Year In Review

One of my friends posted a year in review on her blog, and I found great joy reading about all their life events and how easy it was to see how God had their journey perfectly mapped out all the way - even when it didn't seem like it. One point of hers struck me.....when she was wanting to continue to be a SAHM, even in the midst of some tricky financial times , she said, " I just felt like God wanted me to ask Him for these things and not assume that He wasn't going to allow that for me."

That definitely struck a chord with me. I love her response to a desire. I assume God won't allow alot of things in my life. I assume it so quickly that I bet sometimes He's up there sayin'...."Well, you didn't even give Me a chance!" Lesson learned. Thanks, Sarah.

So, as a cathartic journey of my own, I thought I'd do my own year in review. For myself, really. For my children one day. So they can see the journey of our family and hopefully, we'll see that God was there. In it. With us. Caring about all things under the sun, even our little trials.

So....to start it off, as you know, at the end of 2008 I was expecting, and we had just sold our home we'd been in for three years. It wasn't on the market, but we were trying to find an answer to our growing family's needs. God provided a couple who wanted to pay full asking price and get in our house in 30 days. So off we went! Papers signed and no home to live in. That was a rather stressful time, and we made the hard decision to move in with Boog's parents until we knew where we wanted to go. Build, buy, what not. During that move to the in-laws, we decided to purchase 20 acres right down the road from his parents. Out in the country! We didn't know whether we were going to build on it or not, but it felt right to buy it. So we did....and continued trying to figure out what to do with our living situation.

In the midst of all that, Boog felt God leading him out of the youth ministry and into youth ministry - of the public kind. Public school. It was a hard decision because he loved his job and we honestly didn't know what the future was for him. The economy wasn't great, so leaving a job with no job wasn't a wise decision! But he stepped out in faith and God provided a man, his now boss, who was willing to give a no-experience, non-certified (but full of potential!) man a coaching position at the same school I taught. REALLY. Now that even blew me away. Talk about a faith journey! During that time, Sophie had arrived and we had made the decision to not build on the land we bought, but to move into a rent home we owned until we were at peace about what to do with our housing situation. The Shack, we called it. It was tiny. But even as sweet at Boog's parent are, moving into our own place was nice. It felt like "our home" again, even if it was 1000 square feet!

We lived in The Shack for 6 months. It was the longest six months of my life. I'm not sure if it was because of the tiny living situation, or because Boog was gone so much for coaching. I'll say it now and forever. Being a coach's wife ain't easy. They put in long hours and long weekends. I think between the months of August and November (football season) I had at least 3 ulcers in my mouth daily. (I've learned that's my body's way of telling me I'm stressed.) But football season ended, basketball began and the schedule was SO much easier. The ulcers were gone! nd to put icing on the cake, Boog got told by his principal that they wanted him to teach an elective "Bible History" class for Juniors and Seniors. The first in our school's history. That wasn't expected!

Still in our Shack, we decided to put it on the market because we finally decided, after much, much, much thought and discussion, that we wanted our girls to grow up in a neighborhood. One where you can ride bikes, go for walks, see friendly faces.....and that neighborhood was Star Harbor. A lake community that feels like it's from another era, really. Kids are running around, people are jogging, neighbors watch out for you. So we put an offer on a home and quietly worried about whether The Shack would sell. It sold in 4 days. God put a man there who wanted it right when we needed it. The loans & paperwork were rush ordered. We were in our new house by Christmas (an idea my realtor scoffed at when I first asked her, "Can it all get done by Christmas?")

We brought in the new year, 2010, in our new....well, new to us... home. We started renovating, and we have so much more to go. But I gotta tell you, I honestly think the reason why we were in the Shack was so that we can appreciate this old, outdated house of ours. We appreciate it so much. I don't even care about the avocado green sink or panelled walls. I make fun of it, but I'm so thankful to be in a neighborhood where my girls can run and play.

I'm sure 2010 will bring a whole new story for us, but hopefully none that involve the buying/selling/moving of any property! I'm thankful for my marriage, my children, my home, and the Lord who provided all our needs.