New Year's Resolution

2010 is now behind us and 2011 is here. What a year 2010 has been. If you're reading this then you probably already know all about my year without my husband, so I won't get into that. 2011 is going to be a wonderful year full of family and friends. My husband will be home most of the year (save a couple of 2 week trainings), my mom and step-dad are living in town (currently still in my house), my dad is getting married and I'm starting the year off with several new changes.

For starters, my resolution for 2011 is to read my Bible every day. I confess, I don't read it every day. I truly have no excuse. This year will be different and I will also read the entire Bible this year, something I have never done before. To help me in this endeavor, MomsToolbox.com is sponsoring the Bible in 90 Days program. You can click on the link in my sidebar. Not only am I excited to be reading through the whole Bible, but I'm excited about the habit that I will be forming in order to do this. I'm also looking forward to the accountability that I will be held to in order to be a part of this program. On Mondays, I will be blogging about what I have read and learned over the course of my weekly reading, starting January 10th.

The only hiccup I see in this plan is that on January 4th I'm having more surgery. This surgery is a little more in-depth than my last one. I'm expecting more of a recovery time and I'm thankful that my husband is home and my mom is living with me so they both can help take care of the kids and me. But with all my rest and quiet time in my room over the next week, I hope to still get all of my reading accomplished.

I hope to also blog more this year. Yes, I know I say that every January, but I mean it. Monday posts will be a regular and also posts on the first of the month will now be regular. I plan on making a set of goals for the month and coming back and reviewing them at the end of the month.

Here are my goals for January:

• Stay on track in my Bible reading
• Rest and recover from surgery
• Organize my closet and weed out all the clothes I don't wear or need
• Quit Smoking

That last one might shock some of you, others may already know it. I smoke when my husband is gone and I've been smoking since right before he left for Afghanistan last year. Am I quitting today? No. Why not? Because I'm a little stressed about my surgery and I figure a few days of being banished to my bedroom (where I can't smoke) will do the trick. So, I've got about 3 more days of smoking and I'm finished.

I know the list of goals is pretty light, but really, I don't know how much I'll be able to do physically this month. Reading and recovering are really my main goals.

Please, help keep me accountable! Feel free to email me on a Monday afternoon if I haven't posted, or just send me a note to see how I'm doing in my reading. I hope you have a wonderful and blessed New Year. If you've made a resolution, please share it with me as I'd love to hear it!

Together Again

Once again our family is back together. This past Saturday, Seth returned home after being gone for almost the entire year. We are so thankful that he made it back safely. He had a great deployment, earning several awards including a Bronze Star. But the awards don't mean anything in comparison to him being with us.

Now we're spending time getting the Christmas decorations out and figuring out where to put everything. My parents are still living with us so we're trying to find places for all the decorations to land. Frankly, I don't care where they go, so long as we're finding places for them as a family.

January is going to be an interesting month for me. I'm having another round of surgery on the 4th and starting the 90-Day Challenge with Moms' Toolbox. The 90-Day Challenge starts January 3rd and each member will be reading the bible completely through in 90 days. If you are interested in joining us, check out the link above or on my side bar.

Also, don't forget the most important thing right now, the true meaning of this holiday season. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Luke 2:4-14

Waiting, waiting, WAITING!!!

I hate waiting. What's at the end of the wait is going to be so very worth it though. I'm waiting for a phone call. Not just any call mind you. This call is going to be one with an immense amount of relief attached to it. What's so important about a phone call?

I'm waiting for my husband to call me to tell me he's back on American soil.

That's right, my husband, who has been gone nearly all year, is almost finished his tour. I haven't spoken to him in a few days and I know he's in transit somewhere in the world. Frankly, I don't care where he is, I just want my phone call saying he's back in the United States. He still has a bit of time to serve in Indiana and unfortunately, I'm not allowed to visit him there, but Indiana is in the USA and that still is relief to me.

This year has been hard, but I survived. This year has had fun times, but I survived. This year I've cried a lot, but I survived. This year I learned that even in my darkest, loneliest hours, I can survive. How did I survive? I had help. My friends have been wonderful this year, my family has been great, my church has been so very supportive and helpful. Most importantly, God has been there to see me through the dark times. He's been the one sending people to help when I needed it most. He's been the one who has provided me with amazing friends, family and a wonderful church family. He's the reason that I have been able to get up and keep moving every day. I am so thankful to be so loved.

I'm not sure when my phone call will come, but I know I will be celebrating when it does. And when it does come, I'll be saying a prayer of thanks to God who has kept my husband safe and heard all my prayers this year.

Welcome to Pennsylvania

On Sunday, November 7, my parents arrived safely to Pennsylvania. Of course the kids and I are very excited to have them here and it's hard to focus on any mundane things, like oh, I don't know, school work and cleaning.

But it's been a fun few days and we are slowly adjusting to having a few more adults in the house. I forget what it's like to cook for more than just 2 kids and me, so dinners have had way too much food right now. But that just means leftovers, right? We're working on finding homes for all their stuff and adjusting time zone differences, but I'm sure in a few days we'll have all the bumps smoothed out.

For me I'm still listening to a little girl cough and it's just breaking my heart to hear it. She's been coughing for over 2 weeks now and if she's still coughing tomorrow, she goes on steroids. To make matters more interesting, I've come down with a sore throat and have caught myself coughing from time to time. I know bronchitis isn't contagious, but I sure picked something up somewhere.

On a Seth note, we're under a month until he returns. I can't post actual dates for security purposes, so I'll just say that he'll be home well in time for Christmas. :)