Peaks and Valleys of 2012

2012 was a wild ride for our family. I can think of no other year like it. It wasn't that it was a "bad" year, although there was plenty of sorrow and challenges, there was equally as much to rejoice and smile about. It is only after the great valleys that we can finally appreciate the beauty of the mountain peaks, right? Easy to say when standing on that peak, harder to remember as your stuck in the cruddy Valley. 

The year started out with its biggest blessing, in our little Norah arriving in February. She is a happy, healthy, easy-going, and affectionate baby girl. Her timing was perfect, as we had no idea what was headed our way.

The next couple of months brought major medical concerns. In May, Lexie had a serious infection and her first hospital stay. She did heal completely but we are now very cautious of antibiotics and leary of her getting sick where she might need them. (To read the whole story, read my last blog.)

Travis had ankle reconstruction surgery in early June. Watching him go through that painful experience was heart wrenching.  He was unable to walk (no weight) for several weeks, and then several more on crutches. It was a tough time, as the kids didn't really understand why Daddy all of a sudden couldn't play, wrestle, go to the park, etc. Liam had the hardest time, he was mad that Daddy couldn't be very involved. This made Trav frustrated. Which made me sad! Trav was wiped out from trying to work, recover, rest, and find other ways to spend time with our little people. 

This stretched me in ways that, I'll be honest, I wasn't interested in being stretched. Having a 4yr old, 2 yr and infant was enough and I was very overwhelmed with Trav being out of commission for the majority of the summer. As hard as it was for all of us, God walked us through it. Blessing us with an incredible amount of love and support. We both feel way more compassion for others who are physically hurting and want to use this experience, not waste it in self-pitty, knowing there is plenty of opportunities to encourage others. 

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As Travis began to walk again, in early August, we tried to make up for lost time by catching some baseball games, day trips, and we went to family camp with our church. While there,we received a call that my brother Casey, who is stationed in Flordia, was at LSU with a skull fracture. We weren't sure if he was going to make it, and if he did, what kind of brain activity he would regain. God was so good to let us get the news while camping with our church family, who diligently prayed for Casey's recovery. He spent almost 2 weeks at LSU, has some hearing loss, but has recovered. So much so that he ran a full 26.2 marathon recently.

At the end of August things were beginning to slow down, or so I thought. Trav came home one day and told me he was offered a great job in Lacey and he was going to take it. We had been longing to move back to Olympia for sometime and never thought a job oppertunity would open up like this. It literally fell in Travis's lap. I had mixed feeling since it was almost September, Lexie was excited to be starting a PreK near our house, I felt closer then ever to our friends and church family. I was exhausted from all the events of the summer. We decided to wait on the Lord and pray about moving to Olympia. Trav started his job at the beginning of September and we waited. We didn't have to wait long because God answered a very specific prayer request,we asked Him to provide a rental in a specific neighborhood. He did, and we took that as conformation and moved in mid November. We are adjusting well, love the town, the family close by, and Travs 10 min drive to his office. Lexie goes to PreK at the same Christian school I used to attend. Liam gets lots of play time and is looking forward to starting swimming. Norah smiles more then ever. God continues  and meet our every need....even and do exceddingly and abundently more then we could ask or think (Esphesians 3:20)