Dear friends and family, another year is coming to a close and I wanted to take some time from the busy holidays to let you know what my family and I have been up to this year. January 2009 started off pretty nice but eventually the weather took its toll.

For the second time in less than five months the Ohio Valley suffered another “storm of the century.” Most of Southern Indiana was out of power for an extended amount of time due to the blanket of snow and ice that fell.

Personally, my house was without power for four days which is better than the previous falls wind storm when it was out for nine. I survived by staying with my brother’s family and enjoying the company of my nieces and nephews and the hospitality of my sister-in-law.

As the winter continued, I made preparations for the Polar Bear Plunge. The annual fundraiser for the Special Olympics took place at the end of February. This year I dressed as Sonny and Cher. This was the third year that I jumped into the freezing cold water of the Ohio River.

This year’s water temperature was about the same as previous years but the chilling wind blowing that day made for the coldest that I have ever been in my life. I raised nearly $500 dollars for this worthy charity which made it all worth it.

In March, Amy and I took our relationship to the next level. Following a string of illnesses, she decided to have her tonsils removed. I was required, as the boyfriend, to take her and be responsible if anything went wrong. The surgery was a success and she has recovered nicely. Besides an episode in the car on the way home there were no major problems.

As spring approached the weather problems of the last few months just started compounding. It is usually expected to rain a lot in April but this year we had record rainfalls in May, June and August.

In early summer it became necessary to look for a new place to live. After several weeks of careful consideration we were able to find our dream house. It is coming along nicely and I believe by next summer we will be completely settled. One major flaw of our new house that we didn’t notice when we chose it is the number of Oak trees that are in our neighborhood. While not a deal breaker, it seems that walking through the yard in late summer becomes treacherous as squirrels ascend and the acorns begin to fall from the heavens.

Luckily, we obtained the services of our dog Ginger to protect us from the onslaught as the squirrels. Of course Ginger is no help as the oak leaves begin to blanket our yard. Maybe Santa will bring us a new leaf blower this year.

As you probably know about the same time as we got the house I began writing this column for The Tribune. It has been interesting ride tackling local topics that interest me. I hope that I can make a difference in the community and that everyone enjoys reading what I have to say.

Instead of going on a big vacation with the rest of my family this year I decided to take a couple of mini vacations. For the second year in a row I went camping at the Brickyard 400. Again the weather was a factor and we ended up leaving before the race after surviving a terrible storm that destroyed many tents. Luckily I was unharmed having spent most of one night in the car in order to protect me from flying debris.

In August, Amy and I spent a few days in French Lick, Indiana, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We went to a water park, enjoyed a train ride and of course did a little gambling. It was fun getting away for a few days but it is always great to get home again.

As summer came to a close, the kids returned to school earlier than I ever remember. So far they have all had a pretty good year with each of them having new and exciting experiences. Allison has was selected to join in a Robotics completion and Ethan has made great strides on the cross country team. Logan is also doing great in school.

On Labor Day, I got up early to see my oldest son Colin off on his Mission. He will be gone for two years with limited contact from his family. I have gotten a few updates from him and he seems to be doing great.

October came and with it another Harvest Homecoming. This years event was dampened due to another batch of storms that fell and plagued the first two days of the festival. The booth I worked for did all right but not as well as in years past. As October came to a close Amy and I dressed up and sat on our front porch and handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We had a wonderful time seeing all the costumes and enjoying the company of the neighbors.

All and all 2009 was a pretty good year. Of course the weather could have been better but that is out of our control. We still have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to and then will have all of 2010 to do it all again. Have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year.