A New Year

Tomorrow is the last day of 2008. I've always hated the end of one thing and the beginning of something else. Like in school, I always hated writing AUGUST on my papers and such. Because it just felt like FOREVER until June when the school year was over. Well, it's the same for January. I think it's my least favorite time of the year.

So much as happened in 2008: We moved to Colorado, Ben has accomplished 1 full year of school, my brother was in the ICU for a month and then made a totally recovery, my brother and sister-in-law also had a baby.... so much! I'm sorta sad to see 2008 go.

What's going to happen in 2009? A friend of mine once said that the odd years are always the best ones. So maybe 2009 is going to be great. There is a lot of excitement when starting a new year; a clean slate and all. But I tend to look at the new year and look straight at the end of it and think about all that we have to accomplish and it looks a little daunting.

God is in control. And not matter how daunting 2009 looks, God has his best for me and it's more than I can imagine.

Here's to 2009. Only God knows what it will hold.

Isaiah 55: 8-9:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

How to cope

I have been so excited about being with my parents this next week. I am still excited, but today I'm starting to feel a little sad. Because as soon as they come, they'll be gone again. I don't get to see them very often, maybe 3 times a year if I'm lucky. So I'm just a wave of emotions today (could also be PMS, but that's beside the fact ~ hee hee).

So my question to you is... How do you deal with all this? I know I just have to enjoy the time they are here and not think about them leaving. I am also praying that the time will go by slowly. I almost feel like it's a carrot dangling in front of me that's gonna get pulled away soon.

I am blessed and thankful they are coming and we can have Christmas with them. I am also thankful the weather looks clear on both ends so they won't have any problems with flights. I am also happy that they are here for a whole week and not just a short weekend like our usual visits are.

God is good all the time and I think I just need to remember my time, my family and my life is in his hands. And most of all he knows the deepest desires of my heart.

A Christmas Carol

The Christmas Carol is a old Charles Dickens tale. And if you have never seen the 1951 version, called Scrooge (or A Christmas Carol), I highly recommend it. It is a favorite in our family. Yes, it's in B&W and the sound is horrible, the special effects are horrible, and you can see the camera man more than once in the mirror. But the message is incredible. Something you WON'T here in a Hollywood movie today.

It was a very busy weekend. We got a ton of wood from our friends in Lafayette on Saturday. Ben brought it all up and it literally filled our living room floor. (Pic to come!) We are so grateful for it. It's so nice (and cheaper) to heat the house with a nice fire!

On Sunday we spent the afternoon with our other friends just having pizza and watching my 1951 A Christmas Carol. I love that movie! (Did I say that already). In the evening Ben and I watched a few movies and had a nice fire going.

Christmas is just a few days away and My parents are coming! And our guest bathroom toliet is possessed. So if you think about it, please pray that the apartment complex will fix it for the 4th and hopefully final time!

MERRY ALMOST CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Fridays & Babies

Why do we love Friday's so much. I just wake up in a better mood on Fridays! There's no traffic, I get out of work early, I can wear jeans... It's just great! On Friday nights I just love getting into bed knowing that tomorrow is Saturday, I don't have to get up for anything~ ok the dog gets me up at 6:30a but I stay in my pjs as long as possible! It's not an uncommon sight on Saturday mornings to see me in my P.J.s doing laundry, cleaning house, making breakfast, taking the dog out... I feel my Saturdays last longer when I'm in my PJs. Sigh....

Ok, so you are probably wondering why I mentioned babies. NO I'M NOT...! But it seems like EVERYONE around me is!! I swear I know like 20+ people who are either pregnant or has had a baby in the last 6 months! There must be something in the water! Like my mom said the other day we are all in that stage of life. I remember the year after I graduated college there were like 10 weddings I was invited too, 5 I was in! So life goes in stages....

My friend Vanessa just had a baby yesterday (congrats V), My friend Claudia is due in a few weeks, several girls from college are ready too pop. My own brother and sister-in-law just had a baby too. My friend Becca (no not either of my sister-in-laws) is going to have a baby in March. My Small Group leaders from our church in San Fran are at the hospital right now! I have at least 16 facebook friends in baby mode! Anyone I'm forgetting?!? OH MY GOODNESS!

This is my niece, Rachel Lily!

Well like my wonderful hubby suggested... We're just going to get another dog.

A Land Mark Day

So I'm not a great writer by any means so please excuse the lack of creativity and all the grammatical errors. Writing is Ben's department.

Today marks 1 year since God sent Ben and I to Denver and I feel I need to start sharing all the blessing God has done and is doing. I have been feeling so grateful and so humbled looking back on this past year and the years before and seeing how far we've come. I am humbled by God's goodness and grace and grateful for his provisions and answering prayers I was afraid to pray.

Last August Ben and I made a decision to start praying about what God wanted with our lives. We were not happy where we were and we knew if we didn't start seeking direction we were going to get stuck in a rut that so many people around us were in.

So Ben, after the process of elimination, decided that Counseling was best suited for him. He had been doing it his whole life anyway and he loved helping people. In September we visited Dallas Theological Seminary and Denver Seminary.

You know that feeling you get when it's right... that "I'm home feeling". I've felt that feeling at so many critical times in my life and I believe it is God saying.."Yes this is where I want you." Well when we got off the plane in Denver I got that feeling. It hit me like a ton of bricks (and brings me to tears just thinking about it). I wanted to start this new adventure with Ben in Denver.

When Ben and I said "Hineni"(Here I am, send me) God opened up the doors for us. Ben and I made it through some tough times. We mustered the faith to fill out the applications and send them in. The day Ben got his acceptance letter to Denver Seminary, my mom was there too, this wave of emotions came over me. I felt freedom and hope and such joy. I knew this was the beginning of our adventure.

Here is a "short" list of all the things God has done for us since we said, "ok God"

• Ben and I have been safe and healthy... no allergies, never sick, never in need of a Dr. (esp seeing we were without health insurance for quite some time).
• Ben has gotten 2 jobs right away when we needed them. He got an Apple position right when we moved out here and then Starbucks when we needed the insurance (and free coffee and tea).
• I got a great job that provides flexibility and finances.
• God brought a puppy into our lives that brings laughter and joy beyond words.
  
• We have never gone without! Ben and I are great savers, but even with all the expenses of moving and school, God provided abundance.
• Ben has been working so hard and He has been getting amazing grades.
• God provided a mentor for Ben so he didn't have to go looking for one.
  
• God provided an academic advisor for Ben who is so encouraging and helpful and available
• God provided a great internship for Ben that he will be starting in January (he was 1 of 20+ applicants)
• God provided a Jeep for Ben at the right price in the right time with all the trimmings!
• God provided a buyer for Ben's Miata at the right price and timing.
• God has put amazing friends in our path that we can count on.
• God has provided a church that feels like a home!
• Jefferson County has an amazing library with a wonderful DVD selection so we're saving $$ on Netflx fees!!! hee hee

The list could go on and on. What I want to share from my heart is that I am so proud of my amazing husband! He is growing so much here. And I am so thankful to God for setting us on this adventure and preparing every step of the way.