Part of me is glad to say goodbye to 2007. The part that wishes I could do a lot of things over, do them better, and maybe have some different outcomes. But rather than dwell on what I can’t change in the past, I’m going to focus on today and make a better tomorrow. Yikes. I sound like a campaign slogan! We had a hard year, but it was also sprinkled with many blessings. Here’s to counting the blessings:
January – We began SEVENS, spent some time on the streets and prayed over the areas we would be working in. We also focused on raising financial support. I attended the Whole Hearted Mother Conference in Colorado Springs with my friends Paula and Carmen. We stayed at the luxurious Broadmoor hotel, and had a great time. I wrote about it in this post.
February – The highlight of February was the day one of Benny’s dreams came true and he bought a motorcycle. He enjoyed working on it and making it his own. The plan was to ride it back and forth to Boulder during good weather to save us money on gas. It only lasted a few months, then needed some expensive repairs we couldn’t afford. That’s one of our goals for the Spring is to save enough money to get it fixed before summer comes around.
March – Was one of my favorite months of 2007. One of my dreams came true when we decided to use part of our tax refund to buy me a laptop. I had been wanting one for a long time to make my writing time a little easier and also for ministry use. Our friends Alyssa and Brian came for a visit from Indianapolis. I spent a wonderful day in Buena Vista with my friend Linda. I traveled to Kansas City to spend a few days with my best friend Tawnya. We went to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit and had a good time hanging out and eating at our favorite restaurants. It was so good to spend time with her and made me miss the days we lived closer to each other.
April – Was a month of great sadness and joy. Benny’s grandpa died so he and his brother Rex traveled to Texas for the funeral. They took Max, Zoe, and my niece Lilli along for the road trip. Petey and I had some time at home alone. Being the youngest child hasn’t allowed us as much one on one time as he needs, so it was a fun few days for us. The week after the rest of the family got back from Texas, we celebrated the best milestone in Max’s life. On April 21st, Benny and I had the honor of baptizing Max together. It was a wonderful day and we had a big party at our house.
May – Benny and I celebrated 14 years of marriage. Zoe was in the school talent show with one of her classes. We spent a fun day with our friends Joe and Heather Hughes and their kids at the Erie Fest. We got up at 6 a.m. to watch 60+ hot air balloons launch from a field near their home. It was amazing.
June – Was our busiest month of the year. It began with Graduation and the promotion ceremony for our Friday School group. Benny had a good time visiting with Tim Chapman (from Dog The Bounty Hunter) Tim was our speaker for graduation and the father of one of our graduating Seniors. Katherine, our summer intern for SEVENS, arrived to spend 6 weeks with us. The kids spent a week with Benny’s parents in Buena Vista so they could attend their VBS. Petey and Zoe spent a week in Wyoming with Rex and family while Benny, Max and I went to Oklahoma City for Zenith. The day after we arrived home, Benny performed the wedding ceremony for our friends Corey and Tricia. The day after that I got to be part of a murder mystery birthday party for my friend Wendy. Two days later we celebrated Benny’s 38th birthday. Yeah…it was a very busy month.
July – We spent the week of the 4th up in Buena Vista with Benny’s family. I got to meet Benny’s brother Ronnie and his wife Teresa, and of course visit with Linda. Our friend Andy (from Houston) was here for a week with part of his youth group. Our kids participated in VBS at Foothills Community Church. Several people from our church family at The Journey came with us to Boulder and we had a big dinner in the park for our streetkids. Tawnya came to Denver for a few days to spend my 35th birthday with me, and we toured Celestial Seasonings. I threw myself a birthday bash and some of my favorite girlfriends joined me for a progressive supper at Carrabbas, The Cheesecake Factory, and Starbucks. It was a GREAT night.
August – I went to Wisconsin for my little sister’s wedding, and was able to spend a few days with my parents and one of my brothers. We geared up for the start of a new school year. We missed Katherine being here.
September – We began classes at FACE. Benny is teaching a class this year which is good on many levels. It’s nice to have him there on Friday mornings and it offsets our cost of the classes our kids are enrolled in. I took on more of an administrative role by accepting the responsibility of keeping attendance records for the school. I also sub for a few of my friends who are teachers. I attended Women of Faith with a few of my friends I don’t see often enough. We hosted 9 little boys for a slumber party on Max’s 8th birthday. THAT was an adventure!
October– Zoe turned 5 years old. She gets more beautiful every year. Benny traveled to Chicago to speak at a youth weekend with our friend Kevin. October was low key for both our family and our ministry.
November – Benny’s Great Uncle John died, so he traveled to Texas for the second time this year for a funeral. I was asked to be on the Board of Directors for FACE. Our streetkids began to migrate from the streets to other areas for the winter. This means a bit of a change for the winter months both in location and focus. I saw Pride & Prejudice on stage at the Denver Performing Arts Center the week before Thanksgiving. Heather, Paula, Sarah and I went and had a great time. I love all things Jane Austen! I reconnected with an old college friend and she has blessed our family by creating a new logo for our ministry. It will be revealed to all sometime soon.
December – All three kids were in the Christmas program. Zoe was Mary, Petey was a wise man, and Max was a boy helping his brother tell their other siblings the Christmas Story. We were “off school” this month. Max and Benny both had root canals with Max’s tooth needing to be pulled. (fun fun) We fought illness all month long and ended up spending Christmas Day at home instead of our usual tradition of eating Chinese Food out and going to a movie. It was a good day anyway. Petey turned 4 two days ago. He says he’s a little boy now and I can’t call him my baby anymore.
Thanks for sticking with me through this long post, and all of the other ones I’ve written this year. You have blessed me with your presence, challenged me to stretch and grow, and encouraged me with your comments. I wish you many blessings for the new year. It’s New Year’s Eve and the kids are planning on staying up until midnight. We’ll see if they make it. 😉 I’m off to work on my new planner for 2008, do laundry, and bake cookies. Many blessings friend!
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