reflections

Last year at this time I was giddy. Giddy because I couldn't hardly wait to see 2006 over with.

Neal and I have been married for 7 1/2 years. Most of them have been really really hard. Not because of each other-- nothing like that. We just had the crap knocked out of us.

2000 was fun...being a newly-weds and all. Not so bad.

2001 was a bit harder...we had a rough time adjusting to being married and I had to quit school. We also thought we would have an easy breezy time finding Neal a job and that turned out to be not so true. Interviewing for churches was AWFUL. Just thinking about those experiences is enough to make me want to stop going to any church ever ever again...but I digress.

2002 was good...Addy was born that year...and I was unaware of the ugliness of church work.

2003 was mostly really hard and no fun church work

2004 was more church ugliness and more ugly interviews

2005 was both wonderful and ugly. Wonderful because we got Ellie...and some of the most hardest months I ever lived through.

2006 though...that year takes the cake for hard hard hard times and really just getting slapped around by life. Neal got fired from one of the roughest ugliest churches ever...and I am still deal with the bitterness of that experience. I'm so glad it happened though...so glad...but it was still hard. We ended up losing everything that year. House, friends, jobs, an awesome pre-school for Addy, every cent we had. Every bit of it gone. Thinking about some of that year still hurts me from my hair follicles to my toes. Nightmare.

So...last year at this time...I couldn't wait to kiss 2006 adios and ring in the new year hoping with all my heart that 2007 would be kinder to us.

2007 has been a very very very good year. We are still struggling through the after effects of 2006...but we are getting there.

2007 brought us:
2 news cars...and if you know us at all this is so not a brag...but whisper of grace
some really good new friends that add so much light to our lives (go Meade's!)
a new wonderful school for Addy
a beginning of financial renewal
more job security than we ever known before
more laughter than stress (for the first time in 7 years)
an experience of normal healthy family life
a glimpse at church life I don't hate
a new sister in law -- and a closer relationship with another sister in law


Its not that 2007 didn't have its own moments...but really...there were so many more good happy shiny moments...that I don't really remember the icky ones.

I'm a little afraid of 2008 though...I knew that 2007 had to be better than 2006...ahahahhahahahahah can 2008 be as kind as 2007??? I HOPE SO!!!!!!!!!!!