So Long....Farewell

Whew.....what a year this has been. I don't typically just post my thoughts without pictures on this blog, but I thought....why not? Tonight I sat down to think about all that has happened to myself and my beloved family over the past year. We have been through so much as a family, it's almost overwhelming to think about all of it at once. Michael didn't work at all in 2009, but that doesn't mean he wasn't crazy busy. He proved himself to be the best student and graduated nursing school with a GPA of 3.69....pretty impressive if you ask me!! We welcomed our fifth child to this beautiful family, little Esme' Lucille. Ava started preschool....Elijah started piano lessons....Jack, Eli and Ava started AWANA.....these are just to name a few.

When the 2009 began, I couldn't even imagine how it would end. I would have guessed that we would be homeless (living at my parents) and stressed out to the max. Plus, never in a million years would I have guessed that we would have added another baby girl to our family. Boy, was I ever wrong!!! To be honest, I have never been more thrilled to be wrong about something. God has blessed us so much with our faith, wonderful family and better friends than I ever imagined I could have. Don't get me wrong, this past year wasn't without stress and situations that I would never have chosen for my family. Having said that, I do believe that it was one of the best years we have had together. Never before have we relied so heavily on the Lord (I get it God, you were trying to teach us something...still are!) There is something magical and precious about sitting in a circle on the living room floor, all holding hands, praying to the Lord. God does tell us that where ever two or more are gathered together in His name, He is there! We trust that! With all of our financial downfalls right now, we truly are not stressed about it. Actually, we rarely even talk about money. We have learned that material things are much less important than we once thought. Does that mean that I never stress out or that I don't ever long to have new clothes, or a great picture to hang on the wall? NO! But it does mean that when the day is done, and I don't have those things....it's alright. What matters most to me is that I have a beautiful room waiting for me up in heaven where I will spend eternity someday....that's a LONG TIME! It's even more important to me that my children understand this.

This has been a big learning year for me and my family. We are still so far from having it all together, but we're getting there! There are still those days when we bicker and fight, or Mommy freaks out because the floor isn't clean. But, I'm trying to be a bright light in this dark world for all to see. Recently Michael and I ran into an old friend at Target and he said "when you're on your way to heaven, will it really matter that you had crumbs on your floor." So, whether it be crumbs or clothes...I'm trying to just let go. When the times arise that I can't seem to let go, and I do indeed freak out, I've learned to ask for forgiveness and to forgive myself.

Whew...that was probably a lot of rambling, sorry if I made no sense whatsoever. So, back to 2009....so long and farewell. We look forward to the next year to see what the Lord has in store for us, I trust it's going to be well worth it!