Holiday Recap

This is an attempt at documenting our life, so it's not an exciting post by any means.  I just want to recap the 2011 holiday season.

In just two days I will be back at work.  This break has simply disappeared!  Some people say they get bored during the holiday break, but I can definitely say when I am home I am ten times busier.  I have not enjoyed a bored day yet since my lists of to-dos don't ever seem to let up!  :)  Pinterest doesn't help me in that area either.  ;)

Christmas was so much better on my heart this year.  Last year was such a blur, I can only sketch together pieces of the season.  I am most grateful for the JOY that the Lord has restored to us this year.

We still 'minimalized' Christmas between the two of us, but we enjoyed several family celebrations.  Sadly I was out of it and did not document the season with pictures.  Oh well.  There's always next year. :)

I spent a day in Brady with my sister's family and the Shuffields before Christmas, which was so nice!  Chet could not join me due to work (more on that later).  He missed everyone, but will certainly be there next year!  My nephews are at the age that Christmas is magical, which is so fun to be a part of.  The Shuffields treat us like royalty...a family we treasure.  I realized on my drive home from Brady again just how blessed I am to have such precious families in our lives that are Family.

Christmas day was wonderful and simple.  We woke up to a beautiful white landscape and made breakfast in bed.  Chet and I spent the whole day together and loved sharing couple time.  He even helped me in the kitchen baking for several hours.  :)  I am hoping this is the last Christmas we ever have to wake up late and have a quiet house though!  We went to Holden's gravesite and reflected for a little bit.  Although we still cried, it was not because we would ever take Holden away from celebrating Jesus' birth in the very presence of Jesus Christ.  It was simply because we missed our 16-month toddler celebrating with us.  

The next day we had Chet's family Christmases.  That morning we met at Trey and Carrie's beautiful new home for the Erwin Christmas.  Then we all headed to Connie's amazing Winter Wonderland house for the Sterling Family Christmas, where we enjoyed very yummy Mexican food (quite possibly the best holiday meal I have had in a while)!  Must be pregnant since I am mentioning the food before anything else, huh? ;)  It was the first holiday since I have known Chet that every family member was present, which was special to see.  We also participated in the traditional gift exchange, a Chinese gift exchange and a fun game Shea came up with.  Chet's nephews, niece and cousins' kids are all getting so grown up.  It was a good day to visit with the family, and I especially liked getting to have lunch in the living room with Brooke and Carrie for 'girl time', since the tables were all taken up.

Chet surprised me with an offer to paint the nursery (this is big, as much as he hates painting), so he sent me to Dallas to visit Brittney and Blair for a couple of days last week.  I always love to catch up with two of my closest college friends!  I arrived home to a very bright nursery.  (I like the color...it's just going to take some getting used to since it's brilliant.)  It has been a slow process in our hearts getting ready for this baby, but a painted nursery makes me feel more ready to start tackling the rest of her nursery.

We spent the last few days and New Year's weekend sifting/sorting through our entire house cleaning and organizing.  I had a mild (OK major) panic attack on Friday upon my return home from Dallas, when I realized we were going to [Lord willing] bring our daughter home in about 11 weeks.  I almost wanted to sell our house and move, just so that we would be forced to organize everything.  (I have a theory that we should pack up our entire house every 4 years, as if we are moving, and then move back in.  This would keep us a lot more aware of the enormous amount of stuff we have!)

I have always been one to keep an orderly home, but this last year of my life has been so disheveled and crazy.  As much as I would like to blame the awesome emergence of Holden Uganda's growth, on top of regular lives and jobs, I simply cannot.  2011 and I were a little out-of-sorts with each other, and it showed in the fact that nearly every closet and drawer in my house was "the junk drawer".  Ugh.

I woke up today with such a renewed mind, as I walked around with my coffee and realized our home is much more back to normal again.  When my home is in disarray, it feels like a 'house'.  Today it is home.
I am so grateful that the Lord cleaned out my heart in many ways last year, more than anything physical could ever amount to, but I am also grateful that I can breath easier in the fact that my home and life are going to get back to organized as well.  My biggest goal for this upcoming year is finding the right balance between "Martha and Mary" (thanks Jaci!).  I want my main focus to be on the eternal, yet still have a place here on earth that is welcoming, warm and inviting.  I believe much of my stress over the year has been due to the fact that I could not stay on top of our lives, as I once was always able to.  And I also know that my life is not going to slow down with a baby...

The Lord has given us a huge gift in the stewardship of Holden Uganda, and we are excited that there are even bigger plans for HUF in 2012 than 2011.  (yikes!)  Many fabulous changes are happening in our family right now, and I look forward to this new year with such joy!!  Chet has been blessed with a new job opportunity (starting soon), one that we are incredibly grateful for.  God's provision over us is always greater than anything I could ask for or even dream up.

There are two words I can use to sum up 2011:  restored joy
There are two words I can use as I anticipate 2012: His faithfulness

We pray that 2012 is a year that the Lord's blessings are showered on our dear family and friends!!  I want to write one thing to my new Hope Mommy friends:  God is the same today as He was at the beginning of time.  His plans are perfect for you.  As impossible as it may seem now, I believe that you too will look back in a year and understand how things (painful, awful things) are what will draw you closer to Him.  You will have joy restored.  Christ's love for us never ends.  I appreciate my "mentor" Hope Mommies sharing this with me a year ago...so I want to share it with you.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17