This was our Christmas Card picture this year.
Often Christmas cards come with newsletters or Christmas letters talking about accomplishments and joyful moments and high points from the year.
I didn't do that this year.
I don't think I need to. As this picture so clearly expresses how happy and blessed this past year has been for us.
I look at those four adorable children and my husband and I and can't think of anything more I could want.
I am so blessed. Beyond measure and beyond what I deserve.
As we were decorating the Christmas tree this year we hung up three stars with the words "hope" "peace" and "joy". And our Christmas Card this year had the words "joy" and "love" on it.
And I was thinking how each one of my children seem to encompass one of these "Christmas" words" so well.
Hope
Kate is the Hope of our Christmas card picture. To begin with- enough tears and time passed while Jake and I awaited her arrival into our family. And when we discovered that by some miracle we were pregnant with her the hopelessness we felt disappeared in an instant. And we had hope that our family could be just as we always pictured it. As she has grown she seems to have an attitude of Hope and Optimism. She is our planner, our one who is always thinking of great things to do or make or be. She has great hope for the future. She has great Hope and faith for things not seen- or really understood by seven year olds I think. Every prayer she says gives gratitude that one day we can return to Heaven and live as a family forever. What Hope that brings to our home each day.
Love
Sam is the Love of our Christmas card picture. As a baby he loved to cuddle and be held. When he was born the Love I felt for him was an instant thing. He seemed to make my heart grow in a new way I hadn't experienced before. It seems to have continued into the sweetest five year old boy that ever was. He loves to help and spend time with each family member and that is because he loves them. He is kind and thoughtful. He continues to teach me about love everyday.
Joy
Marianne is the Joy of our Christmas card picture. She was born a few months before what was the hardest year of my life. We moved away from a great circle of love and support, only to face serious kids health issues, some crushing business blows, and postpartum depression. And through it all was my delightful new baby- who was always there to make our entire family laugh. She was a big ball of joy, and I have not one doubt that she came to our family to help us be happy through a very hard year. She continues to be that joy. Always happy and having fun and loving us. Her entire face lights up with joy and she seems to skip through her everyday with some higher level of happiness than I am use to knowing. It is hard to not be happy when you are around Marianne.
Peace
Bethany is the Peace of our Christmas card picture. I'm not sure what characteristic for sure she will encompass as she develops more personality. Currently I wouldn't say she is a peaceful personality- she is kind of feisty actually. But she seems to bring our family together in a peaceful way. Everyone loves her and comes together to care for the baby-and really, she seems have little bits and pieces of each of the other children in her which makes our family seem very well rounded. A certain peace I have gained raising her too. Something about this baby has made me learn to be less stressed about the things I can't control and less worried about what the future holds. I can remember feeling we had another child in our plan for our family. It was before we had a handle on even three kids and it seems to overwhelm me. But then she came, and not only has it not been that difficult, what once seemed to overwhelming to me has been one of the greatest blessing of my life. That has somehow brought an inner peace with whatever will come to my life.
1 comment:
This was so, so beautiful! I'm all choked up now thinking of my own hope, love, peace, and joy. :)
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