Heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for sharing your stories this past year. I'm truly blessed to have the opportunity to shine a light on our very special communities.In 2011 my heart has been touched by two very special young people, Sophie Medlock and Masin Hawkins. Two-year-old Sophie has been such a warrior, fighting a battle with cancer while the community has rallied 'round her family. Masin, a freshman at Post Falls High School, spent months in the hospital waiting for a life-saving heart transplant, which arrived like a miracle the week before Christmas. Now out of ICU, there's genuine hope for a wonderful new year for the Hawkins family.

While the occasion was somber and heartbreaking, the homecoming of soldier Nick Newby showcased this community like none other I've witnessed in over four decades. When Nick and Nathan Beyers died in the line of duty in Iraq just after the Fourth of July, we joined their families in grief. I will never forget these young men, nor will I ever forget the sight of hundreds upon hundreds lining the streets to pay your respects when Nick came home for the final time.When the remainder of the 116th of the Idaho Army National Guard returned home from the war in September I met the buses at the Armory to give my nephew, Dallas Scharf a long overdue hug. The best hug ever.

Celebrating the beautiful Betty Owens' 104th birthday in November and the funeral of my friend and high school classmate John Mack just days ago is a reminder of the tapestry of life. Today would have been John's 61st birthday. Looking back at this column for the past year, it's always bittersweet with so many happy, exciting and heartwarming tales told and also the sad goodbyes to people who enriched our lives. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syneFor auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.***

For the 17th year the giant wreath on the side of the Coeur d'Alene Resort was created by Connie O'Neal and her husband, Danny. The boughs are hand-cut in Hauser Lake for the 4-sections totaling 25 feet in width. The sections are brought to the Resort on a flatbed truck and then lifted up to the roof of the parking garage for assembling. Enjoy your last look at 2011, literally and figuratively!***

From Facebook ... Parker Toyota has one of the best perks in a service department waiting room ... Nicci Cushman reports that customers are provided an Ipad to help pass the time while they wait for their car. And I'm thinking Gail McGaughey might hold the record locally for the largest collection of holiday nutcrackers, with six new ones bringing her total to 104! The day before Christmas Eve I posted a plea for a bicycle for a little boy whose family was having to move from their foreclosed home ... thinking that someone might have one that wasn't being used. Within 30 minutes my circle of Facebook and real life friends rallied to make Christmas happen. Thanks to all, especially Ryan Brodwater and his son, Bailey, for making a special gift of a very nice bicycle that Bailey had outgrown. I love where I live.

***Hangovers are optional to join in the fun on New Years Day in the Hangover Handicap Fun Run to benefit TESH. Then you can join hundreds of other brave or foolhardy people by jumping in the lake for the Polar Bear Plunge at Sanders Beach. At least one family will have three generations represented. Petrina Spellman and her daughters Kaitlyn, 11 and Emily, 9 will be joined by Petrina's mother, Penny. Penny hasn't let physical challenges keep her from the frigid waters, she'll use a walker to modify her plunge.

***Happy Birthday today to Chris Holloway. The effervescent Jaime Johnson along with John Martin, Kathy Baker-Carothers, Molly Shaw, Jamie Helm, Tammy Engen, Connie Haggerty, Sheila Wayman and Debbie Trimble share Thursday birthdays. On Friday Tamara Poelstra, Marsha Dornquist, Bryce Raynor and Dave Dutro will celebrate. New Year's Eve birthdays belong to Cheryl Freeman, Gloria Stuart, Sarah Hood Chase, Phyllis Koepsell, Sandy Hansberry-Thompson and Crystal Dean. On January 1 aka New Year's Day, Ron Jacobson, Jan Leaf, Kathy Edinger Dingman, Linda Jordan, Jessica Froehlich Hammond, David Attridge, Dianna Owens, Linda Cook, Holly Childers, Declan Jones, sisters Shaun Willams and Shana Crimp, along with 85-years-young Edie Miller celebrate the first Main Street birthdays of 2012. On Tuesday, Erika Umphenour, Katie Soy, Harvey Dougall and Jeff Block mark another trip around the sun. Rick and Vicki Currie and John and Kay McGruder celebrate their wedding anniversaries on New Year's Eve while Frank and Jeannie Peugh mark 49 years of marriage on New Year's Day.

***Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2011. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. More Main Street blog is at http://moremainstreet.blogspot.com. Listen to Main Street Monday on KVNI AM1080. Kerri can be reached at mainstreet@cdapress.com