In Retrospect......

Well, I see many of you are doing an end of the year retrospective so I thought I would toss mine on the heap as well. 

In thinking about the past year of my life I have to share that there have been many new things, many (many, many, many) difficult things, many painful things, lots of laughter and nearly as many tears to accompany the laughs. 

I began this blogging journey on February 14 (ya know it did not even conncet with me that I started this love affair with blogging on Valentines Day, kind of cool I think) but 126 post later I have found this blogging experience to be one of the most rewarding avenues I have journeyed down this year. 

Over this past 365 days I have encountered so many amazing faith filled bloggers. As I have read your post and you have read mine we have opened our lives and our heart up to each other. I have received comfort, support and a belly laugh when I needed it most. 

Thank you seems very inadequate but it is all I have. 

Contemplating what I would write about has been an interesting journey as well. I love those moments when I feel compelled to pound out a post on my keyboard. I mean "seriously" (to quote a phrase from my favorite show Grey’s Anatomy) what would the world do without the benefit of my opinion. Stop spinning I suppose (yea right!) 

My life has now been altered if ever so slightly, by my entry into the blogging arena. Now when a random... …or thought provoking… or even simply ridiculous thing happens, well it is immediately stored away in the ideas for future post's file. It grows daily by leaps and bounds. 

I also find that now I am incapable of doing anything without the accompanying digital photographs. I mean you never know when something will happen that will merit a post and we all know that if you’re going to blog about an experience you need to have the pictures to go with it. My family has now stopped questioning me for taking bizarre pictures of just about everything. “Just exactly why are you taking pictures of our sock basket?” no longer gets asked at my house. 

My crowing achievement in the blogosphere is learning how to add a Mr. Linky box in a post. I have yet to come up with a creative Mr. Linky worthy blog carnival as of yet so I wait with great anticipation for the inspiration to strike. 

Secondly (and I have to say that I even amazed myself) was figuring out how to add a third column to my blog.  This latest revelation happened only yesterday. I guess you can tech an old dog new tricks after all! I have been so envious of all those wonderful creative bloggers out there with a three column templates that I was nearly drooling. Well I hunkered down last night and resolved to not throw in the towel until I had figured it out. 

After reading through the foreign language also commonly known as “the instructions” about a billion times and starting from scratch at least twice low and behold my blog now has a third column. 

Will wonders never cease? 

Yeaaaa for me!!!!!! 

2009 will bring into my life no doubt a myriad of new thing as well. 

The big 50…

The perils of perimenapause will continue (is it hot in here or is it just me?) 

New friendships…

New arrivals…

Departures…

and the unexpected blessings. 

And all the while life goes on and I get up each morning and go about my normal every day business, check my email to see if I have any comments on our blog, I rejoice when we see that I have a new follower….I wonder why some bloggers have like a billion followers and little old me has only nine, but I rejoice in all nine of you and I am ever so grateful for each and every one of you. 

Life is good! 

As I move into my 50^th year on the planet I have to tell ya that I have become so much more comfortable in my own skin, I have a sense about myself that is more that it used to be, or quite possibly I have slipped into the old lady syndrome and I no longer care what others think because of course I am always right (LOL!) 

In any event as the year draws to a close I look back on the year and note that I have survived another one. I have grown and hopefully learned from my mistakes and my brief periods of suffering. 

I continue to thank my Heavenly Father for each moment and remember that as long as I am on my knees in prayer, blanketed in His Living Word and surrounded by like minded sisters and brothers in Christ everything will work to the good and we know what it says in Romans 8:28….that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

I can’t wait to see what 2009 will bring into my life and into yours. 

Happy blogging! 

I love you all! 

Blessings

Robin