What a Year it Was!

I was reviewing my 2008 calendar for tax stuff... not my favorite thing to do, by any means. Taxes, that is, not review my calendar. I actually love that. I love calendars!

I have two that I work from and every couple of days I "sync" them up and I love it. One of my favorite things is a new calendar and getting it ready for the next year. It excites me to think about what might fill up those pages in the year ahead!

So, as I was looking back I decided to share some of what I found for last year.

January:
Playdates with my Treasured gals.

A funeral for a 2 year old girl, the daughter of a fellow Treasured leader. It was heartbreaking.

A interview with the Stepping Stones team at Saddleback Church.

February:
Family birthdays.

Legoland with our friends, the Schultzes.

A train ride to San Diego.

The Daytona 500-- 2008 racing begins. I love racing.

Picking up friends at the airport.

A new dishwasher.

March:
Scrapbooking day with friends.

Dentist visits.

Trip to Phoenix for Easter break.

Starting at Stepping Stones.

More family birthdays.

Spending time in 29 Palms with friends.

April:
Ashlyn's birthday.

Four year old check up. 95 percentile for height. 97 for weight. She's a bit chunky.

Walker, our friend's baby, was born.

Baby showers.

May:
Treasured session ends for the spring.

Stepping Stones continues... who knew that I would LOVE working with kids!

Chuck has jury duty.

More playdates.

My sister and her husband's first missionaly trip to Bolivia.

We have to put Madison, our faithful dog of 10 years, to sleep. She had melanoma. We still miss her.

June:
School is out.

Scott's birthday. 7 year check up. Dr. finally concerned about his growth. Refers us to pediatric endocrinologist.

Swim lessons begin. Scott loves it. Ashlyn is not as in love.

Two families move. The Traquairs to Japan. The Schultzes to Ohio. We really miss them all!!!!

July:
Celebrate the 4th in the traditional way. Pancake breakfast at El Toro High School. Lake Forest Parade. Fireworks at Laguna Hills High School.

We discover that Kira won't be attending parades with us in the future. She barked, lunged, and went crazy over every person, dog, and float that passed by. It wasn't fun for any of us.

Summer T-Ball season starts. Scott loves it again. Dad loves it more. Ashlyn, you guessed it... hates it. She only sits and plays in the dirt. We finally give up after 3 weeks.

Scott goes toSummer Spectacular at church (Vacation Bible School).

Our first appointment with the endocrinologist. She mentions a name we've never heard before, McCune-Albright Syndrome. We have the first inkling of "something's up".

Our "Summer Vacation" a day at the Orange County Fair. Great Fun!

August:
Baby Jessica is born. Our newest niece.

T-Ball (for Scott) continues.

Swim continues.

Playdates continue.

An MRI.

A phone call a few hours later from the endocrinologist. "Your son has a tumor on his pituitary gland."

We feel like our world has fallen apart.

We send out an urgent prayer request, which a family member posts on her blog. A wonderful lady in Louisiana comes across it after a search that morning for McCune-Albright Syndrome, which she hasn't done in months. She contacts our family member with information that we take into the endocrinologist about a Dr. in Maryland and The National Institutes of Health. She encourages us to contact him regarding Scott.

Bone scans.

X-rays.

Ultrasounds.

Geneticist visit.

Oncologist visit.

Neurosurgeon visit.

Dinner and movies with wonderful friends.

Mammogram (everything looks good -Thank God)!

Pediatric orthopedist visit.

ENT visit.

Wonderful support, responses, prayers and encouragement from family, friends, and people worldwide. God is so good!

September:
More ultrasounds.

Angel games.

Hearing test.

Vision tests.

New roof installed.

Invitation to join research Study on McCune-Alright Syndrome at NIH in Maryland.

Urologist visit.

More playdates.

Our 19th wedding anniversary. Am I really old enough for that?!?

Fedexing records to Dr. in Maryland. I had no idea how expensive that was! But, well worth it.

School starts.

Treasured session begins for fall.

October:
Scott starts in a Bowling League.

Family visits the La Brea Tar Pits.

Tests to see if Scott is in puberty. He's not. Thank God!

Chuck and I enjoy an overnight stay at the Marriott in Anaheim.

Halloween. We had a fairy princess and a marine.

Firm dates for our visit to Maryland. November 15-22.

November:
Day out with Thomas the Train with Grandpa and family. Perris, CA.

Dentist visits.

My sister and her husband's second missionary visit to Bolivia.

Plane flight for Scott, Chuck and myself to Maryland.

Darrel and Barbie take care of Ashlyn for the 1st few days.

My sister comes here stay with Ashlyn for the rest of the week while we're in Maryland.

Visit NIH, Washington D.C.

Lots and lots of test for Scott.

Good news. Not so good news.

Thanksgiving.

December:
Christmas parties.

Trip to Disneyland. We love it at Christmastime.

Christmas.

Filling out my new calendar. Looking forward to the next year.

New Years Eve. The kids actually stay up til midnight. We all go to bed at 12:01!

Now, you may be asking yourself, why did I just waste several minutes of my life reading that? Or maybe, what was Dian thinking? That we would be interested in reading that mundane stuff?

Well, here's my point. We go along in life, dentists, new roofs, baseball games, racing and just life. Then one day some ones says, "McCune-Albright Syndrome" or whatever and your world falls apart. But, the mundane stuff still continues and we have to face that. But, I can see in looking back over the year how God has been at work in our lives and through the prayers and encouragement of others. I have come to have a peace about our lives. Who knows what may be coming for any of us, but I know that everything is "Father filtered", meaning that God looks at it and determines whether or not He will allow it in our lives. That's what one of my favorite Bible verses talks about. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes."

Thanks for reading!