A Year In Review

A year in review... That's what my hubby Pete likes best about New Years Eve... the flashbacks to the year gone by.

I reckon it can be good to look back at our own year, not for long, but just long enough to appreciate all that has been achieved in the last 365 days.

I can sometimes feel like another year has passed and not much in life has changed or improved. Focus may have been in the wrong place or lots of other, more important things have cropped up.

2009 for our family began quite memorably with Pete saying 'can we leave this conversation for another day, it's almost 4am!!' Now that was a fun night. The year continued with my confirmation of MS and starting on the recommended medication. We've moved house almost twice staying at friends for the 24 hours we had no house, children went with Pete to home ed camp, we had a term of choir, 2 lots of swimming sprints in school holidays, long drawn out settlement finally settled 3 months late losing thousands of dollars, my fathers estate finally sorted, I joined and participated in the local monthly home ed group, Pete and I attended a 2 day home ed seminar in September, Timothy has learned to walk, graduated to a single bed, Melinda can now read and is reading well, we ran and participated in home ed art and craft classes for 6 weeks, went camping for the first time in 6 years, I made half a dozen or more new and wonderful friends, our children have made friends with their children, we changed churches, Melinda has been at Girl's Brigade for 3 terms and Nathaniel at Boys Brigade for the same 3 terms, I had a slipped disc twice (not aiming for that next year!!), We've been researching traditional God given foods and are now drinking raw milk instead of powdered - a massive price difference but worth the benefits, have upped our egg and fat consumption massively and a whole lot more, have started market trips at least fortnightly, 'bought in' to the local community garden and started seedlings for it, experienced a trip to emergency when Melinda came off the scooter and greeted the concrete with her forehead, got a back-log of paperwork done, paid thousands off debt, washed dishes for 10 weeks while we waited for the dishwasher to become installed, started a blog, walked with friends by the local section of Dandenong creek for hours, travelled to Queensland by car for a 2 week family holiday/business conference. Pete and I have enjoyed what may well be our best year of marriage thus far. Friends have had babies, some you wouldn't think could survive but with Gods blessing are thriving, We've cooked meals for families through various house moves, illnesses and busy lives and made dear friends in the process with one family in particular. God is Good!
These are just the things that come to mind as I type, so I'm sure there's a whole bunch more!

When I read this list, instead of wondering where the year went, I am amazed we survived. Oh what a year. I can only imagine what God has in store for us in 2010 and trust that He will continue to provide the strength needed to travel this moment in time that is life on earth.

PS... (Jan 2) There's also been 2 family weddings, Melinda a flower girl at my mothers, a formal girls only dinner party for 10 and reconnecting with many friends from years gone by courtesy of facebook!