Is it really 2011 already?!?

courtesy: Sprik Space

Happy New Year, my friends!  I can't believe it is the year 2011.  Excuse me, but where did the last ten or fifteen years go?  Heck, where did the Christmas holiday go?!?

I still have a stack of Christmas greeting cards addressed, stamped and ready to send --  sitting on our desk.  Why can't I get my act together and remember to put them in the mail?  It is because my brain cells are going by way of the years -- faster than I would like!

A gift of love from
Doug & Katherine

Even in the wake of my Sometimer's Disease, I feel that our family has managed to at least keep our hearts and minds on the importance of the Christmas season.  In the midst of school, homeschool get togethers, endless swim practices and back-to-back swim meets since early November, we have made a deliberate effort to focus on what Jesus' birth means, not the hustle and bustle of the shopping season.  It was the Birthday of the King!  We celebrate the greatest gift all of humanity has ever been given by remembering to honor Him daily by doing our best to be Christ-centered in everything we do.  Sometimes we fail.  Sometimes we succeed.  But He knows we are trying.  I really want to create a car decal that has a cross or ichthus encircled by the phrase, "Work in Progress".  That way, when I get frustrated in traffic, the people behind me will know that I am a Christian -- but I am also human! (Just kidding, folks!)

All of this to say -- we had a very peaceful and truly meaningful Christmas.  I hope you did, too.

As 2011 gets under way and I reflect back on my personal year of 2010, I become quite melancholy -- as I assume most people do when they take a walk down memory lane.  There were some serious losses, but through those losses, I found that true friends really do know how to tenderly hold your heart and help you heal.  There were some truly exciting moments where I could barely contain my pride and admiration for our sweet daughter.  Those moments brought joy and delight, but it also brought a reminder that success is fleeting and we need to remember that it is the journey -- not the destination -- that is the most important.

I rejoyce in knowing that my close friend will be with me and her beloved family after beating breast cancer.  I continue to be in awe of her and her sweet sister-in-law who was diagnosed with a devastating bone cancer around the same time.  Individually, they are some pretty tough chicks, but together they are a force to be reckoned with!  It's gonna take a whole lot more than cancer to take these ladies from the people they love, and God has their back the entire way.  I hate that they had to have cancer, but I am truly blessed by these women who have shown me that "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me". (Phil 4:13)

2010 also brought some itty bitty blessings to our wonderful friends and neighbors:  Harrison, Elizabeth, Juniper and Caleb -- you are such happy additions to this neighborhood and our world!

I pray that each of you continues to be blessed beyond measure in 2011.  I know that as God sees fit for my family and me to stay healthy and safe, I will be grateful for His mercy and His grace!

Remember to count your blessings daily!