A few words that come to mind that would describe this year, blessed, exciting, growing, challenging, busy and most definitely treasured. There is no easy way to bundle one whole year up in a short post, but I always try. I will go off whatever comes to mind as soon as I glance back in time.
My babies- boy have they grown, not only physically but mentally and spiritually. They bring us so much joy; on daily basis we learn something new about each one of them. Bella has been blossoming into loving, caring, and kind little girl. She is also a great student, eager to learn (most of the time) and constantly wants to be read to (our little book worm). She knows how to sound out words and read them, but is a bit uninterested at the moment to actually read on her own. Joshua is just a great ball of fire that is constantly on the move. His vocabulary has grown tremendously and he just wants to love everyone around. He loves to sing and each song comes out beautifully 🙂
Work- it has been a busy year for both Barry and I. He keeps expending Spotlight Marketing and I officially began homeschooling my two precious bundles. I also decided to run a small nonprofit organization, Sweet Bubblegum Drops from which the proceeds go towards rescuing people from human trafficking. It’s thrilling, time consuming but yet very rewarding. We are both looking forward to what God will do through our efforts in all of the fields in our life.
Hobbies- I will proudly say that I have finished my first painting since having children and I am absolutely in love with it. Barry and I have also done quite a bit of running and riding. I am a proud finisher of two marathons and one half this year. I would have never believed if someone told me that I would run two marathons in one year, only God knows the pain and sweat behind it. Barry and I ran California International Marathon together just a little bit over a month ago, in very cold weather conditions. We are definitely glad we ran it together but are not opposing to stopping such long distances for a while.
Service and growth- going into 2013, we both knew we wanted to make some changes in our life when it came to serving others and growing in Christ. At the end of this year, I truly feel like we have accomplished our goals, although I always feel like we could have done more. We have made serving a huge priority and with God’s help, we have witnessed miracles and major growth in our walk with our Father. It’s amazing when you pray to God to mold you into His tool that will only glorify His name. He definitely holds His promises and it was absolutely amazing to look back and see where we have come from and where we are today. My desire every single year is to be more and more like Christ, to love, to forgive, to overlook some things in people, to pray more, to not be a hypocrite, to not judge, to love, to love and to love. I never knew how easy loving can be, there are definitely moments and people that are difficult to love, but with a help of a prayer, he reveals the love you hold inside and helps you love. I have prayed for the ones I had a hard time loving and God turned things around, God turned people around, but first of all He turned me around and showed me His face over and over.
Trips- this year we were blessed to go to the ocean a couple of times and just take in His beauty and creation. We were fortunate enough to go to Pismo beach this year, which did not seem possible previous years and for once Barry and I felt like we had a vacation ever since our miracles joined us : )
New car- without having any plans to get a different vehicle, we ended up selling our Honda Civic and getting a 2005 Saab, which has been a pure joy to drive. That transaction was a pure miracle, which only God can provide.
As for goals for next year… to keep expending Bubblegum drops so that every person can hear and know the cause behind it. To see more smiles on girls that have been rescued from human trafficking. To treasure and strengthen relationships. To stick to our budget. This one has been very difficult by far, we underestimate ourselves and our so called “needs” that are truly “wants” in reality. We pray for continued guidance from God to get us through the process of eliminating debt. Mostly to reflect Christ on daily basis.
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