Looking Back...2011

I recounted our moments last year and I feel it is a good exercise to do every year. So 2011...well, hmm. If I had to sum up this year in one word it would be FORGIVENESS. We have had some run-ins with not-so-nice people this year and we have had to really study what God has said about forgiving others and actually shed tears and ask God what it looks life in real life. I would love to wrap up this year in a pretty little package and say I have overcome this sin and here are the steps to not fall into that ugly pitfall but it is ongoing and sometimes a daily task. BUT God has been faithful and loving and shown me so much about Himself this year. I began Bible Study Fellowship this year and we have been studying Acts and Hebrews and this has been an eye-opening experience to see God's hand in the formation of the early church and the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and the realization of the power He has today in my life and the lives of the women in my group. The girls have been going with me to the kids program and we have amazing conversations on the way home about God and His work around the world and how some Christians are persecuted for their faith. It brings tears to my eyes to see them "get" it. God really has been good to us this year and has shown His faithfulness to us so clearly. So without further ado, here are a few highlights of 2011:

January: Joe and I went to San Francisco for a wedding and few days of sight-seeing on my birthday weekend (best present ever!!). The girls turned six and we celebrated with six other girls at a hotel with an indoor pool and an all-night slumber party.

February: Audrey turned one along with her cousin Grayson and we had a small celebration at the house with a valentine-themed party.

March: We enjoyed a restful Spring Break and I was able to sneak off to a wonderful Women's retreat with some ladies from church. We also hired a sweet lady to help with children and laundry once a week (she has been a blessing!!)

April: We attended so many birthday parties and had a wonderful Easter with family and friends. We also were invited to go to Lake LBJ for the last weekend in April. Our friends have a great lake house and we had a wonderful time on the boat.

May: My sisters, mom, and I put on an estate sale with Joe's uncle's household items and that was an extreme undertaking. I don't think we will ever do that again! We attended a wonderful graduation party and attended many end-of-the year parties. We also took Memorial day weekend to go on our first trip of the summer--Clearlake, Texas. We loved being with our friends the Totton's. We enjoyed swimming, the boardwalk, and good laughs with amazing friends.

June: The girls completed Kindergarten!! We left the following week to Family Camp on Mustang Island. This will become a tradition with three families from our church since we had so much fun (and so did the kids!). We came back Sunday and started VBS and Cheer Camp on Monday. What a week!! We ended this hectic week with the annual Berges Fest parade that the girls were able to be in (huge perk of living in a small town). Cuatro and the girls also started gymnastics lessons and loved it.

July: We went to the Calder's for the third (or fourth) year in a row to their Fourth of July Party. We look forward to it every year. We also started renovating the kitchen and girls room so we moved to the guest house and survived (barely).

August: We went to Fort Worth at the beginning of the month to see Joe's older sister and her family. We stayed at a downtown hotel with a pool and then toured the Science and History museum. We stayed there for three hours and could have stayed longer if it wasn't nap time. What an amazing place! We also went to the Stockyards for the first time and had a blast. We will be going back next year. This month also brought a new dog. A golden doodle Cuatro named Shasta was brought home to live with us and she is wild but we love her. August 19th we celebrated our 11th year anniversary with a weekend at home with no children(thanks mom). Everyone (but Audrey) went back to school on the 22nd and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. We ended the month with a fourth birthday party for Cuatro complete with a rented water slide bouncy house combo.

September: We celebrated the baptism of two very special girls (Endie and Makeda). Cuatro started swim lessons (at an indoor place). I co-led the church garage sale for the fourth year in a row and competed in my first ever skeet shoot tournament (it was for charity and I will probably never be asked to be on a team again).

October: We attended two galas (I love to dress up but Joe doesn't). The girls had their walk-a-thon at school (the fundraiser for their elementary school). I snuck away for a weekend in Fredericksburg with some old college friends. We trick-or-treated in our friends neighborhood as a cowgirl(Laura), rockstar(Grace), Ironman(Cuatro), and a cow(Audrey).

November: My sister renewed her vows with a nice big party at the beginning of the month. We had a wonderful evening of food and laughter. Joe and I attended another anniversary party the next weekend which was the couple's 11th wedding anniversary on 11-11-11! We got all of our flu shots with the help of my mom(only had to hold down Cuatro this year). I took the kids to see the local high school production of "Beauty and the Beast". We had Thanksgiving in Carrizo Springs (where Joe is from) with some of Joe's family and was able to enjoy the ranch for a few days (well the kids and Joe did while Audrey and I enjoyed heat and comfort at the big house in Carrizo).

December: We were able to be in "A Walk in Bethlehem" that our church puts on every year. Cuatro and Audrey have both been baby Jesus in previous years (with Joe and I playing Mary and Joseph of course). This year we were the town gardeners and showed people how we gathered and planted food back then. It was a wonderful time as a family and helped our kids see what it was like when Jesus came to this earth. We also attended lots of holiday parties and programs for the kids in the last weeks before school was over. My mom and I took Grace and Laura to the Riverwalk for dinner and then to the Majestic Theater to see the Symphony perform their Holiday POPS show. Joe's older sister and her husband came in a few days before Christmas and then his mom's side of the family came on Christmas Eve to have dinner and go to church with us. We celebrated Christmas at my mom's house and then left the next day for three days in Carrizo Springs. We came home and had Joe's niece stay with us for two days and now we are catching up on laundry, life, and sleep!! We are looking forward to ringing in the new year with a sweet group of friends tomorrow night.

My prayer is that 2012 brings us rest and a deeper understanding of what it means to serve God. We are hoping our kids see that there is much need out in the world and that by meeting people's physical needs, we are able to open up communication to show that there is a spiritual "need" as well. I hope we can sum up 2010 with the words "boldness" and "diligence" and "forgiveness" as well:).