I can honestly say that 2011 contained both the worst of life and the best of life. But I'd say it was a good year because our family has experience the refining that only The Lord can offer. God has shown Himself mightily this year. There has been sadness but great joy. But I feel like we are "on track" and though we aren't exactly sure what this next year will hold (who is?), I know we are where God wants us to be at this moment. Praying that next we can say the same 365 days from now! So without further rambling on my part, here is a summary of 2011 for our family.
The was the year of:
The Baby. A baby is an inestimable blessing and I do not take my five children for granted. Jacob is an answer to prayer and has been added to what is on loan to us from The Lord. What a loving and generous God He has been to our family.
The Goodbye. Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. I miss my mom so much--more as time goes on. But I know that she is in the most beautiful of gardens and that I will see her again. God is good all the time and this is part of His plan. And I'm ok with that even though I miss her. Grief is a part of life and it isn't meant to destroy us but to draw us closer to Him. I'm choosing to submit to that.
The Broken Bones. Reese broke her arm in May. Hailey broke her ankle in October. Three weeks later Paige broke her ankle. Our orthopedist's office got to know us quite well. May we never see their friendly faces again!
The Family Integrated Church. Only God could have led us to our new church home. We have not formally joined yet but I'm sold. It takes us out of our comfort zone and that's a very good thing. We have met some very nice like-minded families and that has been an enormous blessing on so many levels. I'm so excited to see even more revelation from God in this upcoming year. I want Him to pour that wisdom on.
The Urban Egg Farm. Started the year with 4 birds, lost one to a raccoon (still plotting my revenge...hehe), had the fun of raising 2 more chicks, ended the year with 5 chickens. Not sure how many eggs we harvested but I did not have to buy any eggs from the store for a good 7 months! I'd say The Chicken Project has been a smashing success.
The Hottest Summer Ever. I would like a t-shirt that says "I survived the summer of '11 heavily pregnant" Our lawn may be done in, there is a possibility the foundation of our house cracked (we don't want to know yet), tears were shed upon opening the electricity bill each month, and
no one (not even me who is the supreme hater of inclimate weather) has complained about our cold and wet winter. The hottest summer ever led to:
The Fire. One of the most terrifying moments in recent memory was smoke filling our street and ash raining down on us as we frantically packed our cars before fleeing from a fire of unknown size and proximity. I'm an East Coaster and we don't do fires well. Hurricanes, yes. Fires,
NO. Seeing all of the heartbreak from the worst wildfire season in Texas history was sobering.
Those are the highlights from 2011. Each member of our family has their own list of things that stand out from lost teeth to AWANA awards, from a job promotion to memorizing addition facts. We are starting this year out stronger in the Lord and ready to go where He wants us.
Praying for everyone a wonderful twenty-twelve
