Welcome, 2010…

I have yet to talk to anyone who is mournful about the passing of 2009.

Was that a crazy year, or what?

For our family, it was a year of transition…and a year of incredible blessing.

At times, the “transition” part of our lives was a bit stressful for me.  After being so “settled” as a wife of a Pastor who was also employed as a full-time Disney musician, I had to learn to live with a bit more uncertainty after that full-time job ended and Doug went to part-time employment.  Like just about everyone else in America, we had to figure out how to make do with a whole lot less income…about half of what we made before.  But let me tell you…I’m thankful beyond words that we had income at all.  Every time I dropped our mortgage payment in the mailbox this year, I uttered a prayer of thanks.  Our needs were more than met, and we were still able to do some fun things and provide for Noah’s needs as well.  And ya know the craziest part of all of this?  As I look at our bank account and financial records from last year…when Doug was a full-time employee and had a full benefits package…we had LESS money in our savings account than we do now.  So not only have we had every need met and all that…we’ve got more money saved.  I have NO idea how that happened, but it did and I just have to say here that God is GOOD.  And faithful.

When Doug’s job at Disney ended in September 2008, my first concern was for Noah.  How would we even begin to fund his biomedical therapies and DAN doctor visits with the accompanying assortment of supplements and medications?  When we worked our budget based on our “new” income, we quickly realized that we would need to cut way back on all of that.  After about six months of experimenting, we’ve settled into a “bare bones” supplement list.  We’ve replaced prescription medication with Young Living essential oils…with great results.  (The cost isn’t that much less per month as far as oils vs. prescription copays, but we don’t have to worry about the side effects of the medication and we aren’t dependent on a doctor to write prescriptions or monitor Noah’s bloodwork…which leads to less expense overall.  Woo-hoo for that.)  Noah is doing well…his OCD is under control and his gut is healthier than ever.  So as far as Noah’s biomedical protocol goes, God has more than taken care of all of that.

And then there was Soma.

Our lives were radically altered in July when my Mom and I took Noah to spend a week at the Halo clinic.  While we were there, we were handed the keys to help Noah communicate by learning to spell out words.  We’ve still got a long way to go as far as getting Noah to spell for us, but something about that week has unlocked our precious boy and he has made incredible gains since that time.  He’s calmer in social situations and is much more engaged and connected with others.  He is attempting to talk more and has more spontaneous words.  I think that it’s because he knows that we know that he knows.  Ya know?  It’s been amazing to watch.

So I’ve got a ton of hope and excitement going into this new year.

Our church is growing…we’re getting ready to expand our children’s ministry and prepare for a possible third service on Sundays.  Can’t wait to see what this year brings for Calvary Chapel of the Lakes.

I’m looking forward to taking Noah back to the Halo Clinic in March.  And to going back in April for a week of intense training for myself.

I’m hopeful that we will finally get this stinkin’ house sold and get moved up to the Mount Dora area.

And I’m hopeful that God is going to make a way for me to get my uterus yanked out so that I can be done with all of that. I’m just sayin’.

It’s exciting stuff.

Well, I’m off to do some shopping.

I hope that your new year is full of peace and hope and joy.