Last time I sat here gifting myself the time to write I was at the beginning of a new school year.  Here it is the close of the 1st semester & the Holidays are the center of our attention.  It has all been good.  The boys have perservered - excelling extremely well in some subjects, struggling in others.  All & all they stepped up to the challenges.  I am proud of them.

My oldest son (16) has finished drivers ed but has stopped short of getting his license.  In light of the fact that he now has a job as well we are hoping this next week will see that finally accomplished.  He is a good driver.  I think for him it is another step towards independence that he is alittle afraid to take on but he is ready nonetheless.  He has had struggles in life that have caused him to be wiser in the long run.  So between taking on a full 11th grade class load, working 20-35 hours a week & still finding the time to have a friend over to play video games - being here at this point in life with him is a gift I can only treasure & savor.  He's helping me let go.  I have had to hold on so tight to him when he was younger that I can only give all my thanks to the Good Lord for giving me the grace to hang in there when life was so very messy.

My youngest son (soon to be 15 in 2 weeks) has begun to flex his manhood.  Always a caretaking kind of guy - he has begun to find his own way apart from the family.  Needless to say he has knocked heads with his dad more times recently than ever before.  Fortunatley my hubby comes from a background of 2 boys.  He gets it - I don't but I trust my hubby.  His older sister sees it as very normal since she too put us through some grief only she went through it later so this too I am told is good.  He is a wonderful young man & a good student.   We went to Texas for Christmas this year & he is staying an extra week with his grandparents.  I miss him!!!

This is our 1st week off since we started our school year.  I thank God for the co-op we are in.  They keep us very focused.  Now we will be off for a month.  WHEW!! 

Today is the 1st day that I have had to just sit & even reflect alittle.  This has not been of my own choice however.  Today we had to put our dog Buddy to sleep.  He is 9 years old.  I took him to the vet this morning to have a tooth extracted.  He had a growing mass in his cheek that we thought was a result of a broken tooth.  He was just to the vet in October & was given a clean bill of health.  Well it has turned out that he actually had a very aggressive form of cancer.  There was no choice really.  His quality of ife would never be good.  Heis now gone.  I am still in shock.  I guess that is why it has taken me 3 paragraphs to get to sharing this.  Even though his is "just" a dog.  Like my boys - there is a treasure trove of memories that flash through my mind.  Like when I realized shortly after we got him as a puppy - he thought he was one of the boys so when I scolded him if I talked to him like I did the the boys he understood he was in trouble or when you were talking about him - if I was say complaining as I was known to do sometimes he'd turn his back on you.  If I was complementing him he was all wags.

Well hubby is taking me out for dinner.   My moment of reflection is now over.

Looking forward to a fabulous 2007!!!!