2010

I like blogs because they provide a good record of how I was feeling and what I was thinking throughout the year.

This afternoon, I reviewed all the posts from the past two years. Some conclusions that I draw from these snapshots are:

- I only had a vague lingering recollection of how tough some of the early adjustments were with the girls. I guess I'm just kind of accustomed now to how I respond to difficult behaviors, and we are always working on dealing with new problems and phases. It is good to reflect on where we were then and where we are now. The girls for the most part are pretty well-behaved. They go to sleep like clockwork, instead of fighting it and staying up past 10:00. Even when she makes poor choices and is disciplined, O's temper tantrums are sometimes less than 30 seconds instead of 20-30 minutes of screaming and kicking. L has reverted somewhat and is peeing and pooping in her pants a lot. We had three dry days, but today she was too interested in playing with the neighbor girl to listen to her body. So that is annoying (after saying goodbye to diapers 4 months ago!) For the most part, they listen well and try hard to behave. It is still a lot of work, but we are enjoying times that we spend with them.

- Training for the marathon was extremely challenging for me. I was tired much of the time. I am glad I completed it, but it may be a while before I put in that kind of effort again. I think the half marathons are a much better race for me (and my parenting schedule). The next one is Feb. 14.

- I lost two different jobs this year, Jenetta has zero weddings for next year (and we just closed her studio yesterday), I haven't been able to find anything else and have been unemployed since September, and Jenetta's blog work, while growing, is still only generating a part-time income. So the financial side probably is the bleakest we've ever seen in our married lives. But just like running nearly every day conditioned me to do the marathon, and dealing with the girls everyday makes us conditioned to the way things are when challenges come up, the fact that we've had to spend more or less two solid years of trusting God for every bill we pay has taught us a lot about relying on Him. Trusting God to provide is becoming like breathing. It's just something we do without much thought - it just happens, and we are grateful for it.

- And in many respects, having the girls in our lives has isolated us from our friends. There is much we need to say "Sorry, no" to now (or it never even comes up as most of them have small kids or newborns now - or assume we wouldn't be available anyway). I was feeling like maybe we should take a break from our homegroup. It is so easy to feel a desire to insulate and detach. But, in the midst of all that, we received the most generous outpouring of love from so many people this Christmas season. It has helped so much and taught us that at this time in our lives, it is more important to connect with others than ever.

I'm eager to see what God teaches us this year. Here are some things I am anticipating:

- Adoption should be finalized in early January. We'll announce a child dedication at our church later this winter or in early spring.

- I'm planning on running another half marathon on Feb. 14. Judy and Kyle might even come down to visit that weekend!

- At some point, I will find some kind of employment, or the income on Jenetta's blogs will increase to the point where I can contribute there regularly.

- We will continue to discover what it means to trust and follow God.

- The girls will continue to grow in their understanding of Him and be more and more fun for us to parent.

Happy new year to all of you! Comment on this post - tell us what you expect in 2010!