2017 Year In Review

2017 Year In Review

This has been a very exciting year in so many ways and I thought it would be a perfect ending of a perfect year to share my 2017 Year In Review with my readers.

 

We started the year by going to Ohio for our granddaughter’s 3 month check up from her major surgery in November. She had a tumor that infiltrated into her spinal column and after 12 hours of surgeries she had a long road to recovery.  Her neurosurgeon is the best and he was pleased with her progress.  Her brother and his girl friend came over from Indiana and we celebrated Christmas in January even if it was at the hotel.

I set up the presents in the dresser drawer and had a marshmallow tree!  It was a wonderful Christmas to have us all together.

 

When March rolled around, my hubby took me to the Great Smoky Mountains in Cherokee North Carolina.  We love that area and visited the beautiful Cades Cove and Clingman’s Dome.  The views are exquisite!

 

When we returned to our hotel at Harrah’s we went down to the casino just for a short time for me to play the penny slots.  They are my favorite and with a penny in my hand that I found on the floor, sent down from my mom in heaven, I hit the jackpot!  What a great birthday that was!

 

May was another trip to Ohio for our granddaughter’s 6 month check and an MRI and CT scan.  Another good report from the doctor. She is a determined young lady and even if she was in pain, she would never let anyone know.

 

July was a super excited month!  We went to upstate New York to move my 99-year-old mother-in-law into a beautiful new independent living apartment.  It was touch and go for a bit, the last-minute she said she didn’t want to move.  Once we got her there and she saw all the new furniture and accessories it was a bit easier for her.  She is still adjusting but doing well.   I love this picture of 5 generations, Ma, Rich & me, our oldest daughter, 2 of our grandchildren and our youngest great-grandson.  We are blessed!

 

 

But the biggest excitement was hubby and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on July 29th.  We were married in St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Schenectady New York on July 29, 1967 and thought it was fitting to have our vows renewed there.  Our 50th anniversary was wonderful and we have made so many memories and will continue making them.  After Mass I mentioned to the Priest that we would be back for our 75th anniversary!

 

Moving right along to September where we had another fun-filled month.  Back to Schenectady New York we went to give mother-in-law a surprise 100th birthday party.  I love this photo of her with our oldest daughter and her oldest son. For being 100 years old, she still writes her own checks, balances her checkbook plus keeps the apartment neat and tidy.

 

It worked out perfect as the week after her birthday, it was my 50th high school reunion in the same area so we stayed at the beautiful Landing Hotel on the bank of the Mohawk River.  It was great to reconnect with my classmates, some I hadn’t seen since I graduated in June 1967!  It was a fun-filled 3 day reunion with a meet and greet Friday, Saturday was a tour of our high school which had a huge addition added on and a wonderful evening of dining and dancing.  Goodbyes were said Sunday during a brunch at the best apple barn in the area!  Of course we left with a trunk full of fresh apples!

Just when we think there couldn’t be much more excitement in the year, we had another great surprise. Our granddaughter from Ohio moved back “home” with us November 5th.  It was quite ironic as she was with us in 2015 from May to November, leaving her to go back to Ohio on November 5th.  It took her 2 years to get back but on the same day she left, she returned.  We are so excited to have her back and she’s busy working at Panda Express.

One would think that this has been an exciting 2017 Year in Review so far but wait until you see December!  Of course Christmas is hubby’s and my favorite time of the year.  First it’s the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus and for us, Jesus is the Reason for the Season.  But there are a few other reasons why Christmas is so special.  Back on Christmas day in 1965, I met my now hubby on a blind date.  It was love at first site and we celebrated 52 years together this year.  But wait, one more reason why Christmas is so special, our oldest daughter was born on Christmas day in 1968.  Hard to believe she will be celebrating her 50th birthday next year!

 

With our 21-year-old granddaughter with us, we knew 2017 Christmas would be great but it didn’t end there. Her 19-year-old brother and his girl friend drove down from Indiana to spend Christmas week with us and my younger sister visited us before going back to Maine. It has been a week of reminiscing when Zachary checked out his toys from years gone by, the kids sliding down the stairs like they did when they were 4 and 5 plus lots of good times and laughter.

 

Of course the year also had some challenges in it.  The Ultimate Blog Challenge was so much fun in January, April, July, and September which I managed to complete each one by writing at least one blog per day. This challenge is a great way to meet new bloggers and reconnect with ones that have done the challenge previously.  I’m looking forward to the 2018 January Ultimate Blog Challenge next week.  If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late! www.UltimateBlogChallenge  Check it out and watch your stats climb plus read the other participants awesome blogs.

 

This is my 2016 Year in Review, some good, some not so good but everyone was there for each other. http://themarthareview.com/2016-year-in-review/

2017 has been a busy and exciting year and I’m looking forward to see what 2018 has in store for us.  How about you, was your 2017 busy and are you looking forward to 2018?