Happy New Year

So I'm debating on recapping the new year in kind of a Happy New Year post. However the year had a lot of downs and not as many ups so the thought is a little depressing. But here goes...
1. 1 kid has parasites-heck we probably all have parasites but one suffers from stomach aches daily. Trying to resolve that with medicine and herbs.-verdict still pending.
2. 1 kid after a 6 month period of dentists finally gets his molar tooth pulled out. (5 years too early)
3. 1 kid needs surgery and we fly to London for a week on medivac.
4. 1 kid had stitches two times this year-both in the chin!
5. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer
6. Brent's back is getting worse and causes him chronic pain and crankiness 
7. Braces (enough said there)

And the good b/c after all we have to look for the bright things in life
1. I go on my first alone trip to Scotland for a web building conference. Fun, met great people, learned more, missed family but got some alone time! ( I get to do this again in February in London!)
2. Went on a family trip to Egypt. Saw amazying sites, spend several days on the beach, Brent got to do some  awesome snorkeling.
3. My kids conquered fears and accomplished things they didn't know they could do like learning how to swim, playing t-ball, riding a bike without training wheels, learning how to read, etc.
4. We played at the beach and swam at the pool all summer in beautiful Morocco weather and scenery.
5. We love our church group, embassy friends and neighbors who go shopping in the medina with me, let my kids come and play, share good potlucks and bbqs, laughs and stories.
6. I love being able to work from home and really love what I do that actually makes money.
7. Finally, after all the bad and hard times in the last year, I still see the hand of God watching over my family, guiding us and  blessing us. Giving me direction and answers to help us figure life out especially when it gets difficult and depressing. Thank heavens for that!