The Year That Was

I've been thinking about all the great times that happened in my life--and in my family's life--over the past year.

Things like..
Turning 40.
McKenna turning 16.
Going to Maryland for Delaney's softball World Series.
Hanging out at the beach.
Speaking at three writers conferences.
Going to all of the Alabama football home games.
Having some supremely fun holidays.

And then even more simple things like...

Reading a lot of good books.
Cooking and baking and eating.
Hearing the amazing things that Sydney has to say.
Spending time with friends (blog ones, and "real life"ones).
Going on date nights with Gary.
Watching some good t.v.
Seeing a sunset, or watching the stars.
Hanging out with my awesome family.

I actually shared all of these things on my blog with all of you during the past year, which was just amazingly cool. It's so very cool that I have this place to record these memories for my friends and my family...and, most importantly, to have as a record for years to come.

And then I got to thinking about my favorite blog posts from 2008, and I came up with the following list.

These aren't necessarily posts about the "big" events, but are instead my favorite reflections on moments that meant something important to me. Some are funny; some are sorta sentimental; some are just things that brought meaning to my day.

Maybe you'll enjoy reliving some of them with me...

"When life imitates art?" in which McKenna gets a kiss.

"If you were to guess this was Homecoming Week...," in which you revisit the lost art of t.p.ing.

"The joy of unexpected excitement," in which Scout meets the "real" Scout.

"A funny thing happened on the way to the tournament," in which we have a humorous run-in with small town police.

"Do you remember Twelve?" in which I wax poetic on Delaney's birthday.

"A Dance Story," in which Sydney goes to her first day of dance class.

"A few poems," in which (well, kinda obvious here from the title) I attempt to be a poet.

"Photo Overload #2," in which I share pictures from the beach.

"Bedtime with Sydney," in which I will make you cry (and me cry all over again!).

"Up There and In Here," in which Sydney and God work in conjunction to teach me something pretty cool!

"Momma's rules for watching college football," in which I share said rules.

"This is the closest to politics you're gonna get from me," in which I talk (duh!) politics.

"A Week in the Life...Tuesday," in which I share some of the pictures from my WITL project.

"Our Thursday," in which we prepare for a beauty pageant.

"Yes Virginia," in which I sing the praises of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.

"The true Christmas spirit caught me," in which I sing the praises of what the "real" meaning is all about!

"It's Official Now," in which I finally admit my blogging obsession.

(Edited to Add:
How in the world could I have forgotten THIS post from the past year?
"A Tale of Dressing Rooms, Twinkies, and Tankinis," in which I give some advice for trying on bathing suits)

And also...

I've been looking through all the photos I took and collected over the past year and some of them just make me smile. Again, not so much because they're from an important event, but because they bring me joy. Pictures like these...
















2008 was a really good year, and I will always treasure the memories I have of it.