Farewell to 2008!

Our 2008 looked something like this ~

January found us living in Lorton, Virginia. John and I were attending Attache training, the girls were at South County High School and Jake was at Silverbrook Elementary School. This was the farthest north we'd ever lived as a family.

February was great! Our first real snowstorm and the kids' first snow day from school. I relearned about driving in the snow. Kim and Cindy came to visit with Cindy's new puppy Sadie. Sadie was adorable though insistent on proving how un-housetrained she was!

March was crazy busy. We finally got our household goods shipment from Argentina - real beds!!! After three months on an airmattress, you can imagine! Nicole's friend Matt came to visit from Buenos Aires and we took him with us to Navarre for Spring Break. John couldn't come so I was stuck "babysitting" two pairs of teenagers as Dylan and Lisette were inseparable.

April kept us busy too. Jake was playing lacrosse, Nicole was starting goalie for the SCHS JV soccer team and Lisette was either rehearsing or attending SAT prep class. My mom and my aunt Mary came to visit us on their way back from snowbirding in Florida. But my favourite part of this month was a week spent in Pennsylvania with our Attache class, learning high-speed, defensivee driving maneuvers, self-defense techniques and getting qualified in three different firearms. Crazy!!

May started off with Lisette taking her SAT exam right in the middle of her play performances. Then accepting an acting camp scholarship for Lisette. Getting our clearances for the move to Bolivia. Catching our collective breaths before the big summer move.

June meant a trip to Hamilton to get my Lasik done! It went so smoothly. Unfortunately, while I was there we were informed that Jake wasn't accepted into the American school in La Paz. That headache started fast and furious and lasted almost two months. The kids finished up their school. Then John and I took a quick trip to Florida to be there for his old squadron's change of command. Jake had his psycho-educational evaluation along with a long list of other demands by the school here.

July brought us back to Florida for a triple university tour. We all fell in love with FSU and were disappointed with Flagler. UCF remained middle of the road. Just before we left to FL, Lisette attended her acting camp and the final performance was awesome! When we got back to Virginia, we found out that Jake had passed his evaluation with ease. Picture my tongue stuck out at the school here. Then the moving began. John was in Bolivia the first half of the month. He got back just in time to be there for the movers but not for the prep. Hmmmm. Kim and my mom were here for that! The flew out to Miami on Nicole's birthday.

August meant we arrived in Bolivia! 08-08-08 was our arrival date, cool huh? Initially we were housed in a beautiful apartment with a gorgeous view of the mountains. We're surrounded by mountains but the apartment sat up on a rise so the view was tremendous. The altitude hit Lisette the hardest but I was the first to catch Evo's revenge. Unfortunately, it hit on moving day. We were moved to our present "Soprano House" a week after arrival. It a big, beautiful three bedroom home with another breathtaking view. So here we settled and the kids started school and I began lifestyle I should be accustomed to. Ha!

September was interesting. As Evo's detractors raged a siege on some outlying provinces, he turned his attention to the US Embassy. He kicked out our Ambassador, claiming he had proof of wrong-doing (he says things like that ALL the time but never does show the "proof") and then blamed the US for all of the strife in his country. Some semi-organized demonstrators showed up at the Embassy, more threats were made and actions seemed worrisome so the State Department gave an Authorized Departure order. The kids and I were headed to Florida. We settled in a beach house, the kids were enrolled in their old schools, Nicole got a tan and we spent lots of time with some dear friends.

October brought the bad news that the evacuation order hadn't been lifted. Evo was still being a butthead (is that not a diplomatic thing to say?) so we were best kept at a distance. John came to us for a visit, we celebrated his birthday, we attended the closing ceremonies of his first AF squadron, I spent too much time shopping (back-in-the-states-itis), we saw a ton of movies. Then, we were allowed back home!

November meant celebrating Jake's birthday at the opening night of "Madagascar 2", saying farewell to our Florida friends AGAIN and then chillin' for a week in Miami before suffering altitude sickness all over again. But it was worth it! We were home! Settling back to home, school and work was great. I applied for the Nursing position at the Health Unit and applied for admittance to an online university to complete my BSN degree. I was accepted time two. Thanksgiving was here with our Defense Attache office friends and families. Sadly, John's 93 yr.old grandmother passed away on Thanksgiving. John and I flew to Miami for her funeral and to celebrate the life of one of the strongest woman I've known.

Finally, December. I started work and fell in love with it! It's great to work so close to John. Early in the month we found out there were problems with the Express Shipment we had coming from Florida. Remember all that shopping I had done? Most of it was Christmas gifts and the expected delivery date was Dec. 1st. Well, it's now 2009 and we don't have it yet. The rest of December flew by, with work and Christmas preparations. Christmas day dawned and the gift pickings were modest compared to most years but we had a great day. December 27th brought devastating news. John's brother Jorge had suffered a near fatal heart attack. John flew out on the 28th and was there yesterday when Jorge finally woke up after being taken off the ventilator.

January 1, 2009 brings us dreams for the future, expectations of happiness and a vision of joys to come. May it do the same for you and may all of our hopes come alive!