As I type this morning, the house is unusually quiet. It reminds me of just a few short months ago when Charley was an infant, taking several naps per day and Curtis was spending the majority of his time at school. I cherished those moments of silence. Every seasoned Mom told me to take advantage of that time and nap myself, but I just couldn't help but to curl up in a chair and just savor the quiet...meditating, praying, and contemplating.
These days, it seems that the quiet has been replaced with the wonderful sounds of a toddler's babbling, laughter, cries for attention, and all the noise that comes with motherhood. I don't enjoy it any less, it's just different. So, now, when the quiet moments last a little longer, I'm more than willing to drop whatever I'm doing, say a prayer of gratitude, and once again savor the quiet.
Today, I can't help but to reflect on the many life-changing events that the "Prichard family" experienced in 2011. WOW! What a year! I have to be honest and say that I'm GLAD it's over, but yet I can't help but to say that more than any year we have had as a family, we were BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE.
2011....Curtis graduated as a DOCTOR of PHARMACY, became a DAD, and started a NEW CAREER! I became a MOTHER (celebrated my first Mother's Day!), AND I turned FORTY. Charley turned ONE, got kicked out of preschool (not really! :-) ), started getting teeth, and was ADOPTED into our family! And as a family, we moved to Missouri then ended up across the country in Northern California! That's a lot of change for us. I highlighted the good things, but of course, with the good, comes the hard. Leaving family and friends behind in Nebraska and Missouri was difficult. Sending Charley to daycare only to watch him struggle was sad. Seeing Charley cry because his teeth hurt was disheartening and the realization that his biological parents were giving up their rights to know and raise their child was heartbreaking. BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE. Because of Jesus, I can still say that. He was with us through the good parts and the hard parts of 2011.
I have no doubt that 2012 will bring its share of surprises and life-changing events for our family. It's just "how we roll". Our "rolling" seems smoother when we allow God to lead us in the direction he has planned for us, so..."Yep, I'm ready for 2012, Lord. Count me in!"
Love to ya!
Shell
