Happy New Year!

2012 has come and gone. As we reflected on last year, there were many emotions that we endured but through it all we are now stronger than we've ever been (both individually, as a couple and as a family), we have grown and learned so much and are forever grateful for the year The Lord provided for us. Through all of the trials and tribulations, even some that we thought were 'the end of the world' serious were simply obstacles that our God already knew the outcome of.

One thing I was FINALLY able to do was to 'let go'. It sounds so simple but yet I struggled with this until the later part of the year. I found myself crying out "Lord, I surrender and give it all to you. Please take of the situation and make do with how you want it to be, not how I want it to be. No matter the outcome, even if it's not what I want - I am trusting in you. I cannot do anything without you." I prayed this over and over AND still do! There is now this sense of peace after I speak that prayer that I really can't describe. All I know is that I now can understand the full meaning of just letting go and letting God.

Well, we decided to take a spur of the moment vacation to the beach. We booked a room Saturday morning, drove down and came back today (Tuesday). The weather was absolutely perfect and then we get home to some nasty rainfall. Good for me that I enjoy rainy days so it wasn't one of those depressing moments although I did miss the beach weather we had enjoyed the last 3 days. It was incredibly awesome to say goodbye to 2012 and ring in the new year at the beach. "Toasting" with some sparkling grape juice put a huge smile on my mini's face at midnight. The fireworks over the ocean were such a beautiful sight. All in all, our spur of the moment decision I think was a huge success and I'm so glad we went. I am thankful that we are blessed and able to do things like that! Regarding what we did while there and pictures, I'll save that for another blog entry. We look forward to going back.

I started this entry with the thought of keeping it short and sweet but to no surprise, I've done just the opposite. Seriously though, our hopes for you and yours this new year is that God will bless you abundantly in all aspects and areas of your life. We do a daily devotion together, attend Church, pray before meals, etc. but one of our goals as a couple is to continue to grow closer to God and allow Him to be the center pointe of all aspects of our lives both individually and as a couple. I know that this year is going to be an amazing year and I couldn't be more thrilled to get it started.

Here's to a wonderful 2013 and I pray that everything you set your heart to, that God blesses you way beyond you initially imagined. As always, thanks for sharing in our journey. Happy New Year!