1-1-11

Dear Jonah and Gracie,

I've heard it said, "A year is more than a span of time. It's memories made, secrets kept, laughter shared, tears dried, and moments warmed by friendship."

For Daddy and Mama, 2010 will go down in the books as one rough year. In the midst of it, we put our heads down and charged. In hind-sight, we're just thankful to be done.

We started off in Arizona, completely unaware how much would change in the next 365 days. Daddy was healing up from his second shoulder surgery, Gracie was signing a lot but not talking much, Jonah was starting to ask deep questions, Lucy was healthy and active, Dixie her usual stinker of a self.

In January, Daddy found out he was nominated and approved for a prestigious program at work called Breakthrough. It was a huge honor, but going to be a ton of work, and take him out of town A LOT in the coming year.

February was tragic. A family we had close mutual friends with, experienced a huge loss. Their dad decided he didn't want to live anymore, and killed himself. Somehow, this made me turn to God more than I have in a long time. Looking for answers, begging for mercy for this man's five kids, praying, crying, praying. I probably hugged you two more than usual. And maybe you noticed my red eyes from crying.

March through May, life was pretty normal. Tears dried. We laughed a lot with you guys. Gracie started talking quite a bit. Jonah, you talked ALL the time. We made memories, celebrating birthdays with family, sweet friends, and Jonah, you graduated from preschool.

In the summer, (besides your fabulous birthdays) Daddy got slammed at work with some of the most stressful times he's ever encountered - certainly, in his career. It was equal parts bad with good. The bad, however, led him to start wondering about jobs elsewhere.

Which brings us to August. Daddy interviewed for, and was offered, a job in the Dallas branch. After almost 8 years in Arizona, the door back to Texas was suddenly swinging wide open. We were packed, said our goodbyes, moved, and then unpacked in the span of 2 weeks. Daddy was in and out of town constantly, finishing Breakthrough, AND on top of that, trying to learn what he needed to know for this new job. Amidst all this, Jonah started kindergarten at the end of the month.

September through November, we were just working to get settled. In school, in our rent house, in Daddy's new job, trying to get my foot in the door with the music community. Our house in Arizona was for sale in the worst seller's market in decades. A lot of changes and uncertainty. Thank you, God, we were warmed by friendships and family.

In December, our poor Lucy got very sick. We watched her struggle to breathe, get more and more tired, then suddenly go lame. It was hard on all of us to see her go like that, and at only 8 years old. By that point, we were officially worn-out by 2010.

Over-all, it was a huge, life-changing, pivotal year. A hard road, developing character, but leading us back home to our families.

We're praying for 2011 to be a year for building each other up, regular visits with grandparents aunts, uncles, and cousins. A year to re-build our foundation on God, plant roots in our church, make strong, prosperous work connections, and watch you two grow and learn.

Love you, little friends. You make us smile and laugh every day. Especially the stressful ones.

Happy New Year,

Mama and Daddy