In with the New Year.

As always our year had it's ups and downs. But you can't appreciate the good without the bad, I mean how would you know it was good if you had nothing bad to compare it too.

Overall 2011 was a great year many things to be thankful for and feel blessed to have another year under my belt! I had the worst health year in my entire life, 4 hospitalizations. That has definitely been the hardest part of our year, hardest on Colton. They started in April with what seemed like a normal CF flare up, I seemed to recover. But apparently not because I ended up back in through the ER in May with lung pain and shortness of breath. After another 3 weeks of IV's I felt better again. The doctor's thought maybe I had some bugs that were not showing up in a regular sputum culture, so they scheduled me to have a bronc-scope. So in July 20th I went in for the Bronc, came home after in A LOT of pain and ended up back in the ER that night. It was by far the scariest CF flare up I have had to deal with. I recovered again after 3 weeks of IV's again and felt great for the rest of the summer. Then in November I got a sinus infection, me and the rest of the country that is! But mine landed me back in the hospital, I really wasn't feeling horrible like in the past few hospital visits, but I wanted to get in and get better before all the holidays, and winter time. I have felt great since being done with that round the day after Thanksgiving. The only other thing I can think of that was that bad was Colton being bit by a friends dog and had to have 8 stitches in his cheek.

We had many blessings in 2011. We had a great sledding day at a ski resort north of us with my cousin in March. Colton also turned 7 in March, love celebrating his birthday's as much as mine! He got a trampoline which he had been wanting for a while. I had been fighting to get social security for about 7 years, and finally got my hearing in May, and the final decision came in June that I had finally won! Which took a huge burden off from us. We also finally won a fight we had been fighting with our local township about our house taxes. Had a great family vacation in northern Michigan with Colton. Took our annual trip to Michigan's adventure (an amusement park). Brad and I took our vacation together to the Drag Racing Nationals in Indianapolis. I spent some time working on my Hot Rod and running in on the track a couple times. It was truly a great year and we are happy to have had it.

What I look forward to in 2012. Spending more time with my family of course! But to be more specific, DISNEY! We are surprising Colton with a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida in March (so if you read this and see Colton don't say anything)! Another successful Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis. Brad getting a vacation and bear hunt with his Dad. And most of all I have hope for a healthier New Year. As far as New Years resolutions I don't have one, I never follow through with them. So to all of you and yours HAPPY NEW YEAR!