So Long, Farewell...

I don't think I've ever been more excited to start a new year.  2011 wasn't bad, I had some great high points but for some reason I found 2011 more stressful than not.  I think I felt like I rushed through the entire year and by the time I got to December I was completely exhausted.

To be perfectly honest, I'm looking forward to 2012 and truthfully asking God for a year filled with more peaks than valleys and more time to spend with my family.  I am asking for a year to be more relaxed and joy-filled rather than rushed, stressed and tired.   

Rather than dwell on valleys, here are my peaks of 2011 –

In April Matt and I celebrated our 3^rd wedding anniversary.  I know it’s not that long in the scheme of things but this year was a blessing for us as a married couple.  We realized this year, more than any I think in the course of our relationship that being married to your best friend is simply the best thing in life.  We were reminded this year that love is more than how you feel about someone or what they look like or what they have or don’ t have.  It’s about making promises and keeping them and about listening, caring and giving whether you get it in return or not.  Marriage is about loving another as Christ loves you.  As I grow older and we are married longer, I will never go one year without counting our anniversaries as a peak in any year no matter if it’s good or bad. 

On a very early morning in June I drove 2.5 hours to Wichita and arrived sometime around 3:30 a.m. at the hospital to sit with my family and wait for my sweet nephew’s arrival.  I was so happy to be there when Jackson Paul was born! I saw his birth and saw him take his very first breath.  It was a wonderful moment I will never forget and God blessed me with the ability to be there.  I love being Aunt Po Po J

In October Matt and I took a two week vacation to the UK.  I love my husband! He makes all my dreams come true! We spent two weeks wondering around the Highlands of Scotland, I fell in love with Edinburgh – a town where it rains most of the time and the sun only comes out once a day.  I half jokingly tell Matt we will move there someday. 

I gasped in wonder of stepping out of a subway station and walking out into London.  I saw paintings and scenes I have only seen or read about in books and sipped coffee as I walked down 1000 year old streets.  I think it only made me want to travel the world more and Matt and I have made a deal that we will do it as much as we can.

I’m looking forward to 2012 with lots of hope and more peaks and while there will be valleys, hopefully they’ll be green. 

Happy New Year!