Welcome back, friends! Well, it's the Friday after Christmas and things are starting to settle down here a bit. How are things at your house?
If you're like me, it's hard to stop the Christmas time activities once you are used to them. We've eaten all of the Christmas cookies and candies, all the presents have found their permanent homes in the house, and there aren't any more cards to look forward to in the mail box. We've enjoyed warm conversations with some family and friends, soaked up the joy of Christmas music, and mused at a variety of Christmas movies. I come away thinking, "No wonder we love this season so much!"
The day after Christmas, we took down all of our decorations and the tree. Before you start yelling, "Bah Humbug, Jenni", let me explain. We decided to take down the tree right away because that's not something I want to be doing when we get back into our school routine. I needed to clean the house well while we were still on break, so that is just part of getting things cleaned. On the flip side, we put up some Valentine's Day decorations, which seemed to ease the heartache and remind us of "love"... God's love, love for family, etc.
I find that putting Christmas stuff away is extremely hard on the heart strings because our tree is decorated with a lot of mementos; especially our annual photo ornament. This year we added one of my favorite pictures of Shad on an individual frame as well as the family portrait. Speaking of Shad, I just love celebrating Christmas with a new baby in the house. It's always fun to watch them open their very first gift and you realize that by next Christmas he/she will be so much bigger. ALL the kids get so much bigger over a year's time. Kinda brings a tear to your eye!
Most of us get nostalgic this time of year and begin looking back on the previous year and forward to another fresh & new one. If I had to give 2007 a theme, I would call it our year of "New Horizons". Our 2007 began with the news that we were going to have a new baby, which was the biggest highlight of the year...and took up most of the year. Spring concluded another year of home schooling and looking forward to a new curriculum and DVD School for the fall. I have to add here that the DVD school has changed my entire schooling system and it was a much welcomed change, especially with the baby coming. Pete got a new "belly button" (or at least it still looks that way) as we experienced our first Police related injury when he got stabbed. That brought on a new appreciation for family and learning to cherish the time you have with one another! Pete and I found a newness to our marriage and celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in August this year (16 is God's number for LOVE). Our new baby arrived in late August which hosted in a bunch of "new". New sleep schedules, new responsibilities, new family dynamics, and new family goals. And, now I have new weight goals, too...LOL! This year, we also got new vehicles... some of which are no longer here such as the station wagon. We also found a new financial outlook this year and seek better horizons in 2008; hopefully finishing payments on my braces which would leave us debt free again. Life is so much better when you owe no one! In September, my new book celebrated it's one year anniversary. Two of my kids, Celeste and Titus, hit milestones as Celeste graduated as an Honor Star and Titus began attending Youth Group (say it isn't so!). A new school year began and I had another new student entering Kindergarten; one entering middle school. 2007 also marked my 8th year of teaching! Wow. This year wrapped up with one of the biggest honors for Pete... a promotion to Sergeant.
We look ahead to the new year with anticipation and wonder... new goals, new thrust, new excitement. If 2007 was the year of "Newness", I have decided to declare that we'll have a GREAT 2008!
I have also felt in my spirit that 2008 is going to be a year that the Lord is going to "restoreth my soul". I'll try to talk about that more in one of my next entries, because I feel like it's a true word for the body of Christ today. We're going to walk through the 23rd Psalm and see how this Biblical principle applies to us today... but more on that later!!
Have a blessed day my friends, filled with the anointing of the Lord. I thank the Lord for you. Start looking forward to what God is going to do for YOU and what you can accomplish for HIM in 2008!
