Merry Christmas 2015!

Well, hello again!  It’s been almost a year.  I admit, when big life changes happen it’s hard for me to keep up with the blog.  In the past 10 months since the last update, we sold our house, bought a new house, did some home renovations and decorating projects, and switched schools for the kids.  Life is flying by!

At Christmas, however, it seems like a good time to slow down and reflect on all the changes and milestones that have happened in the past year.  God is good, and wonderful times have been enjoyed amidst all the transitions. 

So here we are, alive and well, wishing you all the very best and God’s richest blessings and peace as we begin a new year!

To briefly catch up on a few of our big changes this past year, here are the highlights:

February: Logan turned 9!

March: Our offer was accepted on our new house!

April: Audrey turned 6!

May: We moved!

We left our Crown Point house after living there 7 years.

June: We are now St. John, IN residents.

Fourth of July Kids Parade

July: New babies!

We added a new niece on the Darling side and will be adding another new niece or nephew on the De Groot side in 2016!

August: New school!

Logan and Audrey started school at Providence Christian Academy.

September: Emily turned 5!

October: Change of pace

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells for the kids’ fall break.

November: We hosted Thanksgiving at our new house.

December: Two Christmas programs

Emily was the star in her preschool Christmas program (the 3 wisemen followed her and her light up wand through the audience), and Audrey had a solo in our church Christmas program.

As I look back over old blog posts and Christmas cards we sent in years past, I am reminded how quickly things change.  People change, fashions change, seasons change.  In no time, all the gifts will be opened, the trees put away, and the lights turned off.  It will no longer be Christmas; it will just be winter.

But the baby in the manger remains.  He is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  God is with us, Emmanuel.  And that truth remains the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Reflections

Seven years ago, we said hello and goodbye to our first daughter, Brianna Dawn, as we held her tiny frame in our arms. 

In the past two weeks, I have grieved with a friend who lost her fifteen-year-old son, Angel, to a long fight with his medically-fragile body and another friend who lost her newborn son, Isaac, at delivery.  My heart breaks all over again for them and for my own loss again as the memories flood back.  I am wishing there was something I could say to mend their broken hearts.  I know all too well what lies ahead for these friends.  I hate the harsh reminders that we live in a fallen world and that life is so, so fragile.

This year, our annual trip to the cemetery was the bitterest, coldest year we’ve had so far.  The temperature was 10 degrees, but with the 20 mph winds, the wind chill was –17 degrees.  We plodded out to Brianna’s grave, snapped a picture, and almost immediately made our way back to the car where it still took several minutes for our fingers and cheeks to stop throbbing from the cold wind.

In the couple of minutes that we were at the grave, I noticed that someone had already brought flowers.  Fresh, red, Valentine flowers were resting against her headstone, hand-delivered by Luke’s brother Nate.  We were touched.  We also received a few cards, texts, and small gifts in Brianna’s honor.  Although our hearts still ache for the daughter whose short life we never cease to celebrate, we left knowing that our girl is loved – and remembered! 

Life is fragile, but God is faithful.

This is the first year I noticed a huge mirror on the wall at the bakery where we go for cupcakes on Brianna’s birthday every year.  I don’t know if I’ve just never looked at it before or if it is new décor, but I was reminded of this verse, “Now we see but a poor reflection, as in a mirror.”

Though we would give anything to celebrate Brianna’s 7th birthday with her in person, we thank God for His sovereign plan and the way He continues to carry it out in our life.  Now we only see what He is doing through a mirror, but one day we will know fully and see Him clearly – face to face!  Even if none of this pain makes sense right now, it will in the light of His glory.  All will be made clear.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”  I Corinthians 13:12

Saturday Night Sponge Rollers

Happy New Year!!

A new beginning and a fresh start!  How I love pulling out a brand new calendar and hanging it on the wall.  January 1 is a chance to take a deep breath and start anew.  I have already begun to reflect on what this coming year might bring for our family, and I am thankful that I can look forward to what God has in store knowing that He will be with us.  This morning I am reflecting on this verse:  “May the God of all hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

Blessings to you as you embark on the year 2015!

Photo taken at Youche Country Club on New Year’s Eve