Looking back over 2011, I can honestly say this has been one of the hardest and best years for our family. We dealt with severe financial stress due to the economic downturn killing the construction industry in Utah. We were on the brink of foreclosure…. more than once. We had to spend a few months apart from dad again. We packed up and moved across the country. This is the first time in our 15 year marriage that we haven’t lived in Utah. With all of this though, it has still been one of the best years of our lives. We are a closer family than we have ever been….something about leaving all our other friends, family, and neighbors behind….we are experiencing the great joy that comes from knowing that you have followed the path the Lord is laying out for you, instead of the path you had planned on. (Yeah, that’s right, Oklahoma wasn’t exactly at the top of our “things to do, places to live” list.) We are blessed to live in a home that fits our family very well, we all have space. We are blessed to have started homeschooling again. It has been a little rough getting into the swing of it, but I feel like it is finally starting to come together. We are blessed to have great neighbors, Jack and Marcia, and we are blessed to live in a fantastic ward and have amazing callings to serve in that ward. All in all, we are so blessed to start 2012 together as a family, healthy and happy. Here’s to another year of learning, growing, living, loving, and finding joy in the journey.
