Here's the thing, 2011 didn't suck!

It’s my first blog of 2012!  Hooray for a new year!  I’m always so tired from the holiday season that I honestly don’t ever take enough time to appreciate the new start that January 1 brings to our lives.  But as I sit down and think about it each year (a few days later), I am even more thankful for the fresh start that I get every day.  I can’t ever begin to comprehend how different things are for me since my Savior gives me a constant clean slate.  I carry my baggage and filth to the cross and He takes it away.  I don’t need a New Year to make a fresh start.  So here’s to 365 days of new beginnings!  May we all use them to bring glory to the One who sacrificed His Son so that the world might know Him and praise His name!

We ended 2011 with a big bang!  December was CRAZY!  I had several baking jobs throughout the month which kept us busy.  We had Madison’s trip to KC, the church Christmas program, I played in the family fantasy football league championship (for the 2^nd year in a row, though I sadly lost my title), Madison turned 2 (which included party to be blogged later), I had the FBC Women’s Ministry Christmas party, we celebrated Christmas at 4 different family gatherings in 4 days, then Randal turned 30 and a few days later we celebrated New Years’ Eve with a surprise party for him (which kept me extra busy behind the scenes for the entire month and will blogged about as well). Needless to say, we needed a little bit of a breather by the time 2012 rolled around.

All in all, 2011 was a good year - lots of great stuff (including my sister's wedding in Mexico!).  You’ll read here about what I was looking for last year. While I haven’t met all of my goals, I feel ok about the past year.  Yes, we had some road-blocks.  I made some bad decisions, and so did others.  But we’ve worked through it and we’ve come out ok. 

*I’m still holding on to my extra weight and working on getting my mind set to get rid of it.  It’s bogging me down and I really need to get rid of it.  Frankly, I just need to get out of bed in the morning and exercise, and I’d be doing ok.  I tend to hit that snooze button a little too often.  I may have to find a buddy to call me at 4 in the morning and get my butt going! 

*My hair is long again, thank goodness.  That short hair was a bad idea.  I love a good pony-tail.  Period.

*I’m feeling a bit more girly and accessories have actually become my friend, sort of.  I’m still struggling to be a little more adventurous, but slow and steady wins the race!

*This past year has been a learning experience for me as a Christ follower, wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.  Yes, lots and lots of learning.  The Lord has taught me some tough lessons and has fixed some big cracks.  He’s pushing me to stretch myself, dig into Him more and to not get too comfortable with where I’m at.  He’s given me incredible opportunities to do ministry with some amazing people over the last year (and some that are just starting that I’m uber excited about!).  He’s showed me just how in control He is.  He’s strengthened relationships and shown me some that weren’t very healthy.  He’s showed me just what it means to trust Him to lead and to let go of my control, which is a tough lesson to learn. 

So there you have it! As much as 2010 sucked, 2011 was great, and I’m looking forward to a fabulous, Glory-filled 2012!  My goals for this year are to get more organized, spend more precious time with friends and family, and to continue to push myself in my learning and my “big picture” thinking and follow through on the ministry opportunities that I see laying out before me now. 

Now, we’ll see if the Mayans were right or if we can make it all the way to 2013!