January 2013

my parents' house almost every weekend in January

January is the quietest month in the garden. 

But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean nothing is happening.

- Rosalie Muller Wright

When I was younger, before I had years of memories of winter and time passing quickly, January made me a little down. The build up, excitement and busyness of the holidays being over followed by dreary weather and open schedules would make me antsy and unmotivated. A few years of this feeling gave me anxiety come January 1 of the looming winter blues. I would go overboard planning events and staying active to avoid the inevitable quiet of the short days and long winter nights. But further into adulthood, I relish this quiet time. I've found that I enjoy the holidays for the exhausting celebrations knowing that we will soon turn the calendar page into a time of rest.
And did I ever need January this year. I resolved that I would use the empty space on my calendar to rest, to listen, to prepare for the year ahead. I wouldn't get bent out of shape that there weren't festivals to attend or packed schedules. I would stop. I would take this season for what it is--just a short season in life. Good thing I did since week one of 2013, the whole family came down sick keeping us housebound for days. But it's as if by resolving in my heart to be thankful for this slow time; the Lord poured out blessing. Because though little happened from a "family album, blogging perspective," BIG prayers were answered and so much time was spent just relishing in family. We took time to think about the past year and what we wanted to change in the year ahead. We prayed about the growth of our family, about our health, about our business. I'm not saying that after days of being stuck inside and way more days of wearing rain boots than I would have liked, that I wasn't going a little stir crazy. I just think that the cold, housebound quiet is needed because that's were rest and listening occur which results in growth and development and most importantly answers.
So that's where we are for the beginning of 2013.

January 2013

- Rang in New Year with friends

- Spent a lot of days inside fighting off colds and catching up on Downton Abbey (obsessed!), and coercing Loulie into taking medicine
-Bridget Bojangle's 6th birthday

- Said good-bye to Bert's airplane, an answer to years of prayer to keep or sell

-Loulie's Class Holiday Concert where she performed front and center

- A friend field trip to Charlestowne Landing

- Mr. Rob came to visit from New York

- Good news from our neighborhood school and my first PTA meeting

-Movie dates with Loulie, girls' nights with Aunt Meme, and lots of family time
-Attended our first Journey Together ministry meeting & met so many wonderful families

- Closed one GAL case and picked up another

Week 14 inspired by...

"I don't wear my religion on my sleeve. I'm extremely reluctant to talk about it at all. Chiefly because my belief does not really reduce itself to simple statements."

-Marilyn Robinson, Pulitzer Prive Winning Essayist

I am particularly loving these words this week. Because how hard is it to explain the Easter story? You can summarize it in a paragraph (He is risen!) but I think until you experience the overwhelming awe yourself, it is something that cannot be explained in a simple statement.

Week Three Inspired by

"Speak from that place in your heart where you are most yourself. Speak directly, simply, lovingly, gently and without any apologies. Tell us what you see and want us to see; tell us what you hear and want us to hear...Trust your own heart. The words will come. There is nothing to fear."

                                                             -from Henri Nouwen's Life of the Beloved

Week One Inspired

"Ends and beginnings-there are no such things. Only middles."      -Robert Frost

The other day Jillian Michaels posted on facebook "they say the first 12 days of your new year determine how the rest of your year will play out." This got me all kinds of worked up. Because I wouldn't say anything life altering has happened, certainly nothing compared to the first two weeks of 2011. But I haven't exercised as much as I wanted, Christmas storage boxes are still stacked in my dining room and Bert had a pretty stressful week leaving us feeling unsettled and stagnant. So Jillian's comment got me a little nervous. I was hashing all this out with my mom today--discussing how the date of January 1st is a time to inspire and begin anew but it doesn't necessarily mean that baggage from the past doesn't just disappear. That if all the unfortunate happenings of this week occurred on random days in say April, we would think nothing of it. It's just the fresh, clean calendar pages have us jumpy and constantly testing the waters of this new year. So Frost's words couldn't be more perfect for me during this first week of 2012. We're in the middle, therefore each day is an opportunity to begin anew--fresh and inspired.

Picture found here