I figured I would sit here and write about the year…. but honestly, I think that would be kinda boring lol. I am sure going back and reading all my posts this year would take me a few days and then, the whole point of this post would kinda be out of date. Instead, I will say, the year 2008 brought about a couple huge changes; the PCS to Germany and Derric’s Autistic diagnoses. I didn’t do nearly as much as I wanted to do this year, I didn’t plan on COLA being cut, I didn’t plan on the exchange rate to be so bad. I had huge dreams, big ideas, things I wanted to do, places I wanted to see…. Instead, we have spent most of our time home, doing nothing. Our four year tour here is one fourth done, and I really can’t say it was all that exciting…. The family trip to Trier was wonderful, the day at the Cascades was the best, but that was two days out of 365, not a good average…

I am really hoping 2009 is better. Planning better is a must be.
Places I would like to visit in 2009:

• France – There are a couple small villages right on the border that I have been told are a wonderful visit. I have heard there and back can be a day trip, but would love to make it a weekend.
• Luxembourg – There are places there I would love to go see, some castles still standing not ruins.
• At least three castles, ruins or not in Germany
• At least one fun land place for the kids

And I would like to do this as a family, not just because company is coming… It would be nice to actually have an idea about where to even take family for once instead of just spending most of our time guessing….

I have other goals I would like to try and accomplish this year also.

• Go to the gym every day. Kevin said he will be working on this with me, now that he is on the mid shift. Once I get the kids to school, catch the shuttle over to the main base, meet him at the gym, work out for an hour or so a day, then just come home together. I know once I start working out again, I will have much more energy, which will help me accomplish my other goals.
• Take the kids swimming every other week, after school for an hour or so. I don’t want to go on the weekends… too busy, so a day in the middle of the week, maybe after supper, should be good… just depends on the husband’s work time.
• Attempt to relearn German. I am remembering some, but the dialect is so different and since I haven’t heard it in several years, is hard to catch back up with it…
• Restart Family Movie Night on Friday nights. We did this back in NC. Loved it. Really want to bring it back.
• Family Wii Night. Now that I have a Wii, I really want to have family game night on it. Since once I get my WiiFit, I want to use it more for that. Also want to be able to play Wii Games with my mom (send me your Wii numbers and I will add you to my list! will send you mine back =) )

I have more, and will add to my list, but those are the main ones I can think of. I know 2009 will bring some new challenges, after all, I know I will have a deployment to deal with soon, not sure when yet, but soon… But for now, I need to get Derric to bed and the husband. Hope you all have a wonderful New Years Day and I hope the New Year is full of wonderful times for all.

In all honesty, I have started to ask myself this just about every day for the past two weeks. Why do I even bother to try and do anything? Why do I bother attempting to do something nice for them? Any of them? Why, when all I get are yelling at each other, hitting each other, throwing of things, and reasons enough for me to just pack my bag and leave them all.
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Of being anywhere from 6 to 9 hours ahead of someplace….

Sometimes, it makes me feel very rushed when I have to deal with things that are stateside…. Since I have to wait until the end of my day to get things done….

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