2008: Year in Review

This morning on NPR several commentators bid "good riddance" to 2008, a very bad year for financial markets (and political corruption, and natural disasters . . .). Thinking back on my personal experiences this year, I bid a much fonder farewell to 2008. It was a good year in the Bowles-Terry household.

Mike and I had a lot of fun following the presidential campaign. It consumed much of our free time and conversation all year long. Political drama is really some of the best entertainment available. And, as most of you know, we were thrilled with the way the campaign came out in the end and are hoping for good things in the year to come.

We took several short road trips in 2008: Carthage, Nauvoo, Chicago, (and Chicago and Chicago again), and Indianapolis. We had a wonderful visit from the Terrys in May and a fun-filled visit from my Mom and Dad in October. We spent time in Cache Valley during the summer and we're going to be there again in just a couple of weeks.

Mike has been very successful in his position at the bank, and my career as a librarian is getting ready to take off. I attended and presented at two different conferences in 2008, had a job interview and a job offer (that I didn't take), and will graduate in four months!

Our church activities have kept us busy over the past year. I lead the children's music program and love it. I'm also the pianist for the church choir and for our regular Sunday meetings. I love teaching music to the children -- I learn so much from them! Mike does a bit of everything in our congregation: he makes a lot of visits to people who need assistance, teaches in our Sunday meetings, and generally helps out wherever necessary.

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Mike's former Logan roommate, Karl, in Lafayette, Indiana where Karl is working on a PhD at Purdue. We had a fabulous time catching up with him and sharing an excellent meal.

Digging delicious cornbread/sage stuffing out of the turkey's body cavity. Yum!Karl & Mike coming up with a plan of attack for the carvin' of the bird.

We feel very blessed to have good friends in our church congregation; the George family invited us over for Christmas this year and we had a really wonderful time. We had a delicious turkey dinner, played games, and had a huge show-and-tell session of gifts received by G (6), M (4), A (2), and E (9 months). Actually, E didn't show off her toys. She got a bit overexcited and napped for much of the afternoon while we were there. :)

We wish the very best to all of our friends and family in 2009!

In Memoriam: Montague (Monty) Brough Terry

Unfortunately, I didn't get to know Monty well. We only met a few times, but I'll never forget the first time I met him. Mike and I went to Albuquerque for a visit with the Terry family and I was sort of nervous -- we'd only been dating a couple of months and it would be my first time meeting many Terry family members. Monty made me feel so welcome -- I sat down on the couch and almost immediately found 90 pounds of beagle on my lap. Unexpected, yes, but also very endearing. He was a very sweet dog. -- Melissa

Melissa's memory of Monty points to what I'll always remember most about him - his unconditional love. I'll always remember how excited he was to see me, whether it was first thing in the morning or after I had been away from home for a semester at Utah State. He would wag his tail so hard that his whole body would shake. Or if it had only been a little while since he'd seen me, if I walked into the room after being in another room for a little while, Monty would start to wag his tail. If he was laying on the floor, I'd hear the "thump, thump" of his wagging tail hitting the floor.

The most fun that Monty and I had together was on our walks. When I would put on my tennis shoes, he knew it was time to take a walk, and he would get so excited! He'd run and jump, and it was kind of hard to settle him down enough to get his leash attached to his collar. But after the pre-walk drama, we were off to sniff the neighborhood together. Some walks lasted longer than others. If something happened that Monty didn't like - if a strong wind blew in the wrong direction or if Monty spotted a hot-air balloon overhead - he'd turn around, hunker down, and drag me back to the house.

Monty, we love you and we will miss you. -- Mike

For more remembrances of Monty, see Bob & Emily's blog and Rachel & Jake's blog.

Happy Holidays!

Melissa and Mike in Chicago in August 2008

We wish all of our friends and family a very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a healthy and productive new year. We're grateful for your friendship and love.

The Wild, Wild West of Illinois Politics

Rod Blagojevich

Our esteemed governor, Rod Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-uh-vich) has apparently been trying to sell Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. Great. This is just the latest incident in Illinois's very sordid political history. My hope is that this doesn't hurt President-elect Obama too badly -- he's not implicated in the mess, but of course Fox News has jumped into the Obama angle of the story with both feet. Since I didn't grow up in Illinois and didn't take Illinois history, I need a little insight into when and why things went so wrong. Somewhere between Abraham Lincoln and George Ryan, ethics and morality completely excused themselves from politics in this state.