And now for a post...

Ok, I apologize - I am extremely past my due date (for blogging that is). December was a whirlwind but a fantastic one. We had much needed fellowship time with family and friends. Caught up with close friends that we've been too busy to see lately, that was such a refresher. Hung out at friends' and families' houses, hosted lots of get-togethers, had out of town guests (minus one we were really looking forward to ... Carrie we really missed seeing you!!!), SLEPT IN, and much much more. Here's a quick synopsis...

Christmas:
Our Christmas was everything but boring. We had a full Sunday with Christmas Eve morning, evening and night services, over half of which I had the privilege of singing in. We ate at my Papa's (mom's dad) on Christmas Eve in between all of the services. Christmas morning ... wow, what a great comparison to last year! (Our first Christmas 2005, we had Christmas services on Christmas morning ... quite a tiring day.) This year, we were able to sleep in and then open gifts at home with each other. We weren't going to do gifts this year, but after my grandmother slipped us some extra money for me cleaning her house we decided to offer gifts to each other. We had a blast discovering what the other had been hiding all this time :) (Artie gave me great stuff!!!). Then we went to my mom's to have Christmas brunch, to dad's (after a nap) for Christmas dinner then to our house for my sibling 'Secret Santa' exchange (that's another post for another time). We had a wondeful full day. My sister Maggie and her husband Jeremy (Zoe stayed with my mom) spent the night Christmas night. We had fabulous morning on the 26th just hanging out, catching up, eating a big breakfast and FINALLY showing them my Africa photos. A wonderful Christmas!

The much needed break:
After Christmas, Artie and I took the week between New Year's and Christmas off of work. What an amazing week! We just rested! We did only a couple of things around the house (items for future posts) but mostly just slept, relaxed and hung out with each other ~ some much needed time. It felt like we were on a second honeymoon ... phones off, pj's (on), take out - it was wonderful! I find myself very refreshed after a week like that. Ready to conquer the world!

Reflections:
The start of a New Year always brings reflection, doesn't it? Reflections of the past, how things are now, and most importantly the future! I sang a song in church on New Year's Eve Sunday called, "Just Showed Up For My Own Life" and it rang a message that speaks of a new year. When you take the time to settle down, out of worry, and simply take in everything (love, peace, friends, family, the saving life of Jesus - offered for free, truth, hope), you come to find out that life is quite BRIGHT. One of my favorite lines in the whole song is "The glory of God, is man fully alive."
Fully alive - a very interesting description of life. One that's not just alive going through the motions, nothing special, just living for tomorrow. You can be alive, but not fully. The "fully" part comes in spiritually. To know the Giver of Life and live the life that He not only gives you, but destined for you to live. Now that's exciting! (And humbling too) Sure, I have goals for 2007 - like updating our home, growing closer to my husband, starting a family, expanding and growing my talents, make new hobbies, teaching someone else what I know. But as for my prayer for 2007 ... may I be fully alive, everyday ~ whatever God wants that to look like. Living for what counts, making investments for eternity, and spending myself like there's no tomorrow. Sounds crazy? But for me, in Christ, that is the only way to 'fully' live.

I wish you the very best and I'm happy to have readers like you out there. I hope my life (imperfect, frail, yet hopefully courageous) can inspire, encourage and invite you to live in the fullness of life ... Jesus Christ. Much love to you all, and as always - please feel free to drop a comment, I love hearing from you.

PS:
As for you visual people, I've been trying to upload photos, I'm still working on it...