It's a bit early to start all the "looking back" that comes with the approach of the New Year, but choosing photos has made me see that it has been a pretty good year in some ways and not so great in others.
And with my sporadic blogging, it may not be such a bad thing to get this in before the bell tolls midnight tomorrow night.
For my family in general, it has been a roller coaster. We started off the year not knowing what the future held for my youngest sister Erin after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2010. It has ended with her having finished chemo and recovered from a mastectomy with an excellent prognosis for a long and healthy future.
My sister Shannon has also had her trials and tribulations. In February her son Kyton was born much too soon, living only three hours. It was every mother's nightmare, losing a child.
But 2011 ends with the news that Shannon and her husband Ross are expecting a baby due on 29 July 2012, and of course we will all be holding our collective breaths until then.
The New Year will see me moving into a new life stage, one that I am ready to embrace: I'm going to have, not one, but two grand babies. My son Braden and my wonderful daughter-in-law Heather are expecting a little girl, Elyzabeth Sue (Ely) on Valentines Day and my daughter Malorie and her partner JR are expecting with a due date in June.
I am going to be a cool grandmother and have already requested to be called "Nan". It means more frequent trips to Texas but that's doable, in particular with F1 having the US Grand Prix in Austin from 2012!
One of my goals is to keep Ricky and Jack happy and healthy. Well, healthy anyway. Teenagers are rarely happy but I couldn't end 2011 without a mention of my monsters!
So here we are, Edinburgh, waiting for the Hogmanay celebrations to begin and wishing everyone the best possible 2012!
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