another year past...

we are staring down our noses at 2012... sometimes I can't believe it, I still remember the millennium like it was yesterday and here we are 12 years later!? I guess I am getting older.

Last year I wrote a poetic tale of our lives over the last 5 years, and I spoke about the wonders that the suffering has given us. Now as I sit here, thinking over 2011 I realize that what I thought was blessings last year has paled with comparison to the year we have just traveled. Tim and I joked last year that 2011 would be a year to rest, and this year I know better than to say the same. 2011 we walked our son through yet another open heart, we cared for our youngest through some scary asthma attacks and allergy troubles, but more importantly we fell more in love with eachother and our kids, we continued to build a home together and make it both safe and comfortable for the boys. We made new friends, we were blessed by old friendships and saw those friendships grow deeper. We laughed, a lot. We cried, but we knew joy despite circumstance, and we felt God closer to us than ever before. We have seen miracles in our lives, and in the lives of our friends, we have seen God's face, known his comfort, presence and peace and we have come to know a deeper, more meaningful faith. We have heard our youngest speak his first words, and we have discovered that our oldest has a voice too, and we have enjoyed listening to his thoughts. We have spent quiet nights reflecting on life, love and hope and we have begun to learn what prayer really is, what it means, what it's purpose is and through it we have begun to know a fuller life.

2011 is over, in a few hours it will be the past and we will begin to look once again into the face of the future and as we do we will do it knowing that whatever happens this year, good or bad, we will sit down in one year and know that we are blessed, loved and tucked safely in our Father's arms.

May you each find the blessings of 2011 and move with hope and peace into 2012! Happy New Year!