Party in full swing inside for the non-swimmers
Sparklers were a big hit
Mike being his normal introverted self
The girls discovered that the toasting glasses (don't worry, sparking cider) work well with the chocolate fountain!
The party girls
Abhi and Mike Hanging at the Margarita Machine (Thanks Grams and Papa!)
Michael - King of the Hot Tub
Michaela and Katie (don't you just love brothers and the rabbit fingers in pictures?)
Mike and Chris Bonding and creating nick names for all the virgin daiquiri cups
The girls loving the 85 degree pool
What a year 2008 has been. As I reflected on it, I had such a strange mixture of feelings on the year. My family has grown so much this year, and I am so thankful for Mike, Chris, Katie, Michael, and Morgan and how much they enhance my life. I got to spend Christmas with all of them PLUS my parents (who lost their names when they became grandparents and are now Grams and Papa forever), Mark (Uncle Mark), and Mike (Mikeo/Uncle Mike). I know this will sound hokey, but I truly could not have a better family. I might not have always appreciated my parents and brothers, but I certainly learned over the years how wonderful they are and how lucky I was to be born into our family. Even our cats (Bugys is 17 and is looking like he will make 18 this year!) who drive me crazy some days with their puking and meowing early in the morning are a wonderful part of our family. So, on the home front, most of all, I start 2009 thankful.
The next set of items involves "The Year of the Acquisition". Any time you go through two acquisitions in one year, it is going to be a whirlwind. While the end result has been for the best, it has been a very long year - at times joyful and at times painful. Now that some time has passed on both of the deals, I feel that we are starting to gel as one company instead of three. I know it will take time for all of the "gelling" to occur, and I am pleased that progress feels like it is happening regularly now. I am thankful to now work for such a fabulous company with such smart, friendly, and welcoming people. I have truly been amazed with the people. I look forward to much growth there! So, thanks to Bond for bring us all on board and keeping the lights on while we built an amazing product and culture, thanks to MediNotes for giving some gas behind the pedal, and thanks to Eclipsys for allowing our baby to grow up and go to the big leagues. On the work front, I start 2009 thankful that most of the team is still together and that the ones who aren't are still close by. I couldn't ask for a better dev team or implementation team in a million years. I am excited about what the new year will bring!
Last but not least, Friends. I have so many fantastic friends at work, in Florida, in North Carolina, in Tennessee, and otherwise scattered over the US. We rang in the new year like the best of them with our friends at the Marquith's house. They have a new pool and hot tub, so it was a Florida style New Year. We drank, ate, and were merry all night long. We had the kids in sparklers for quite a while, and they really enjoyed that. Fireworks were launched from behind the house until there was a slight mishap that caused a little panic. All was well though, and we decided that the fireworks would look nice over our conservation pond (although it is sadly almost out of water due to the drought). Mike had three margarita machines running at the same time, and he kept the party going with drinks. There were even strawberry daqauris for the kids. At midnight, we had a champagne toast (sparkling cidar for the kids), and everyone had hats and horns (the kids got them an hour before and were over them by midnight! lol). It was a great way to close out the year and to begin the new one! Thanks Denise and Damian for a great party! On the friend front, I couldn't ask for better friends.
Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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