Happy New Year

1/1/11

For a family that likes numbers, this year has some great dates in it and the year itself starts off cool!  My dad and stepmom got married on 2/2/02. I was born on 9/29/69 and saved on 4/24/74 (can't plan these things!).  Jackson was born on 7/8/99 and then Cameron on 6/7/00.  So their birthdays are 6/7, 7/8.  How easy is that to remember...and my dad needs help remembering!  :)  So, when we found out Chloe was due on May 9th we all prayed she would be born on the 6th so the birthdays would be 5/6, 6/7, 7/8.  However, that girl is an independent spirit and she came on April 26th!  (sidenote...LOVE that all 3 of my babies were born before their due dates!  thank you children!)  I was a little sad about her birth date until my dad pointed out that his birthday is April 13th and then 13 days later it is Chloe's.  Numbers matter to my dad.  :)

Numbers matter in the Bible as well and there are much smarter people than I to teach on it.  However, I do know 7 is the number of completion and 40 is the number of suffering.  I was glad to turn 40 because that meant my suffering was over...right?!  :)

This was not on mind when I began this post...how did this happen?!  Rabbit trail before I even got going!  What a year this is going to be!  :)  hahahahaha

Last night we spent the hours leading up to the new year with close family friends and had a ball!! 

We had a bonfire which was fueled by a Christmas tree!  I was so mesmerized by the height of the flames that by the time it dawned on me to take a picture the flames had dropped by about 4 feet!  BIG flames!

With a fire, comes smores and the kids were not disappointed.  They were given pitchfork type prongs because regular hangars would not do, nor would regular marshmallows! Oh no!  We had gigantic, seriously HUGE marshmallows!  The kids laughed it up and toasted them up.  Can't beat melting chocolate with marshmallow and graham crackers!  BIG taste!

Then, we proceeded to the front yard with our bags of fireworks...sparklers, snap pops, roman candles, flashers, fountains and high in the sky fireworks!  The kids had so much fun and the dads were good sports to keep the fireworks lit and everyone safe.  Except for the moment when some of the bigger kids escaped to the end of the driveway and threw smoke bombs across the street and a small fire began in the neighbors yard.  They came running back up to the porch saying, "We didn't do it!  We didn't do it!"  I'm sure they didn't...it was a smoke bomb, however, back across the street they went with a bucket of water and an apology.  We stayed back and laughed!  BIG fun!

For our finale, everyone broke out their cans of silly string and a war began!  We had soldiers from 5 years old to grandpas and noone was free from attack.  Most kids went full blast with a can in each hand.  Some were more strategic and used just one to begin with and then pulled out their backup when others were out.  There was a mess all over the driveway but smiles all over the faces of everyone covered in silly string!  BIG, BIG fun!

We cleaned up as best we could and headed inside just in time to hear Dick Clark countdown the ball drop in New York City.  We kissed our kids, shouted "Happy New Year!" and headed home.  We tucked our children in bed and I watched the clock tick closer to our actual midnight celebration and enjoyed some quiet contemplation.

2010 was full of heartbreak, confusion and uncertainty but it was also full of peace.  It most definitely had to be the peace that passes understanding because who in their right minds would put those four words together.  It's like a Sesame Street "Which one doesn't belong?  Which one is not like the others?" game.  Peace and heartbreak...peace and confusion...peace and uncertainty?

Peace is the victor when the Victor reigns in your life.  It is a day by day positioning and I pray the experiences of 2010 have prepared me for the continual submission to the Authority who becomes my Peace.