Lessons Learned in 2008

As 2009 moves in on us, I thought I would take a moment to note the lessons I have learned in 2008.

There are really really GOOD people in this world ~ Total strangers have banded together, in response to my "All I Want for Christmas" blog, and started work on my bathroom. Free of Charge. In their Free time. How nice is that? My friend Sarah, and her hubby Jeff, attend One Community Church here in town, and Sarah got her small group to give this to us as a gift. I can NEVER repay this group for doing this for me out of the goodness of their hearts. All I can do is pay it forward somehow. When the opportunity presents itself for me to do that, I will. As they make progress, I will post on it. Look for more on that subject in the future. Religion gets such a bad rap in the press, but I plan on correcting that soon. These people ROCK! Thank you Sarah for being such a good friend to us!

No matter how much money I make, I will always be broke ~ Before I had kids I made a decent salary and still managed to be broke, most of the time. I still work, though the type of work has changed dramatically, the salary has remained about the same. I don't work outside of the home, but run a daycare from my home. The money I save on gas, clothing, lunches out, childcare for my kids, etc, pretty much evens things out for me. Not to mention the tax deductions I can take for operating a business from my home. Bottom line is the same, I am still broke. I am convinced that if I made a million a year, I would STILL be broke.

Family counts more than anything ~ they are the ones who will stick by you through thick and thin. I have had some baaaaddd moments that all started right at the very beginning of 2008 and my family really stepped up to help us out this year. I only hope that one day I will be able to return the favor.

Question things, but never be afraid to take a chance ~ A few things have come up recently that made me ask a lot of questions. I won't divulge because Chris has asked me not too. It involves my child. We had to make a decision about the best way to handle a situation and after asking a lot of questions, we decided to dive in head first. It turns out to be the best decision we could have possibly made. Total turn around in the life of one little boy that I think will help him excel in his life. Had I not been willing to take that leap of faith into the unknown, I would have been doing him a HUGE injustice.

Hope you all learned something from 2008 and that 2009 brings you lots of opportunity to grown and change for the better! HAPPY NEW YEAR!