2011 Year in Review

January. Always a time for me to sit back and reflect on what the past year did to my soul.

2011. First of all, I started a furniture refurbishing biz. "Goin' with the Flo" opened in April '11 at our local antique store, and I surprised myself with the fact that it hasn't done too shabby! It was a steep learning curve with pricing, marketing, etc. It's hard work, requires lots of time, but....afterall....it's been a blessing because it began with an even more soul-searching quest - saying "yes" to Uganda. (nice segway into the soul part....)

I didn't want to go at first. Then I said yes, and I worried. Constantly. Would the plane crash? Would I be left swirling in the massive ocean or die from the plane breaking up? Would my hubby mourn my loss or would he take my life insurance money, marry momma #2, and get gone? (just kiddin') But seriously, safety was a huge concern of mine. In fact, it overshadowed the reason why I said 'yes' to begin with - God told me to - and it turned out to be just what God thinks worrying is - useless.

I went. I saw. I came back ashamed, jubilant, and depressed all at the same time (is that mix of emotion possible?) Uganda struck a chord in me that needed to be played. It hasn't left my heart much at all these past months.......

The girls. Growing. Like. Weeds.
Sophie - about to turn 3 in four days. She is laughter personified. Her vocabulary has pretty much doubled in just the past month, and lucky me, we've found a skill she's really good at - cleaning up. For some odd reason, my wildest daughter excels at cleaning a room. She can do it like nobody's business......
Grace - halfway through her 2nd grade year. She reads on a 4.0 book level, has mastered the art of eating without her two front teeth (yep, they are both gone!), and has challenged herself with camping trips out in the deeeeeeeeeeeep, electricless country. Also, she has shown me that Africa wasn't just a trip that I was supposed to go on. It was one she lived through me in her little 7 year old mind, and that was a blessing to me.

The hubs. Hmmmmm. Let me start by saying we are about to have our 10 year anniversary. Ten years. Amazing. These past couple years, through our trials of homes, moving, remodeling (twice), and living to tell the tales of home remodeling, have brought us to a new place. We realize we can work together. We like to work together, and goshdarnit, we like each other's ideas (most of the time). He's improved his own craft of woodworking and has finished a few custom client pieces that are really beautiful. And, about 5 years ago, he started running. Like Forrest Gump. Now he's taken it to a new level in trail racing and has done the insane - like 100k's, 50 k's, ....added few more marathons under his belt. Even though I sometimes growl when it comes to the time spent in training, I'm proud of his dedication......and for inspiring and helping others to do the same.

We've finished the remodeling process in our current home that we plan to live in for a looong time. Yes, I said it guys. We plan on staying here (insert your remarks, but we won't laugh). .........Funny thing is though. Plans are just plans. They can change, they might not. In 2012, our family is already getting prepared to undertake one of the biggest challenges we've faced in a while.....more on that to come. But I'll leave you with an excerpt from my journal the other night.....it pretty much sums up my hope for 2012. And beyond.

"Lord, let my family be about You - in whatever package that looks like. Give us peace knowing that our decisions are Your decisions. Shed our skin so that we look more like you and less like us."