New Year

 I've made a tradition of writing a post about the New Year and the past year for the last few years.

Did you catch all that?

At this time last year we were getting ready to close on our house. Not sure if the closing date was actually going to stick this time. Hoping it would, we were ready to get to work. It did and we promptly got to work. Four months later we were moving in and from there I can tell you that the year got uninteresting. At least that's how I felt. I was drained. I lacked inspiration. I was overwhelmed. Then summer came, and I was hot, unhappy and pregnant.

Yes, you read that right. So I was sick, hot, tired, and unhappy. I stopped writing. I stopped documenting, for I felt I had nothing of significance to say or share. I was just blank. Then that 2nd trimester hit and I felt a little better. Just hot. Now here we are at week 32 and I feel good, just a little back aching. Today I looked through the photos I took last year I became sad because I was good, I was on a roll, we were well documented-which is important to me-and then I stopped. So while the past year again has been fantastically blessed with big changes and happy developments it's also been trying. But that's when growth comes.

"For that you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." 
James 1: 3-4. 

That's one of my birth affirmations but it fits my year so wonderfully as well. Last week I had an itch I couldn't scratch. And no it's not because I'm approaching "Large and In Charge" status. I got out of bed at 11:38 pm. Sat down with the ole MacBook and finished a blog post I started in September. Then I pushed publish. It was 1:00 am when I lumbered back to bed and as I felt my way there in the dark, a little voice inside me said "There, didn't that feel good?" And it did. Then the next day I got out my camera and photographed a project we have been working on. Then I fought with my toddler about nap time. Then I wrote this post. And the world seemed back on it's axis.

I'm working really hard on simplifying our life because I'm tired of feeling heavy. I'm trying to do more of the things I love, like reading, or sitting down to a picture with my girl. I'm trying to learn new things and turn more things over to the Lord. I'm working on not getting overwhelmed by the undone but satisfied in the finished.

That's my New Year post for 2017. That's where I'm at right now. And now I need more chocolate. Because that's been something that's helped me "grow"...in more ways than one. Here's to 2017, to fullness, to simplicity, to letting my Faith grow.

Blessings!