2013 is in the books, which makes today a good day to reflect back before I look ahead to 2014.

We had our ups and our downs in 2013. Between my wife and I, we lost several close friends and family members last year. Death seemed to overshadow life for a large portion of the year. There were days when we wondered what else could go wrong, and how we would get through the sadness and heartbreak. Would we ever catch a break?

The reality, of course, is that we had so many great things happen in 2013 as well. We had an abundance of good fortune and happiness that cannot be overlooked, no matter how bleak things seemed at times.

We moved to San Francisco.

We celebrated our first anniversary.

We had the opportunity to visit Paris.

We sold our house for a tidy profit.

I got to play in the World Series of Poker, with April cheering me on.

We were able to take our parents to Maui.

And, the single biggest source of smiles, laughter and joy for the year joined our little family when we picked up our new puppy, Aria.

Here’s to 2014 being even better than 2013!