A few (a lot of) pictures to sum up our Christmas festivities! People and food pics all rolled into one!  (And one added goal for the new year is to have Seth take more pictures so I am actually in some! My kids might think they had a single parent Christmas based on the photographic evidence. I hope they recognize my hands working in the kitchen)

Lots of fun memories with family and delicious meals!  Looking forward to a Texas Christmas next year!

I have sat down a few times now to crank out “our year in review” and have come up empty. A few days ago I looked through the calendar of our year and it has once again in true Kolb-style been a wild ride. We started the year by meeting with a realtor, which led to putting in an offer on a foreclosure and eventually getting the home. That mixed in with preparing for a move, living life to the fullest in our last months in Switzerland followed by diving right in here, preparing for Kindergarten, two broken limbs, a miscarriage, birthdays, lots of laughs, a few lot of cries, and so much in between. 2012 is memorable like all of the years before.   It wasn’t predictable and I think at my ripe old age I am beginning to realize it never will be. Routines roll into new routines, boys outgrow habits and clothes, grey hairs increase. Life is dynamic and there is no stopping it. There is no waiting around for things to feel settled or to slow down. There is just the need to learn to enjoy it as it comes. Which at times in our house feels to be at break neck speeds.

In the new year I have very few new goals…most roll over!

1. Carving out times for quiet to have the time to grow and to see the fruits of spiritual growth.

2. Always working on getting/staying in shape and losing weight. Guessing I will think about it the day I die and still not have let that one go. Hoping to have a healthier view of it all.

3.Working on having more patience with the boys and not raising my voice!

4. Taking a photography class

5. Fostering meaningful relationships. Not the side salad type, more the steak type. I want to pour into others and get to know them for real. I have the treat of having people in my life like this already but we are in a new neighborhood and essentially a new church since there are so many people we don’t know.

6. Getting back into writing notes and doing more thoughtful things for Seth. When we were dating and prior to kids I was so much more creative and thoughtful. I loved surprising him with a note in his briefcase or his favorite meal. Survival mode with tots sort of  reduces taking the time to step back and take the time to do the extras.

7. Doing projects and creative things even if I don’t think I will be good at them. I have a sewing machine and fabric for a little curtain…and yet it sits. I hate doing things I will likely fail at.  I know I won’t be good at many things and that is why we are blessed with friends with varying  skills and talents…but I want to not avoid things just because they aren’t my strength.

8. Letting myself be silly with the boys. Laughing at their jokes, listening better to their stories (not encouraging the abridged version), racing them to the mailbox, reading more with them…

I am cautiously optimistic about the new year. I am tempted to hang on the tails of 2012 just because a whole new year feels a bit intimidating. In the past I was optimistic about an upcoming year particularly if it wasn’t slatted for an international move combined with being 8 months pregnant or caring  for a newborn. I think I am in the clear on that possibility but I don’t pretend to know what to anticipate anymore.

One thing is for sure, we will learn and grown and change and we will be guided and provided for by our faithful Lord. We have seen His faithfulness in years past and we wait in expectation to see what he has in store for our family this year.