Closing out 2011

What a year.

Pregnant for most of it. The hottest summer on record. One 9lb+ baby boy debuted. A few months off work. Vegas, Austin, and Santa Barbara for romance. Charleston and San Diego with girlfriends for fun. 3rd wedding anniversary celebrated. Starbucks IV drip for sleep deprivation needed. Mavericks were the champions, the Rangers broke our hearts and the Cowboys still suck. The Dallas ice storm Super Bowl. Friday Night Lights ended, but clear eyes, full hears can't lose. News of becoming an Aunt & Uncle again. The nephew turned 2. A Yukon was purchased, and then stolen. New plumbing, new garage doors, and new AC home improvements completed. (Did I mention it was the hottest summer on record?) Weekly housekeeper became required. In-n-out burger arrived. BSF was joined. My brother became a firefighter.

It was a prayerful, patient, joyful, and overwhelmingly blessed year. As Chris and I sit here watching the ball drop on TV bringing 2011 to a close we are thankful. Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new year with new challenges and surprises. Here we go...again.

A whole new Christmas

1 year ago we had just finished a round of in-vitro, and were anxiously waiting the results. After a long time of trying, drugs and injections, dr's appointments, and surgical procedures we were worried to even hope for good news. But it came, the week before Christmas the blood test looked good. Then the week of Christmas the numbers had doubled, a positive pregnancy test. Cautiously optimistic we moved thru the holidays. We had kept this journey a secret from almost everyone. Its hard to talk about what your heart hopes for but medical science can't explain. When you feel like your body won't do what it was designed to do, when you have to have conversations about the reality that kids might not be in your future, or the realization that God's plan and your own might not be the same? Last Christmas was special because Chris and I had hope for a baby, this Christmas is special because he's here.

At Christmas we celebrate receiving an undeserving gift in Jesus. This year Christmas morning will be just the 3 of us, in our little house, with our little dog and one additional, life changing gift. Every time I find myself exhausted, frustrated, or totally aware that that life as we once knew it is never returning I look at his sweet face and think someone created this little boy and gave him to me. He's all mine. So the feeling of frustration is fleeting because I am reminded that 1 year ago he was the gift we were hoping for.