Looking Back-- Looking Forward

Fred and I were at a family party, visiting in segregated groups for a few minutes (the guys in the kitchen; the girls in the living room) before we started playing games, and as women do, we were sharing our frustrations with trying to meet the demands of motherhood. Marg was wondering how anyone had time to "blog" and Liz suggested it was all just a matter of priority. I related with both of their remarks. It is such a challenge to find time to sit still and write about something that has already happened and is not on the "pending" to do list, but I feel compelled to keep a journal entry and by doing it blogging style, I feel like I accomplish two things in one by trying to keep up communications with friends family.

I love being able to get up in the morning and check my e-mail and then go to my "Freinds and Family Blogs" bookmark see what everyone else is doing. It is so quick and I can keep in touch by just responding to something that they wrote. Of course I can't do it every morning and I don't record as often as I should, but I try to get updated at least once a week. I had friends who sent a family blog this year instead of Christmas cards and it was fun to be able to see all of the pictures and keep updated in a way that would just be too time consuming through the phone or with individualized letters. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing like getting a personal phone call and handwritten, personalized snail mail, but this adds to what I can accomplish with those things that are still special to me. It is so interesting how much more I have gotten to know those family and friends this past year who are actively communicating through the computer.

I am preparing for a landslide year. January through March are going to be so busy with Jordan trying to finish his Eagle project and His Duty to God requirements and apply to college. Then comes graduation and putting everything in order for this summer job in Washington. By this summer Mikayla will be turning 16 and getting her drivers license and by Fall the twins will head off to kindergarten and Eden will finally be released into the world of makeup (which she thinks is just as big of a landmark. Abe is the only one who does not have pre-determined milestones this year. I am trying not to acclimate in panic mode.

We went out to dinner with three other couples last night and spent a couple of hours in the restaurant just talking about our lives. We are the only ones with older children and it feels so surreal. These are some great times in our lives that we will always cherish and it makes me appreciate those who surround me who are paving the path. Others positive experience is so often a boon, when the path ahead looks so daunting and unfamiliar.

I am so grateful for the constancy of the gospel and the security that comes from knowing that one path will always seem familiar and unaltered, even as life presents its challenges and turbulence and unstoppable change. Lessons learned are so easy to see when you look back over 17 years of marriage. I was talking to my brother Thursday night and just feeling intense empathy for the challenges of supporting and raising a young family. We have experienced many years of circumstances that did not seem ideal at the time, but we have grown in so many ways from those struggles and we are now reaping some of the benefits of "enduring" and preparing to start a whole new set of challenges as our children start leaving home.

I know our future is bright. I feel hopeful as I look forward into this new year, and I am comforted with the thought that I am surrounded by family and friends who will help me to remember that, when the trials come, as they always do.

I love you all. May hope and light permeate each of our lives this year.