The Old and the New

We ended 2012 with a celebration of God's goodness toward us and our families.  The girls and Fred and I have our own New Year's Eve tradition and as we ate our seafood feast, we reflected on our gifts.  First, the gift of life.  We indeed have another year to celebrate!  I think of the year 2004 when I was very sick with my mysterious lung condition.  A top doctor at a top hospital diagnosed me with a terminal disease.  I had never heard of it, so I looked it up.  To my devastation I saw that the prognosis was poor and most people who had it did not live past 7 years.  My girls were so little!  But the doctor was wrong and God has given me many more years.  Fred's broken leg and then his surgical incident didn't stop us for long either.   I am very grateful for the full and rich lives God has given us.

We had another wonderful gathering of family for Christmas too.  Babies!  What joy in our lives!  Jordan in her Santa suit and Joey in his pjs adorned with Christmas lights. The food, the crazy chaos, the laughter, the gift wrap everywhere while Fred walked around compulsively with a black trash bag.  The week of school break brought staying-in family time with rousing games of Catan and Wizard and us overeating all the leftover snack food we normally don't have.  New Year's Day gave us dear friends who moved to California years ago, but still return to bless us with their sweet children and good friendship.  Our traditional New Year's pork loin and sauerkraut (in honor of my Polish husband) became Korean Braised Beef over rice (in honor of them). 

Then right when we were going back to work, the girls and I had fun taking care of Jordan.  Arielle and Liana are going to be great mothers someday.  They are both so nurturing and loving.  We loved on that baby all afternoon!  What a gift she is to our family!

So now we are back in our school routine, and teaching my classes at the co-op is looming.  I have yet to crack the books.  It's so hard to break out of that lazy cycle we've been indulging in.  Both girls battled with the Sabouri Brothers today as they did math and Algebra II. (Teaching Textbooks.)  Arielle has a science fair project due in two weeks, but she is distracted by a winter formal coming up.  But we remember, life is good!  Every day is good!  We've already just about used up four days in 2013!  Did we treasure each one?  Did we bless others?  Did we waste our precious time here on earth? 

My New Year's resolution comes from Proverbs 3:27 and Galatians 6:10:  "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it."  "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone..."  I don't want to withhold a blessing when it is in my power to give one.  Feel free to call me on this one if I am not doing right.  I really want to be a blessing.  Only through God's grace.

I had pictures...Blogger won't let me upload for some reason. Maybe later.