It was a good year...

Everyone is napping this afternoon. We spent the evening with friends yesterday, and stayed much later than we had planned. Both families had agreed that we would ring in the  NY new year and get our kids to bed at a reasonable time. Instead we left near midnight when several kids had already fallen asleep, and made it home in time for our kids to clink glasses of Shirley Temples and give New Year good-night kisses.

~~~~~

After taking down Christmas decorations a few days ago, I took the kids to the park to play and for the boys to race their cars in the open lot. A few moments after getting settled into our games, this funny little boy appeared. He was alone, very dirty and was carrying a fresh rose behind his back. He played with my boys for several minutes until his cell phone rang and he walked away mumbling something about not being able to find his friend.

We've had some gorgeous days... not what you'd expect for winter or New Years. It looks like fall and feels like spring. Yesterday, New Years Eve day, we took the kids to the pool in the afternoon. My mom told me of their snowy, picturesque day in the Gatineau Hills, and I was content with my warm, breezy afternoon. This is a sure sign to me that this place is quickly becoming home to me. I don't feel that painful tugging at my heart to be back in the only other place I'd ever refer to as "home". Here is home to me. This is an answer to a prayer that at times I had little faith would ever be answered.

(Jack was not falling... this is his "trick")

(Never to be outdone by a boy, Olivia joining her brother high up in the tree.)

As I look back over 2011, the biggest event and change was our move away from L.A. Our transition here has gone so smoothly, our church has welcomed us so warmly, and we are still in amazement at fact that we are here. After a few short months, this is home. I fail in my ability to express my thankfulness for this, but the Lord knows my heart.

A new year will bring more change~ some that will be good, and some that may be painful. God is always the giver of good things, regardless of my interpretation. In it all, I pray that my heart will ever be in the process of becoming more Christ-like.


~Katherine