on living.

I've neglected my blog for a good many months now, but that is not to say that I have neglected journaling in general. This second half of the year, it has just been a lot easier to sort of "micro-blog," by way of Instagram or tiny Twitter updates. I go through phases sometimes where I want to post more bullet-type things, or just say many things in pictures. It is during those times that I give blogging here a rest.
But I do always have something to say. I have many things to share.

Every year at this time, I reflect on how my year has been (as I am sure everyone does), and for the past several years I have thought of one word to be a theme to carry me through the next year.

2012, on the whole, was a very good year from start to finish. It was not without its trials, as life is never without trials, but we definitely saw more triumphs than we did defeats. And even with defeats, I cannot really say that that is truly what they are... We always get back up after we fall. We've fallen many times. We've gotten up many times.

But 2012 was definitely a better year than the one before it. 2011, with all of its lovely good memories, also brought with it much grief and sadness. It also brought calamities and unexplainable and irrational hardship.

This year has not brought such things.

This year brought a second and third trimester of a pregnancy. Although morning sickness remained the entire time, and although my final months found me dealing with increasingly painful sciatica, panic attacks, and at the end of it all a scary spike in my blood pressure, I was able to walk through it with clarity and peace. I slowed down, enjoyed my time on mandated bed rest, laughed through one particularly potent false alarm, finished a baby-name announcement video which we all now cherish, and was able to fully prepare myself physically and emotionally for my daughter's arrival, all the way down to painting my toenails and rubbing down my swollen ankles and feet. Indeed, her birth was THE easiest I've ever had, and all of my births have been easy. (I know I have yet to share her birth story... Heck she's eight months old now as of yesterday so I might as well just wait until her birthday.)

This year my husband started a new job. It's the same line of work that he has been doing for the past several years, but a new company. And what a blessing it has been. To sit back and watch The Lord transition us and provide for us the way He has really did so much to bring peace and healing to my heart. We've seen some incredible blessings since he started this job.

One of the blessings was being able to spend time in Houston while he was working out there this summer. For the first time, we were able to join him for the duration of an assignment instead of traveling back and forth due to my job obligations. After Hope was born, I decided to leave my job teaching so that I could focus on getting better physically (my blood pressure was still alarmingly high) and also travel with my husband and stay with him. The kids and I had never been to Texas before, and we had two of the most enjoyable months we could have ever desired. We did so much, saw so much, experienced so much, and came home (after a week-long and work-related detour in New Orleans) with the most awesome memories.

This year I met new relatives, both on my side and my husband's side. And a lot of family healing and reconciliation also took place.

I added to my phone's camera roll until I had no memory left. I added to my Instagram archives until I had over 1600 photos. I witnessed a lot of blessings and favor poured onto my husband and my oldest son. I watched my small ones grow in grace, kindness and sensitivity. I watched my smallest one GROW.

And I end this year very thankful for my family, our new addition, our times of rest, our times of plenty, and even our times of lack, for I feel like we have learned even more about leaning on God and fully trusting Him this year.

And so, with 2013 looming in the next hour and a half, I am excited about putting my One Little Word for 2013 into action.

CONNECT.

I plan to strengthen my relationships, forge new ones and find creative ways to serve my friends and family. I plan to make my great marriage even better. I want my walk with Jesus to deepen in ways I never dreamed it could.

I also plan to get back to blogging here on the regular. I am happy to report that I have not lagged one bit in my Project 52! I take photos of my sweet Hope every single Monday with Niki and with my iPhone, and I have since the Monday afternoon when she was born. I will find some time to share more of those photos of her, because she is such a sweet doll baby.

I hope everyone who reads this experiences great, overwhelming joy and abundance in this new year.


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