The Best of 2007

So, it seems appropriate, this being New Year's Eve, to have a quick review of what has made 2007 memorable. Let's see ...

My college son flew out this last January for part of his training, and I benefited from a free flight around the valley. It was good to spend time with the boy.

My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful trip with my parents in their motorhome in March. We traveled from California to Louisiana, visiting friends and family in Dallas and Alexandria. We spent time with cousins, old friends from California, my daughter and her family, lifelong family friends, and then off for several days with my grandfather and his wife. The chance to visit various folks is a privilege and a pleasure, but the chance to spend a couple of weeks with my parents is just a treat.

We managed to gather a houseful in May. My daughter was arriving with her husband and two boys. My son decided to take that particular weekend to come for a visit from Las Vegas. My brother and his wife happened to be traveling through the area that weekend and dropped in for dinner. It was a wonderful time to visit and catch up. It seems like there is never enough time to catch up with family.

The trip in March that included visiting with my grandfather was timely. It meant I had the chance to spend a little time with him just before he died in May. For the first time that I could recall, I made a second trip to Louisiana in the same year ... to bury him. He was 90 years old.

My son from Las Vegas moved to Washington, and then to our house in September. Working in the construction industry, he was running out of places to find employment and running up too many bills. Our house is the place of second chances. He's back on his feet, working at a job he enjoys making good money and paying off bills that had piled up.

Thanksgiving time was particularly pleasant. We got to visit with dear friends from when we lived in California. I got to have dinner with my two best friends in high school that I hadn't seen for more than 20 years. Thanksgiving Day was all about gathering with the dear folks in my wife's family, and the subsequent weekend was a gathering of my family. It was a wonderful week-long revelry in friendships and family.

During the year I've enjoyed reading several blogs that I wish to acknowledge for prodding me to think more about a wide variety of topics. Pastor Jon provides an ongoing Bible study right there at your finger tips. Jim Jordan's Moral Science Club has interesting, thoughtful topics and entries that are almost always of interest to me. Sure, there are the "greats" like Pyromaniacs, Desiring God Blog, and Dr. Mohler's Blog, but they won't be particularly grateful if I mention how much I have enjoyed them. It's the "smaller" ones who have so blessed me that deserve mention, like A Recovering Presbyterian or Backwoods Presbyterian. Then there are my friends who I don't really know, but appreciate anyway. Their blogs include Carry Your Candle, Family Blueprint, Refreshment in Refuge, and On the Wittenburg Trail.

I know ... I've missed a lot of you out there. I read a lot more, but these stand out in my memory. Thanks to all of you -- friends, family, and readers -- who have made this a memorable year.