It's here! 1-1-11.. How fun is that?! I stayed up to ring in the new year with Wendell. Times Square on TV watching the ball drop.. 4-3-2-1- HAPPY NEW YEAR! Over a million people there for the celebration.

Actually, I prefer to be at home on NY eve.. traffic concerns me.

I was impressed to see Amy's FB post that said Annabelle, soon to be 4 yrs old, made it to midnight to welcome the new year.

4. Family... wow.. they all are such a blessing to Wendell and me. In fact, each one fills a different shaped spot in our hearts making each one very special. They are thoughtful, kind, warm, loving, generous, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

We've lost some precious members- Irene Divelbiss and Uncle Bob Imm.

5. Friends.. I have met new friends on FB this past year. When I joined , I was among a small bunch of people I knew and I played the games. Things are changing.. I now have 217 people who have requested to be on my facebook (most of them anyway) and have become close friends with several. I found a lot of my family there too. Of late, things have become so busy that I haven't been playing the games. I don't miss it.

I continue the old friendships I've had over the years. Technology makes it easy to stay in touch almost daily.

I am blessed with friends and thankful for each one.

6. Home~ oh, this one is a great blessing. As of December 21st, 2010, we have been 'at home' in our new place. We both agree that *this place* is really home to us.. never have we felt as content anywhere we have lived. I love the spaciousness.. we can have 15 of us together and not have to bump into another person (unless we want to). I'm still trying to decide what to do with family history.. and will be needing to find a table to use as a work area to put the books together as they should be.. but it's a never ending hobby.. what can I say?

The addition of a new back porch extension was a super de duper good choice. We sit out back and watch birds, coons, deer, and other wildlife. 2 nights ago we watched a solo deer step up onto the little cage and stretch upwards to get to birdseed which was atop it. Wendell said early last evening, that one deer brought 2 friends and they were planning on dinner there, but he walked out the door, and they ran.

As of January.. I think~ Thomas, the cat, has been with us for a year. I think we are sissifying him, as he now greets us every morning on the deck looking for food and drink. He spends his days sleeping in a cardboard box wedged into a plastic tub layed on it's side. It has a towel on the bottom of the box and then a fleece blanket for warmth.. and he obviously loves it. When the snow came down heavy, I noticed it was blowing into part of his box, so I covered most of the entrance with an old pillowcase, and now it's warm, dry and private too. On Christmas day, we gave him a special canned cat food dinner and he LOVED it! So for NY dinner today, he's getting another one. Thomas rarely leaves the back porch any more~ though he does go to the birdseed area to stalk the birds. He normally sleeps all day, eats, and takes care of business, and then back to the deck. We have created a sissy tomcat. He even has a new catnip mouse in his box from Carlow and Cricket , and he LOVES them too. I gave him his first play toy mouse on Christmas day.. he promptly picked it up in his mouth and placed it in his water dish.. go figure?! The one from the Z's cats that has catnip, he picked up and dropped it off the porch.. so I picked it up for him and hung it on his box. Next thing I know, he's got both toys inside the box with him, and his paws wrapped around them. He's purring a lot more lately.

7. Seasons~ Don't you just LOVE how God brings us seasons in order? He says in His word that He will do that till the end. I don't have to fear 'global warming' as unbelievers don't grasp what God has told us. We can expect the weather and seasons to change like clockwork.. as sure as summer follows spring.. every year. Everything in order. Surely 'the spacious heavens declare the glory of our God' and 'the firmament displays his handiwork'. As I think about my childhood, we had much worse winters.. and since I've been wife to Wendell, I can remember at least 3 blizzards~ and we lived through them just fine. Sometimes we have cold winters, sometimes mild ones. The mild ones are dangerous because the viruses don't die off like they do when we get a good deep freeze.

I wonder why our esteemed leaders think they can legislate the weather.. 'For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.'