- I have a vague recollection of wishing in my last year's Christmas letter that we would be driving on the top half of the tank this year. As it turned out we spent the year driving on fumes, if anything.
- We teetered on the brink of foreclosure of our Cedar City home. At the time there were 700 homes in foreclosure in the area so all homes were listing at foreclosure prices, which would have put us $80K in the hole. Nearly all of us were unemployed for two months during winter and spring and those that weren't were in no position to help. It was very scary.
- The hardest part of moving out of my sister's home (which we had been renting while they served a mission in Long Beach, CA) was leaving all the friends we had grown to love. Even though it was the first of May it was freezing cold with gale-force winds and we had no heat in our new place that first week. We discovered how difficult it is to sleep at 40 degrees. Two college graduations took place the Friday before the move--Laura (SVU in Buena Vista, VA) and Jasmine(SUU in Cedar City, UT -- see her blog( http://jasminemiliusportfolio.blogspot.com/ ) (!!) As it happens, the new library addition was completed that same week, so there was a big move at work too!. All this change put me into serious overload. I did not handle it well.
- I'm so grateful for the many cozy hours I spent with Lark and Julia--reading aloud, watching movies, going on walks, driving Lark to classes once a week, doing story times with Lark -- we created so many memories. (see my library blog at http://vivianthelibrarian.blogspot.com/) Lark moved to Nevada in June (see her blog at http://lella-farming.blogspot.com/) and Julia stayed with her college sisters (see her blog at http://zdragonwriter.blogspot.com/) while Laura spent her few spare minutes preparing for her wedding to David Felt on July 2nd. It was crazy. I was feeling very much like a past participle.
- Trina moved in with us in August, hoping to step into one of Laura's jobs (which she did) to earn money to pay off some school loans and prepare to serve a full-time mission. One morning she woke up with a tickle in her ear, which we thought might be an insect or spider. It was early Saturday, of course, so we went to the hospital (not knowing of any doctor's offices that might be open) and found out that it costs $200 to have an ear flushed with peroxide! Trina is excited to announce she just received her mission call to serve in the Slovenia / Croatia mission and she will be learning to speak Croatian. I am already plotting a family excursion to retrieve her a year from September.
- I kept a "miracle journal" much of the year, recording many tender mercies of the Lord. I must say, though, that it is not much use to count your blessings when you persist in pulling out your proverbial dead skunk and sniffing it. The skunk (skunks?) had to go!
- I found out (the hard way) that paying a full tithe brings more than monetary blessings. I found out (the hard way) that having hurty feelings towards others hurts you. I found out (the hard way) that the Savior's redemptive power covers all pain. I have experienced the Miracle of Forgiveness--both the ability to forgive AND be forgiven. This was so much bigger than me and beyond my capability --I could not do it alone. I KNOW that the Savior lives, knows me, loves me. It is funny that the littlest things manifest this to me.
- I moved here with the idea that I would do or accomplish certain things--none of which happened. Then it occurred to me to break some of those big ambitions into bite-size daily tidbits. Voila`--happiness. No more blame and complain. No more victim of circumstance.
- I have been desperately wanting (needing?) a computer for my digital scrapbooking passion. However, somehow my life goes on without one. However, a broken molar must be addressed. So, I find myself in indentured (ha ha) servitude, paying for a crown in small monthly installments for an excessive length of time, thinking all the while that the tooth cost as much as a computer would have! Sigh. P.S. Shop for traditional or digital scrapbook supplies at my website: www.mycmsite.com/sites/vivianm or just visit for some great ideas. I can set up a webinar class for you and some friends to help you get free or discounted products and digital savvy. Plus, there is now software with a Mac-format!
- I have discovered that the Lord knew what our needs would be long before we did and that we were prompted to take measures for one reason that produced just-in-time blessings for an entirely different but more urgent need. I found so many ways to be grateful and happy--pleasant walks, appreciating general good health, monthly sister conference calls, family gatherings, stimulating reading or conversations, the ability to adjust and learn from mistakes, challenges faced, kindness and generosity from others, milestones achieved, noticing comforts, being healed or relieved from pain.
Dare I say this might well have been the worst and best year of my life?
