dec. 29: laugh.

The best laugh I had this year was more than one. There were several. Deep, belly laughs. Laughs that shook me so hard I would almost choke. Laughs that left me needing to catch my breath. I love those kinds of laughs. They are so much more than just "lol" or "haha," or even "Bahahahaha!"

They came at the hands of my beloved family.

The time my husband and I were horsing around and he rolled completely off the bed.

All of those times I watched my daughter dance, and those times before she could jump, and she would try SO hard. To no avail.

Every time my four year-old son informed me that he is not a baby, he's "a kid." And every time he would ask me who I was texting when he would watch me on my phone those first few months. Then asking me if he could download such-and-such game because "it's got good graphics. See, look, Mommy. I really like this graphics."

Watching my daughter grab my phone and scroll through my photos, or scroll through all of the apps, or scroll through my iTunes, tapping her foot every time she skipped to a song she liked. (Funny, every time she hits a song that I want to hear, the minute I start getting into it, she skips to another one!)

And those few "Bobbyisms" that my oldest son still manages to produce at times.

Every time we sat and watched a funny movie together, such as Kung Fu Panda, for instance.

Man, there were a lot of laughs this year. I am so glad I had each and every one. And thankful for the faint lines forming around my eyes.