy month!

• I finally wrapped up grad school.
• We went to Idaho for my Grandma’s funeral, which of course was sad, but we were able to spend some really good times with some family we hadn’t seen in a LONG time.
• I went to CO for our cohort’s grad party weekend.
• My brother Alex came to visit from North Dakota and we went to a Diamondbacks game.
• We flew to Lima, saw Cindy & Jose, flew to Cusco, hiked the Inka Trail, stood in awe of Machu Picchu, visited Lago Titikaka, the highest navigable lake in the world … whew!

September

• We finished up our trip in Peru.
• I went to St. Petersburg for work stuff and got stuck overnight in Atlanta while Hurricane Ike ripped up parts of southern Texas.
• Red came out to visit for my birthday and O’Kerri joined us for GIRL CAMPING!

October

• O’Kerri moved in! This started 2 months of too much fun, lots of pedicures and giggles and hikes and just fun times. O’Kerri introduced me to KY and SA and really, my world hasn’t been the same since!
• I traveled to Colorado (are you counting? That’s the 6th trip to Denver this year!!) for work for a few days.

November

• We participated in the most historic election I can remember. We watched in awe as an incredibly inspiring man, who also happens to be African American, won the US presidency. Then we started counting down to 1.20.09!
• I finally decided to take my health seriously and started working out with Troy at ATS. I had a physical with my doctor and learned that I’m pretty healthy, but need to start thinking about my cholesterol.
• We went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra (for the first time) and really enjoyed the show.
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Castoros and enjoyed ourselves (and Chris’ cooking!!) very much.

December

• We got to see Wynonna in concert in Mesa, which was a fabulous experience.
• We flew to Colorado (again!) so I could walk in my graduation ceremony. We got to see Peaches (fresh on her return from China - woot!), Paulie, and Mad Kat again. It’s always fun to reconnect with friends and family.
• O’Kerri moved to Oklahoma and I tried not to cry.
• We drove from Phoenix to Albuquerque, then on to Oklahoma City and surprised the OK family on Christmas Day. Well, not all of them. Some aren’t easily surprised, apparently. Hmph
• We visited with my aunt and uncle in Denton, and finally got to meet Sofie T. Yay! Jon stayed in OK for the rest of the month and I flew home to Phoenix to finish some work projects.

That was a fun trip. Now I have to start thinking of what I want this list to look like in a year, so I’m going to go plan some fun stuff for 2009. Happy new year!

Last week, I wrote a post listing the problem with December. Then I wrote a post about reflecting on my venting of frustration and how it came across to others. I thought you might be interested in an update on the people I mentioned to keep in your heart and in your prayers.

• Leah is back at work today and sounds like she’s doing ok. Her sister’s service was Saturday and now everyone is just getting used to dealing with the reality of life after Julie’s death.
• One friend I mentioned last week lost her father-in-law last Wednesday.
• Another friend I mentioned last week lost his father this past Saturday.
• O’Kerri moved to Oklahoma Saturday morning and I only cried a little bit.

I’ve reconnected with CS, who I met while preparing for and participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day in 2007 and it’s great.

I’ve seen relationships this year grow stronger, new relationships form, and some relationships end. I am so thankful for every one of the experiences I’ve had in 2008, even the hard ones. I’m very much looking forward to 2009!

I’m concentrating on the power of gratitude today to help shed some lights onto what’s seemed like a fairly dark week. There is a laundry list of things that have gone wrong, people I care about who are hurting. But, in the midst of that, there are silver linings and things to be grateful for.

The following make the sun shine in my soul regardless of whatever else is going on:

• Jon. His presence in my life, the twinkle in his eyes, his smile, his silly sense of humor, his good health, his ability to play beautiful piano, his cooking abilities … the list for him goes on.
• My health - sound body and mind (don’t laugh!) and all that. My talents, my abilities, my sense of humor, my sense of compassion, even though it sometimes makes me feel heavy.
• The boys. They are loving, healthy, cuddly, warm, and safe. Their fuzziness brightens up any darkness. Even when they follow me to the bathroom.
• Our jobs. Especially in dark economic times, having a job is a blessing indeed. Having a job I love is even better.
• Our home. We have a safe, comfortable, warm place to live.
• Our family. As far as I know, everyone is healthy and mostly happy. My oldest brother is getting laid off, but he, his wife, and their 3 children are healthy and safe. We are grateful for our immediate family, our extended family, and family we hardly ever talk to. We are so fortunate to have so many people and so much love in our family.
• Our friends. Gosh, I’d love to name everyone by name, but I’m too afraid I’d spend all day listing names! There are those who are obvious because we talk to/about them every day, and there are those we don’t talk to/about often, but who still mean so much to us that it’s hard to explain. Our friends are, of course, an extension of our family, in that we love them and welcome them into our lives, and they welcome us into theirs.

This is just the beginning of the list. Of course you can always go back and read my month of thanks series of posts to read more on specific dates and details.

What are you thankful for? What keeps you going when everything else seems to be going wrong?

Hello everyone. I wanted to share this note from Leah about services for Julie. They will be held Saturday, December 20 in Amarillo, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to Family Support Services in honor of Julia Jaye Ostercamp. 1001 S. Polk St, Amarillo, TX 79101. www.fss-ama.org. 

I have spent a lot of time thinking about Leah and all the friends I mentioned in my post yesterday who are struggling with loss and illness. My post shook some folks up and I got a couple of messages that surprised me.

In my circle, I’m generally one of the most positive people. I’m one of the ones who looks constantly for the silver lining and sees at least a little bit of good in just about every situation. My post yesterday wasn’t all that positive to some folks. But read it again - it was. It was positive in that I expressed frustration at other people’s struggles. I asked for continued prayers for those I care about and I talked about overcoming sadness with love.

Yes, I mentioned past pains in my own life. I made a laundry list of all the things that are wrong right now. That’s not very positive, but sometimes, even the most positive people need a minute to feel down about things.

I made a blanket statement about how December sucks. Does it really? Not entirely. Is it December’s “fault?” Of course not. Generally speaking, when there is loss or pain with those around us, we remember our own past pains and losses. So it’s completely natural that when I heard about Leah’s sister that it made me think of all those I’ve lost before. Every time someone dies, I revisit in my head and in my heart all the previous losses. That’s normal. If I didn’t remember those losses at that time, I think something would be wrong with me. I don’t dwell on them and I don’t live in the past.

We took a strengths and talents inventory at work recently and one of my talents is empathy. I feel very deeply for other people, especially when they struggle. Sometimes, I take things too personally and sometimes, I take on others’ pain as my own. But it all comes out of love. It all comes out of a place that believes strongly in the good in life and seeing the beauty right in front of us every day.

So for those who were worried about me after my post yesterday, don’t. I’m fine. Instead, direct your love and prayers to those I mentioned in my post: KL, CP, JS, MF (not me!), AJ, JY, LA, and CW.

One of the good things that came of all the difficult news I talked about is that I called my sister yesterday to tell her I love her. Talking to my sister is good for my soul.