Our Best of 2008 List

For those of you who are still waiting to get your Christmas card . . . here is a little preview from our annual letter. (The cards are in the mail, I promise) Here are our top ten events in the order they occurred.

1. Camille marries David Tusler March 7, 2008 in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.
2. Wes, myself, Kathryn and Michelle spend spring break in Costa Rica, where I lived for three years as a child.
3. Kristen is accepted into the Elementary Ed. program at BYU and comes home for the summer! Hooray!
4. My parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
5. Kathryn spends two and a half weeks in Bolivia with Alliance for Youth Services. (Wonderful program!)
6. Michelle starts high school (9th grade) and makes the basketball team.
7. Wes and I fly to Israel with two other couples and my parents for a ten-day tour.
8. Wes celebrates his 50th birthday.
9. Ryan marries Kali Thomson November 29, 2008 in the Mesa, Arizona temple.
10. We become grandparents with the birth of Carly Amelia Tusler on December 20, 2008.

So, as you can see, it has been a banner year for us, but not one without difficulty. The economic crisis has brought many challenges to both us and many we love. Some friends lost their teenaged son in an accident, a nephew was nearly killed while on his motorcycle and several surgeries later is still trying to recover, and a family member was recently diagnosed with cancer.

I always begin each new year with some degree of fear and trepidation. Bad things happen to all of us and I often wonder what challenges are in store. However, we are still very much looking forward to 2009, because we know that both the ups and the downs can eventually bring . . . joy to the journey.