HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's hard to believe that it's 2009. We brought in the New Year at Dave's parents' house with the rest of the Monson gang. It's always fun to see everyone, although this year seemed a bit more chaotic than usual. We were the last to leave (as usual) and barely made it home by midnight. After putting the kids to bed, Dave & I played Guitar Hero. We always start out saying we'll only play a couple songs, but "Just one more" seems to push us into the wee hours of the morning. Last night we finally got to bed a little before 2.

We were awakened bright and early (at 9:30) by my mom calling from Chile. Surprisingly, the kids had slept in and let us do the same. It was good to hear from her. They only have 3 1/2 months left on their mission and are looking forward to being back home with family.

Rather than start off the New Year with a resolution that I'm sure to fail at, I'm just going to try to improve a different part of me each month. This may seem a bit scattered, but I really have a hard time committing to anything for much longer. I probably won't end up with any dramatic results by the end of the year, but hopefully I end the year a little better person than I am now. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with a few good habits.

This year gives us lots to look forward to: some baseball trips with Jackson's team, Disneyland with our 5 kids, Mom & Howard coming home, Davis starting kindergarten (Yippee!), the end of diapers at our house, a trip to Florida with Dave (no kids), and hopefully a better economy.

I hope you all have a great 2009!