Goodbye, Hello!

It's certainly been an interesting month. Having John David and the girls here and visiting with Mom & Dad & Julianne & her family was so great, though I'm now utterly exhausted. I wish we lived closer together as to avoid these kinds of marathon visits, which tend to wear on everyone. We spent our days shopping, which included about 3 trips to the grocery store per day on average, since no one could seem to get it together enough to compile just ONE list! Maybe that had something to do with the 16 kids cooped up in the house for the week with nothing to do but harrass each other and remind us of how bored they were. There were a few setbacks, including a nasty storm 2 days before Christmas, which thwarted our attempts to travel to Salt Lake. We missed out on the lights at Temple Square, going to the Planetarium, my roommate reunion, and a photo shoot for Julianne's family. (I'm SO sorry, Heather! They'll be back at the end of summer--maybe we can try again then!) We also had some sick monkeys, which thankfully got over it quickly, because Christmas morning was sure fun for all of us! You can just imagine these 16 kids all tearing into their presents at once, (not to mention the 9 adults) squealing with delight at whatever they had received. It made all the madness somehow worth it.
Now life is getting back to "normal." At least it will be, starting Monday when the girls go back to school. I can tell they're getting bored being at home because the arguing has escalated in the last couple of days. It will be good for them, and me, to get back on schedule.
I'm grateful to have another year laid out in front of me like a blank slate waiting for me to write the next chapters of my life. I think I've inherited some of my Dad's cynicism because by the end of every year, I just can't wait to close the chapter on all my failures and start all over again. I hope to be more optomistic this year. Not that I think life will get any easier for any of us, but because I'm putting my trust in the Lord more than ever before. I think that's the best any of us can do as we face a time foretold by prophets, ancient and modern. Because of that, I'm truly excited for the opportunity to teach the Doctrine & Covenants this year. Teaching has given me a new thirst for learning, and the more I learn about the gospel, the more I realize I don't know nothin'! (Which, of course, only makes me eager to learn it all!)
Yes, 2009 is going to be full of challenges, trials, & adversity (I told you I was cynical...), but I will continue to cling to the hope that I will rise to my challenges, grow from my trials and overcome all adversity that will most assuredly crowd my path. I hope I've learned from this last year, that as much as I hate to admit it, I can't make it on my own, and that it is painful to even try!