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2012 ~ My Review
I love New Years Eve. It’s a day to really reflect on the good, bad and the ugly of the past year and dream about the year to come. No matter the trials, I always come to this day knowing I’ve learned something new and grown closer to being the person I’d like to become. I may need to live to 100 before I get there, but progress is progress!
I leave 2012 with a mixture of emotions. This is the year I’d most like to put behind me, but it’s also the year I never want to forget. In 2012 relationships with friends and family were strengthened. I saw people who I love take great steps of faith and bravery. I watched in awe as God’s love shone from people who love Him. And I was changed by experiences, humbled and broken and blessed.
There were also places in 2012 were we had to dust off our sandals and move on, leaving behind relationships that were only harmful. People are not disposable, but there are circumstances when the best move is to move on. This is done with forgiveness in process and only good wishes for everyone’s future.
So, beyond the big lessons of 2012 we have the moments. All those segments in time that give us memories and stories we will share for the rest of our lives. Here’s a few:
Aleasha had her twelfth birthday.
Joshua stepped out and tried two new sports during his freshman year of high school. He wrestled in the winter and threw javelin in the spring. Each week he threw that javelin farther, impressing his coach and his parents.
Ryan stepped out and tried tennis. He and his doubles partner, Trevor, had a lot of fun regardless of the rain. And there was much rain!
Emma turned eleven.
We welcomed a new nephew to the family!
Jason got a year older and I stayed the same age.
Joshua discovered that he loves welding and wants to do something with this in his future.
The kids showed sheep, pigs and steers in the county fair.
Ryan started his senior year, turned eighteen and voted in his first election.
Aleasha and Emma started taking a few classes at the middle school. They’ve made new friends and excelled academically.
Aleasha played a LOT of volleyball!
Bella didn’t have any major accidents.
I signed with Karen Ball of the Steve Laube Agency. What an honor!
Ryan put many hours into a barn he was building for his senior project. We had a major wind storm and down came the barn!
Jason was Ryan’s helper on the barn project. He earned the title of “Chuck Monkey” for his mad bit changing skills.
Joshua decided to give football another try, and he did great! He played hard for the JV team and was able to play enough varsity to earn his first letter.
Ryan’s soccer team, short on players but long on dedication, took their season all the way to the state championship. And they WON! An awesome punctuation for his senior year.
Kit Kat passed away with the honor of being the oldest cat ever. We’re not sure how old she was, but seriously, that was an OLD cat.
Joshua turned sixteen!
Ryan and Jason took off the night of Christmas and traveled with the basketball team to Alaska for a tournament. They are on the way home as I type this.
I know I’m forgetting so many things! As usual, our year was full. Thank you to each of you who were a part of our lives this last year. May 2013 be a year of blessings, friendship and love!
Christina
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How Did I Get Here?
Yesterday my oldest child became an adult. In many ways, I still think of myself as this age. So how did he catch up? Or, how did I get this old?
I’ve loved the last eighteen years. Being a mom is a huge blessing. It’s not as easy as the baby commercials make it look. In fact, it’s brutally hard. It will break you heart, drop you to your knees, and make you like a two-day old kitten placed in the middle of the freeway. Completely vulnerable.
Parenting has also stripped away many of the trait that kept me from knowing God. At eighteen I was fully selfish. I wanted my way, and I really didn’t give much thought to how that effected others. My world revolved around my needs and wants.
Funny, I wasn’t really happy then. In fact, I wasn’t happy at all until I was blessed with others to serve. My eighteen year-old self would gag at that thought, but the forty year-old only laughs.
That eighteen year old didn’t know ANYTHING!
What a blessing to see that my son is nothing like I was.
The picture below is from yesterday’s party. This is just a fraction of the “family” God has blessed me with. How awesome is that?
Forty’s not so bad.
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How We Became Redneck Ranchers
Question: What’s worse than a child running into the house yelling that the steers are out?
Answer: A child running into the house yelling that the steers are GONE!
That’s how we were greeted not too long ago. Of course, it was a morning where we had somewhere to be.
Inspection of the steer pen revealed that they had broken a board leaving a gaping hole. And…the feed from the night before was still there. They must have made their escape soon after feeding time. Twelve hours is a very long time to wander. Visions of the beasts marching through town made my stomach twist.
We scoured the property for any sign.
They’d been in the garden. My broccoli…Gone!
To our great relief it seemed they’d headed for the west end of the property. Hundreds of acres would come between them and civilization.
Our oldest son took off running, the younger son took the quad, oldest daughter saddled the horse, and the youngest hopped in the truck with us.
Behind our property dirt roads twist around poking out here and there into various field. So many routes they could have taken. What a wonderful sound to hear one of the kids scream that they’d spotted them!
There they were, on a narrow path near the river. My oldest son haltered one, and we began the long walk home.
With the steers back home (I think they were happy to be back too), we repaired the fence and moved on with the day.
Wouldn’t you know it, they broke out again only few days later. My husband only had time for a quick repair because the sun was setting.
This is what I saw the next morning:
Yes, that is a Suburban blocking the hole. Classy, huh?
The fence is REALLY fixed now. On to other adventures.
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Beginnings Gone Bad
The other day, my oldest daughter came in from feeding the steers with a surprise. Deep in the bottom of the bucket she carried was a tiny bird. He chirped and flopped, opening his beak until it became a waiting funnel for food. With only a tiny bit of fuzz on his head and bottom, there was no way we could identify what kind of bird he was.
This is the best picture I could get with my limited photography skills Somehow this little guy ended up on the dirt road between our house and barn. There are no trees on this route and my daughter couldn’t find a nest anywhere. How did he get there? We’ll never know.
In our area we have a wonderful resource for circumstances like this. We took the bird to the wildlife center where they will care for him and help him grow into the bird he was made to be. While we waited for a worker to come to the door, we met a woman and her son. They had brought in a baby chipmunk. I’d never seen one this small. What a cute little critter.
So, I’ve been thinking about the bird. We’ll call today and see how he’s doing. But what I’ve been pondering is the birds beginning. Circumstances weren’t too good when he found himself alone on a road with no way to keep himself warm or feed himself, but along came my daughter with her caring heart.
The world is full of people who had rough beginnings, but that doesn’t mean the story will end tragically. God heals broken hearts. He restores lives.
