2012 A GOOD YEAR !!!

Saying good bye to 2012 with all it's memories both good and bad. This has been a hard year for so many,with droughts that parched the food producing states and still persist going into 2013.

The year contained many bad storms with damaging floods and tornadoes throughout the country. A historic late season Atlantic hurricane named Sandy that ravaged the entire east coast. Flooding NYC subways and forever changing the face of some coastlines.
In November this country re-elected a president that has failed to do his job in his first four years and now threatens to send all of us into a tailspin with his foot stomping demands to get his way on every issue or make the American people suffer. Only God can help us  for the next four years.

As for us here in our little corner of the world we have been blessed this year as always with so many undeserved blessings.

January 2012 was a strange but welcome winter month. After the past several cold snowy years this January was more summer like than winter. The downside was all the summer storms which dropped hail as well as thunder and lightening and tornadoes close by.

February 2012 continued the warm weather causing buds on trees to burst open way too early. This was not a good month for my #1 son as his house was broken into and they were robbed of some precious memories while they were away at work.

March 2012  Flowers burst open in the warm weather and we were holding our breath waiting for the "winter shoe to drop" and it did make an unwelcome appearance with freezing temperatures for a night or so to damage many early bloomers.  #2 son and daughter turn a year older this month , son turns 29, daughter 27. Daughter had her housewarming party with many family and friends in awe over the transition she had made in the foreclosed home she bought.

April 2012 A  great sigh of relief in this month as #1 son who had not been able to find a job since his accident almost 2 years ago got a job working with the NC DOT,we all prayed thankful prayers.
Easter was a grand time for g-son and we had a wonderful Easter church service. It's d-in-love's turn to add another year this month as she turns the big 30 !!
The weather brought more hail storms to all but wipe out the apple crops in the area and what was left got caught in more freezing temperatures. We almost all our fruit in this freeze.

May 2012   One of  Hubbie's 1st cousin's son who has always been a good friend to #1 son got married the first of the month. And unfortunately Connie who was hubbie's 1st cousin and the mother of the groom passed away at the end of the month from a cancerous brain tumor they had found in December.
The weather brought flooding rains to our area and was a record breaking warm month in our area as well as most of the country.

June 2012  was a super busy month around here. #2 son who had been looking for a new house found renters for his house here and moved in with daughter until he finds a house, they also wanted to rent our lower pasture. They had a couple horses so we built a small horse barn in the lower pasture because we still had Snowball in the upper pasture where the big barn is.  June was a good month for d-in-love as she found a really good job, the only downside was it is in Asheville and she has to be at work at 7:30 every morning. she took the job with the commitment from me that I would get g-son to school every morning. I started a 12 week class at church that a nutritionist was giving to hopefully loose some weight,daughter took the every Monday night class with me. The new renters cut all the lower pasture for hay getting about 60 rolls. All this in record breaking June heat for our area. And last but not least hubbie had his 57th birthday on the 15th of this month.

July 2012  was daughter's turn for a new, more money job as she switched to another school in our county where there was a 12 month position in the same job she was doing at the old school in a 10 month position. A classmate, fellow worker at church and dear friend Rhonda passed away this month just as Vacation Bible School started.  For the first year in as long as I can remember I didn't volunteer to teach a class. Daughter and d-in-love taught and I roamed around making pictures and helping where I was needed. G-son loves VBS as all the other kids do also, it was a great way to end another hot summer month. As this month ends I add my 58th birthday on the 31st.

August 2012  was an adventuresome month as at the beginning hubbie,daughter,g-son and I made a 3 day trip to Beaufort,SC to one of daughter's friend's new house. We had a wonderful time exploring the beaches at a nearby state park and the old downtown area as well as the waterfront while we were there.
Most of the month was spent with routine market trips and canning and preserving garden vegetables.
G-son started kindergarten on the 28th of the month and a whole new world opened up for him. He was excited to make this step in his life.
With all the job changes this year there is no vacation time for a week at the beach so we decided to take a long weekend over the Labor day weekend and go to Holden Beach,NC. We left on Friday the 31st, hubbie and I in our van, #1 son and g-son came a short time later and after they both got off work daughter and d-in-love drove down so be midnight on the 31st we were all there and ready for a weekend of relaxation.

September 2012  started out very well ,being at the beach for the first several days was a blessing. Unfortunately #2 didn't get to come as he couldn't get off work around a holiday. We crammed all the fun we could into the 3 days we had there.
When we got home we embarked on another very busy month. The nutrition class came to an end with very positive results for both daughter and me as I had lost about 12 pounds over the 12 weeks which was the best in the class.
I got a surprise visit from a cousin I had never met who found me through this blog when searching for her relatives on my dad's side. One of my dad's brothers was her grandfather. Her and her husband made a stop here on their way to Hilton Head Island in SC. We enjoyed having them very much.
#2 son found a house he likes and started negotiations with the bank that had it in foreclosure.
Our church hosted our annual Block Blast which we are all involved in the work that it takes to put on a community wide event.
The fall Old Timey Day at markt was the last Saturday in the month and I had a very successful sales day while hubbie and daughter worked to help cook the biscuits on the old wood stoves for breakfast and chop and serve the BBQ for lunch.
Whew this along with some more canning and getting into the routine of getting g-son to and from school each day made for a tiring month.

October 2012  another busy but fun month. And another sad death of one of my schoolmates and friends who suffered asphyxiation while working in his automobile dealership. He had helped 2 of my kids obtain their first cars.
Hubbie and I made a trip to the Pickens flea market where we bought a couple female quails to go with the male we had.
We finished off our gardening for the year by digging a bountiful crop of potatoes this year.
A historic super storm named Sandy ravaged the entire east coast ,starting in Florida,skirting the coast all the way up to New Jersey before she made a devastating landfall. She filled all the subways in New York with water and washed away many coastal areas forever. Leaving millions without power and with flooded homes for days and weeks.
G-son choose to celebrate his sixth birthday at Chuckie Cheese in Asheville where we all had a wonderful evening for fun and laughter. #1 son also celebrated his 31st birthday on the 16th with g-son.
A late frost year left the neighbor's berry vines loaded with berries and I picked several gallons of raspberries and black berries,wishing I had had time pick more after tasting them.
I worked on g-son a clown outfit with some material his mom found and it turned out really cute.
 Our church had a trunk or treat on Halloween and hubbie and I made my van into the whale that swallowed Jonah for the night. D-in-love and daughter had a pirate theme for her car.

November 2012  brought another funeral to attend as one of my first cousin's wife had a stroke and died after years of struggle from a previous stroke.
On a happy note #2 son closed on his house after hacking out a very good deal and we helped him move in during the first week of the month. Then we took him to Ikea in Charlotte to get some furniture to replace the things he sold from the old house.
The country re-elected our president on the 11th,much to my dissapointment. I didn't really like the other guy either but feel we definitely need a change from the last four years but all I could do was vote.
Thanksgiving business at the Curb Market was really good this year making for a very busy before Thanksgiving week.
Thanksgiving at our house was very nice as all the kids were here this year. D-in-love's dad smoked us a turkey which was delicious and I made all the sides which made for a very good time.
To end the month we had our Old Timey Christmas celebration at market on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I had very good sales that day also as daughter and I stayed busy all day.

December 2012 was a strange month weatherwise as it felt spring like most days until winter actually arrived on the 21st then as if notified the cold weather moved in.
Our family celebrates two wedding anniversaries in December, #1 son and d-in-love's on the 10th and hubbie and mine's on the 21st. This year it was a 7th and a 33rd !!
On Friday the 21st there was a horrific school shooting as a deranged young man first shot his mother in their home in Newtown, Conn. then went to a local elementary school,broke in and shot and killed 20 first grade children and 6 adult staff members. This was the worst school shooting in history and made Christmas a sad one for many families all across the country who grieved along with the people of Newtown.  Deputies were placed at all the elementary schools in our county for the remaining school days before Christmas vacation to ease anxiety.
On Sunday the 23rd we had hubbie's side of the family over for our annual Christmas gathering.
After candlelight service at church on Christmas eve our family had our gather with #2 son not being able to make it this year after having to work until 10:00 we decided to save some gifts and continue the celebration on Christmas day at lunch time when we all were present.
Later that evening I fixed another meal for any friends the kids wanted to invite. Some of their friends are away from their families and it was nice to provide a Christmas celebration for them.
On December 26 we had a near flood from an overnight rain storm that dropped almost 3" in a short time.
On Thursday daughter and I went uptown to do some after Christmas sale shopping. We found a few things but mostly just wanted to get out of the wind and cold.
One last market day on the 29th was a fair day with several New Year's eve orders although it was windy with temperatures in the 30's.
On the last Sunday of the year hubbie and I had nursery duty. Whew !! What a wonderful month, what a wonderful year !!!!
Our family has truly felt the blessings of our Lord in this past year. I prayerfully thank Him each night before I close my eyes for His never ending love and care for each of us.
My wish for all of you tonight is that the new year will bring you closer to God and allow you to bask in His everlasting love and care.
HAPPY  NEW  YEAR !!!!