a cozy close out to 2011

Anyone who knows us in real life knows that while we love people, we are not big late-night partyers. At all. So it should not come as much of a surprise that the entire family will be ringing in the new year in our pajamas, likely sound asleep.

However before the kids went to bed tonight, I had a special experience with them that I don't want to forget. We have had a great Christmas season so far, with lots of quality time with family and friends and fun reunions. Today, however, was spent with just the five of us, on a nine-hour-long road trip, as we traveled from my parents' home to see my husband's parents in south Georgia. And because we are here, our kiddos are all sleeping on the floor together for a couple of nights. After the expected grumblings about the inconveniences of sleeping on (carpeted!) floors, my attempts at reminding them that baby Jesus--God incarnate--took his first breaths surrounded by stinky animals and had a feeding trough for a bed, and my husband and I exchanging knowing looks about the upcoming challenges of mission life, it was time for these tired little people to get to bed.

Before we said nighttime prayers, I asked them to each try and recall a favorite memory from this year. Initially I got generic answers like "my class," and "Stone," their awesome school, which of course they are missing. But as I prodded a little further and reminded them of some of our many fun experiences in 2011, all three kids really got into this little trip down memory lane. We recalled the freak snowstorm in January that knocked out our home heating system for several days, during which time we moved in with our incredible neighbors, who have since become like family to us. We spoke of sledding in the winter, and road-tripping to NJ/NYC (via VA and Baltimore) to visit dear old friends for spring break. We remembered the glorious trip we enjoyed to Newfoundland in the summer, with a few days on the coast where we enjoyed hiking, relaxing, skipping stones, and catching glimpses of whales; then Caroline's debut performance as a flower girl in my cousin's wedding. We recalled summertime fun at my parents' pool, Caroline's entry into kindergarten (no more naps!), and kooky Halloween costumes. We spoke of great birthday celebrations and a few of the fun performances that they enjoyed participating in throughout the year, including Madison's ballet and Indian dances, and Joshua's violin and swim meets. We thought of our yummy Thanksgiving dinner and the chance that we had to share it with good friends and family. Caroline reminded us of how, towards the end of the year, "we sold all our stuff." And we didn't have to stretch too far back to recall the joys of Christmas in 2011 :)

And as our babes snuggled up and I prayed with them, I reminded them (and especially myself) that the same God who brought us through this year of joys and disappointments, of expected and unexpected gifts and challenges--that this same God will be with us through the new year that begins in just a little while.  2012 surely holds lots of new experiences for us all, and I wanted the kids to be reassured that we will be okay, despite the countless transitions that are coming our way. Our Lord has been faithful in all things, big and small, and we rest in His promise to continue to keep us safe, in the new year and always, in the protection of His loving embrace.

Happy 2012 everyone.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5