Happy New Year!

Hello Friends! We sincerely hope this Christmas Season has brought you time with loved ones, memories to last a lifetime, rest and relaxation, and a chance to reflect on 2014.

Tonight we will say so long to 2014 and I continue to be in awe of what the rare gift this offers to our family - the gift of time. We are blessed to be able to welcome a whole new year, we are honored to be gifted yet another chance to experience, grow and learn, and we are filled with wonder as to what lies ahead that we currently cannot even imagine. Perhaps it is my age, or maybe just this year, perhaps it is my hope for whats to come or my gratitude for what has been….but either way tonight feels special.

2014 presented more humbling moments than any year I can imagine to date. Some of these moments have been captured on the blog, some only in our minds or etched in our hearts. I think its true what they say - lessons you learn under more difficult circumstances are the ones that stick with you. We instinctually learn what will work, we are set for survival and when given the challenge we call on those skills. In 2014 Danny and I rose to the challenge many times over.

As much as some of these particularly painful memories drift into my minds eye - I am not pained, in fact I think part of my excitement today is the healing. Danny and I have been humbled, but I can honestly also say we have healed. Other years have brought their own set of difficult circumstances - but not one year, to my memory, has also resulted in such a strong sense of growth and progress. We had not seen so many of these surprises to come during this day last year - and even still we have come, we have conquered and I think I am truly brimming with joy because we - as husband and wife - are stronger than ever before.

It feels that I am saying the same thing over and over again - but in light of what this day of the year means, a feel a celebration is so necessary. How often in life have I found myself on my knees praying to know I am doing what God asks, that I am on the right path, not only that I will find peace eventually, but to feel it. Today, right now, in this moment I feel the peace. I know there is no where in the world I am supposed to be but next to husband. The unknowing of the future is not full of fear, but sheer jubilation! We are so hopeful and ignited with the excitement of possibility. Our unity, our strength, our dreams, the possibilities, the smiles we carry - these are a gift and I am so incredibly grateful.

This is not to say we are 100% perfect, heck no! You best believe we have a LONG LIST OF GOALS for 2015 - and things we look forward to letting go! Heavens - I want more now than ever before! I feel the power of fighting through this year and weathering the unexpected…only to be happier! Imagine the possibilities of actually overcoming some of my own fears or conquering my own goals that I do know of! And best of all - I have been given the gift of time to actually do it.

Our little blog has been hushed under the sounds of the season. We have found distractions in having too many opportunities for good - that some of our other goals have been overlooked…..but o do I have plans! How much excitement and promise is there to bring here, to share as a family, to watch unfold in the gloriousness of a new year?? In 2014 alone we witnessed ordinary dates in our calendars transform into the day families were established with some of our closest friends' nuptials. We have been privy to the exciting plans of those we love who have chosen to transform their whole world in 2015. We have toasted at various endings, we have cheered to new beginnings, and we have witnessed small miracles in the beauty of our life. How amazing - and another year to do it all over again?

The gift of time is so precious and so rare, it has been gifted to you and I this year - embrace it! It sounds silly - but is o so true, cry when you must, be happy even at the littlest things, laugh at yourself and hug your favorite people. 2015 is an open book with endless possibilities…find your story - live it, write it, tell it….and for us, thanks for reading ours. We can’t wait to share more, see what we will learn, come to know how we will be blessed and what little life moments can be unwrapped with just the gift of time.

Happy New Year!