Amy- Version 2009

I’ve never been a big fan of looking back; it is a limited view that hinders forward progress. As I get older I find I reflect more on being grateful for how very far I have come and the big, wonderful, beautiful adventure that is my life.
The beginning of this year I made the usual resolutions…get finances under control, lose weight, and exercise more. I am still the slightly overweight, under exercised, financially challenged woman I started the year as. But the one resolution that changed everything is resolving to step outside my comfort zone.
Family first. I love my boys. They are and ever shall be the best thing that ever happened to me. They now have their own stories to tell so here is the Reader’s Digest version… Jeremiah loses girl and house but gets a new lease on life; Luke continues education on his own terms; Josh graduated high school and Starts College; Patrick transitions from middle school to high school and gets a part time job doing something he loves…lucky boy. Garett and I still have jobs, which we are very grateful for, but financial hard times found us just like it did many others.
I chaperoned Patrick’s Choir Trip to Mac Island and 8th grade celebration. What a blast. It is such a great age and all you can do is laugh at the drama they create.
Spring - Trip to PA… I’ve wanted to see my Grandma and Dad for awhile, so both my Dad and I drove to PA and I got to visit with both of them and some of my cousins too.
Summer - Trip to Mo… I sold my motorcycle to make this trip as well as get through the summer with no job. Garett’s family has a reunion every year and we try to make it ever other. His uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer, so it was very important to Garett and me to make it down there. On the return trip to MI we took a few detours. A visit to Graceland(awesome place) , a tour of the Gibson guitar factory and a night in Memphis downtown for some great music. And since we were detouring anyway might as well hit Nashville and a night downtown walking and visiting Wild Horse Saloon.
Fall - Trip to VT & Niagara… Garett’s niece got married on a mountainside in VT, simple and beautiful. I was honored with the job of being their photographer and videographer. On the way home we stopped at Niagara Falls. It is an amazing place. We took a tour and were actually able to walk under the falls…breath taking. And the Falls are even more beautiful lit up at night.
I started volunteering at Orion Neighborhood Television last year and I absolutely love it. It was the catalyst for stepping outside my comfort zone. I learned to edit video. I hosted a program. I ran camera, produced and edited my own shows. I sang in a Karaoke show on TV. It gave me a “what else can I try” attitude. So I entered some of my photos in a contest. I applied to be an extra in the movie “Red Dawn” and they called me. So I spent 2 all nighters on a football field and you may spot me leaving the stadium. A friend starting her own production company asked me to help her out on a film, “In His Eyes”, and so I was Slate and helped with wardrobe and continuity.
And now I look forward to the new adventures 2010 will bring and I am already grateful!!