So this year I tried to cut down on the number of cards I sent out, but with large families and an even larger pool of work folks for Joey--that didn't happen:( However, some of you who may have always received one in the past got dropped this year, and I apologize. I guess that's life. No offense was meant, and if you sent us a card, I tried to send one back to you as well, so without further ado...here it is:
Merry Christmas (And now Happy New Year) Family & Friends!
Ah, 2013. You
have been a year for the books, yet coming to the end of it all, I feel so at
peace and full of joy, expectant for the year to come. Strange, considering I began the year
with three months of intensive physical therapy because my back went out
shortly after I mailed last year’s letter. Happy to report I was back up and running the Gobble
Jog with Joey for the 4th year in a row this Thanksgiving!
The month of April was good, but it was followed by May
bringing only pain in the loss of our beloved babysitter of five years. I had known her since she was 12 years
old, and she was an intimate part of our family. At the too-early age of 19, God called her home. Her death still haunts the corners of
our days. I have grieved the
closest thing I ever want to feel to losing a child this year. Our Savannah has mourned her passing so
deeply and tenderly. This still
casts a shadow over our lives as a family, and only time continues to let in
the Light of God’s hope and comfort.
In the midst of the grieving though, we did have one of the
best family vacations ever in June—such a sweet time of healing with family, only
to be followed by an unexpected foot surgery for me and two small surgeries for
Savannah in which infections had to be lanced.
Uneventful is NOT how you would describe our year.
The fall season brought us many firsts as well: a new future
sister-in-love, (Congrats to my little brother Mark on his engagement!), both
kids playing soccer for the first time (hilarious!), the schedule of a
Kindergartner and a 4K preschooler, two new nieces, a nephew and a
“niece”-cousin, and Upward basketball and cheerleading to boot. Life has been busy, yet so good.
Thankfully, Weston and Joey both stayed well with no major
bumps in the road to report.
Weston did have his tonsils removed in March, but the relief it has
brought him was totally worth it.
He turned four in August, and he couldn’t be more witty or charming or
sweet boy. He definitely made the
transition from toddler to little boy this year, and we couldn’t be more proud
of how well he’s learning and maturing. His thoughtfulness and laughter add a warmth to our
days that is so needed.
Savannah turned six in October! (Where does the time
go?!) She couldn’t be more smart
or loving or exuberant for life in all her pent-up enthusiasm for
everything. Starting Kindergarten
at Midway Covenant Christian has been as natural for her as I always thought it
would be. She loves school as much
as she loves everything else in life, and she has definitely inherited the
Bounds family trait of being good at whatever she sets her mind to do. She lost her first two teeth and
learned how to swim and ride a bike on her own this year. I caught a glimpse of her lounging in
the back seat of the car today, and my heart ached at how grown up she looks. Such sweet joy.
Joey worked with a new market this year as a financial
consultant and still loves his new life as a corporate employee. His travel schedule has become more
routine for our family, and we thoroughly enjoy having him all to ourselves on
the weekends=)
But the biggest announcement for this year was only a pipe
dream this time last year, and it wasn’t even on our radar until the end of
May, but God has been working in our lives as a family, and we know beyond a
shadow of a doubt that moving to California in July of 2014 is completely and
assuredly His will for our lives and our family. We could not be more excited!!!!
This was a surprisingly easy decision to make, but only at the end
of a yearlong process and journey God took our family through. Ultimately, God has been teaching us what it means to trust Him, how to
trust Him. He showed me
through the study of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph that nothing is too big
for Him to dream for my family or me. Then He showed me that He, Creator
God, would give our family a big dream that He would fulfill in His
time, in His way, for His glory. And we started to get excited! The dream that God plants in your heart
is so much more exciting than anything you can imagine dreaming yourself, and
living in the knowledge that we are exactly in the middle of God’s will for our
lives is a very freeing and safe place to be. Trusting God and following His plan for our lives is worth
the sacrifices we have and will make with this move. There’s just no words to describe other than all the glory
that may come from our lives goes to a Great God who is truly Good to us in
every way.
Yes, the yearlong transition stage is not fun, and it is
hard emotionally for our family here in Georgia and for us. There are moments
of deep sadness when we think about what we will be leaving behind for the
years to come, but those thoughts are quickly followed by all the hope for what
these years will hold for our family during this journey and adventure together
as well. We cannot express how
deeply God completely fills us in the fulfillment of this decision! We simply cannot wait to get going!
But in the meantime, we are here, serving faithfully where
called, ministering as needed, training up two beautiful children (inside &
out), and resting in the peace of knowing God is going to work out every detail
to get us to California in His way, in His timing. For those who know me, it is strange to find myself so
completely at peace in having no idea what is going to happen next—my heart and
my God just assure me it’s going to be good=)
So we ask that you please support us with your prayers. Pray for God’s will for the right
school choices in California for our kids, pray for Joey as he takes on a
slightly more challenging role in his job with this move, pray for his and our
safety as we travel often between east and west coast between now and then, pray
for our family as we continue to weather the waves of grief that inevitably ebb
and flow in and out of our days for so many reasons, and pray for me that God
would keep my eyes lifted to Him in the hard moments of this transition.
And for yourself and your family this Christmas season, I
pray this letter encourages you to put all your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
and His plan for your life. I pray
it challenges you to take the leap of faith and step out into the unknown when
God calls you to do something that just sounds absolutely absurd, regardless of
what others may think or say or how they might react. Trust God my
friends! It doesn’t make one bit
of logical sense sometimes, but we are having the time of our lives on the days
when we can really live in the Spirit of that trust. May trusting in the God who set the world in motion with
just His words bring you to a place of safe haven this season as well.
This verse has been my hope and stay this year; I pray it
could be yours also:
“Trust in Him at all
times, (your name here); pour out your heart to Him,
for God is your
refuge.” Psalm 62:8
Wishing you and your family all the blessings of this
Christmas season. May the reminder
of His perfect gift to us in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ spur you on in
faith that He is the Giver of all good gifts and big dreams!
Trust and obey/ for there’s no other way/ to be happy in Jesus/ but to
trust and obey. –John H. Sammis
Trusting Him,
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