Happy New Year

This feels like week 2 of back-to-normal. Luke came home from deployment, and then it was the Christmas season, and now we're finally settled in at home with things pretty much the same from week to week. Except that there's no "back" to normal! It's a new normal all the time! Clar isn't walking yet, but he easily pulls himself up to coffee tables and shelves and chairs, so there's a whole new level of the world accessible to him. Ellie has been asking about school, so we're trying some very first wobbly steps into the world of homeschooling. I should know this already, but it turns out that with small children, there is always a new normal.

I know I didn't post anything about Christmas. We celebrated Christmas, at least twice, but I was so busy celebrating that I didn't take many pictures. The highlight of our trip was sledding in the Colorado snow. Ellie received a sled from her grandparents and responded with all the excitement a parent or grandparent could ask for. She boldly sledded down the hill by herself on the first try, went straight for a tree, leaned back, and slid right underneath the branches. As she says when she tells the story, (which she will do with very little prompting), "Good thing Daddy wasn't in the sled!"

Clar also tried sledding and loved it, although he prefers to go with Daddy rather than Mommy, who is not the world's best sled driver. Usually, when we come to the end of the year, Luke and I find ourselves looking back and marveling at all of the unexpected changes the year brought. And this year is no exception. Luke's entire deployment, from finding out he was going to coming home, was all part of 2009. Additionally, this year, we look forward to lots of changes that we know will come in 2010. We're planning a big career change and a big move. And those are just the changes we're planning! It is good to know that God is never surprised and that He is in control of all things. We look forward to 2010 with joy and excitement as we wait to see what God will do.