Happy New Year!

Well, here we are in the second week of a new year - 2010!  Over the holidays, I traveled with my wife and kids by car, first to Maryland for Christmas at my daughter's house, and then to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a family reunion.  I'm the oldest of 10 children, and along with my parents, my siblings and their spouses, and more than 30 "kids" of various ages, we gathered for a week in a beautiful 18 Bedroom House on the beach.  You can check it out here:  http://www.twiddy.com/homes/4x4/ocean-beach/the-mark-twain.aspx.  

It was chaotic at times, but always fun!  Great conversation, food, games, music, skits, photographs, beachcombing, late night discussions, catching up on individual lives, and more food!  Every time we get together like this, we have to wonder if it will be the last time we'll all be assembled in one house.  As the family grows, and kids get married and have more kids, we're running out of places that can hold us all.  But it was a time of creating memories that we'll always share.

Omaha has just come through a few days of extreme cold (highs around zero on some days) and a couple of big storms in close succession have left large piles of snow everywhere.  I can only see out of the top half of my office window because snow drifts cover the lower half! 

But in spite of the cold and snow, I'm happy to be done with 2009 and moving with confidence into a brand new year of possibilities.  During 2009 we refused to participate in the recession, and we're carrying that policy with us into 2010 as well.  After 54 years of life, I don't bother anymore with New Year's resolutions.  I just try to live a life of continual improvement!  But a new year does provide a logical opportunity to stop and count the blessings and lessons of the year past, and take some time for thinking and planning for the year ahead.  I hope your year is happy, healthy, and prosperous!