Goodbye 2009, hello 2010!

I've never really been big on New Years. It's not that I don't like it, look forward to the oncoming year, or that I don't hold any hope for the future, because I do. It's just that I guess I haven't ever really put much thought into it. Maybe it's because my years haven't been all that bad, so the prospect of a new year wasn't so grand, in that aspect? Don't get me wrong, we've struggled and had really hard and sometimes bad times, but I guess I've just always felt blessed in it, no matter what and thanked God through those times knowing that we were gonna be ok. And I guess being the 'realistic' person that I am I always knew that a new year would still possibly bring the same issues, stresses, occasional hiccups in the road and maybe even heartache. (Or maybe i'm just a negative person! LOL) And i've never been into the celebrating aspect of it. I'm not into staying up til Midnight, no matter what day of the year it is. I like my sleep! :) I can't remember a single year in my entire life where I've "celebrated" new years the traditional way. I might have stayed up til Midnight a time or two, but more so out of obligation to the holiday and my head was definitely on the pillow by 12:01. Yeah I know, i'm a bore. I'm also not big on resolutions. I mean, I've made them before, but never put the commitment into seeing them come to fruition, so...what's the point?! I've just kind of adapted the attitude that God is in control and he knows my hopes and dreams and this is HIS ride, I'm just on it. I like to try and take it one day at a time.

I am, however, always thankful for a new year in that God is blessing me with more time, something that we all take so horribly for granted. A fresh start, new memories, and all the exciting new things that a new year holds in store for me and my family.

2009 was a great year for us. Like I said, we've had our share of hard times throughout the years. If I were to be completely honest there were more hard times than there were easy, so this was definitely our year! We spent all or most of 2008 praying for a change. Praying for blessings beyond our imagination. Praying God's will in our life and in our future. And you know what happened? God answered. If you've never experienced it, it truly is nothing short of amazing to see all your prayers answered and God's will laid out in front of you and knowing you had NOTHING to do with it. And I found that that's what happens when you completely give everything you have over to God and let him do what he does best. Leaving our family and friends was certainly not what I had in mind, but our year started out with a bright new path, and for once God's plan. We made the scary move across the country with a lot of uncertainty but a whole lot of faith. And I haven't been disappointed. It's been hard and sometimes lonely, but I do not regret one bit doing what we did. So instead of resolutions, I make prayers. My prayer for our family for 2010 is that we continue to hold strong in our faith and rely on God to bless us again, beyond our wildest imagination. I pray laughter, love and happiness overflowing. And I pray the same for all of you.