2008

2008 has been a year full of many memories. Some of these memories have been happy ones, others have been sad and painful. As we end this year, I am reflecting on all the things that happened to us. This year we experience the pain of loosing a loved one. It is still hard to believe that Ricardo is gone and he is not here to ring in the new year with us. Many times both Rene and I catch ourselves thinking that he is still here with us, but then we come to the sad realization that he is not. I often think about what my father-in-law would say or think about how Izzy is developing or what he would say about Ricky. Those are the hardest times for me, realizing that my children will not get to experience the joys of having their grandpa around. Even though our pain is great, we have experienced God's comfort in so many ways. God has sustained us through the past several months and He continues to give us grace to go on.

2008 was also a year of changes for our family. Rene started his MBA program at Johns Hopkins University. We found out that we were pregnant with Ricky. I graduated with my Masters from Johns Hopkins. Izzy started to talk more! I enjoyed another year home with the kids. Rene had another successful year at work. We welcomed Ricky into our lives. We developed new friendships and continue to strengthen old ones. Overall, God was GOOD to us. His mercy and kindness surrounded us even when we did not see it. We were blessed in so many ways!

We pray that in 2009 we will continue to be the recipients of God's love, mercy and grace. And we wish that God will give our friends and loved ones blessings for the new year.

Happy New Year!!!