2007: A Year of Plenty...

Happy New Year! As 2007 comes to a close, we celebrate by sharing a few of our 2007 FAVORITE THINGS!

*Visits from family... how lucky are we? 2007 brought Grandma and Grandpa Richards, Grandpa Preston and Grandma Jamie, Matt and Debby and kiddos, John and Ang (and sadly, no kiddos), Dave and Mere, Rose and Todd and Emily, Becca and Matt, Jason, Sarah, Laura, Matt, Andrew, and Emilee! WOW! (Spence and Molly, it's your turn again.) Dang, does this mean 2008 is going to be a dry spell?

*Dan and Hailey and Preston the Studmuffin. What would we do without you guys? The Valentine announcement tops the list, which also includes 3-hour long Sunday dinners, long walks, not so long bike rides, shopping trips, the toffee making frenzy, Xbox (of course), the blizzard to and from the 76ers-Jazz game, Chili's nachos on a rainy night in DC, finding a way to catch every BYU game, waiting and waiting for the fireworks to start, many great dates thanks to you, car swapping experiences, some serious hair-dyeing sessions...the list could go on and on!

*Popping down to DC to greet the cherry blossoms, and then again for the temple lights at Christmas

*Disneyland with one grandpa, one grandma, six uncles, six aunts, and nineteen cousins

*Flag football Saturdays in the spring

*Catching fireflies in our jar

*Bike rides to Ritas, Ritas, and more Ritas

*Backyard BBQ's with the tiki lanters lit

*Our re-finished basement....thanks DAD!

*Jack declaring that he is a "huge, huge human"

*253 surgeries completed... go Nate!

*Road trips to Lancaster, Crayola factory, New Hope, and of course New York

*Hometown Havertown and the blow-up lawn creatures

*SCOUT CAMP with Grant's best friends in the whole world... Cort and Peter

*Whale-watching on the Atlantic with Grandma Jamie on her birthday

*5-day Pre-K and Grant's reading explosion

*Mornings with "just Mom and Jack"

*Leon Fleischer and some really great Bach

*A bunk bed with both boys in it

*Mini-golf, Grant's new favorite sport

*Jenny finishing her first half-marathon and realizing with immense clarity that she will never run a full marathon

*Great friends around the corner, around the town, and around the country

*Movie nights with two boys and one mom

*Wawa on Saturdays with Dad

*Our first quiet Christmas in our own little home

And finally, our gratitude to God for all of these blessings. We love you all, family and friends. Thanks for the ways you add brightness to our life. Happy 2008, everyone!