My life and family in 2008

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Today is the start of 2009 & I hope it is better then last year.

A Lot happened in 2008.

In March my husband finally got disability (social security) he has been very ill for years, and we were able to pay off the medical bills and some of our credit cards. His Doctor has now given up on him & does not know if they can do anything more for him, we are now sending his records to two different doctors out of state, hopefully that will lead to something.

In April I opened up my Etsy acct & spent all the money the government gave everyone to spend. I spent it all on supplies for my business. In June I started selling on Etsy, I sold 98 items in 2008 most all out of state. I almost reached my goal of 100 sales. Next year I hope to sell 200 items + since I will be open twice as long.

My son turned 20, moved out of the house, dropped out of college, got engaged and quit his job all in the same week in October. What a lot of changes. He moved into an apartment with one of his guy friends, now finally has a job he starts in Jan. He applied to approx 40 places without success. He has been doing a lot of volunteer work, he want to feed the homeless and help people in need & show them the way to God if they need direction. He gave up art, which was his previous desire and chose God, I can't be disappointed with that. I just hope he finds a way to make a living at his wanted profession.

My daughter turned 8 and is doing great. She finally got the puppy she has wanted for 5 years. She got a Beagle puppy who was 8 weeks old on her birthday in November.

I quit my job to start a new job in November - it is going OK, I miss my old customers, but not my old work as much as I thought I would. The money is better and we need that, since I have to support the whole family on my own. The Craft show season was down overall, and I had another promoter go back to work so 4 - shows were canceled. Last year a major promoter also did this and I lost 6. Times are tough, 4- of the stores I was in closed due to the economy, which is rough they were my best stores.

My Grandma died of Cancer in 2008- I miss her a lot - this was the first Christmas without her in my whole life. Grampa didn't come either - he is doing OK, but not very social now.

My Mom is still fighting Cancer- I hope she beats it this year, but things don't look so great.
My Dad's health is poor and his current wife left him, he is a wreck mentally and physically.
My Step dad almost died, he had simple shoulder surgery and the next day ended up in the hospital with blood clots in his lung and leg, he will be on blood thinners for at least 6 months to the rest of his life.

One of my husband's four sisters just discovered right before Christmas that she has Breast Cancer, she is having surgery next week - double Mastectomy and part of the reconstruction. My husband will be flying down to CA. for about a week to spend with her.

Life is hard for all of us, but I try to keep up a good attitude. It is not always easy, but hopefully 2009 will be better then 2008.

Best wishes to all.