2012: The Highlights

I am working on my reading post in my head but in the meantime I thought I would think about some of the highlights of 2012.

The #1 Highlight of 2012 was this little bundle: Our 3rd granddaughter Savanna Alexis

Here she is last week with her sister Anabella. Aren't they just the cutest little things?

Highlight #2

This time last year our son Timothy was heading to Afghanistan for 9 months. He is safely back in Japan now. On the last day of his tour, on his way out of the country, one of his team members, a young father, was killed by a random Afghan shooter. We are deeply sorry for that young man's family and it hit very close to home but we ended 2012 with our family unbroken. We are never guaranteed this so we are thankful.

Highlight #3

James had an amazing senior year in baseball.

NCAA Division 3 Baseball Player of the Year, Georgia Dugout Club, May 2012
Awarded 1st Team All-South Region, ABCA/Rawlings Team, May 2012
NCCAA All-American Baseball 1st Team, May 2012
NCCAA Mid-East All-Region Baseball Player of the Year, May 2012
GSAC All-Conference Baseball Player of the Year, Covenant College, May 2012
Baseball Team Captain, Covenant College Men’s Baseball Team, August 2010-May2012
Baseball Player, Covenant College Men’s Baseball Team, August 2009-May 2012
NCCAA Honorable Mention, All-Conference Baseball Player, May 2010 & May 2011

Highlight #4

Wendell Berry and David Hicks (and I ) spoke at the Circe Conference. It was the most amazing honor for me. Just a mom.

Highlight #5

I lost more weight. 3 years ago I had mono and another disease named stress. I slowly gained more weight than usual. It was especially frustrating that this occurred around the time Nathaniel got married since I just hate the pics I am in from that time. I started a diet that summer. It was called 'eat less.'  I did not want to go on a real diet because they are always so frustrating and I felt I could not go back on a low carb diet at the time. I started slowly losing weight and I have consistently lost weight slowly since that time. It couldn't have been any slower but I am OK with that since my weight has consistently gone down over these 3 years. After the 'eat less' seemed to stop working I added in T-Tapp and that got me through a whole holiday season without gaining. I then went back to a low carb lifestyle for a year and lost about 20 lbs. over the course of the year. SLOW. Then Emily and Tim started Weight Watchers. I didn't join in with them because I did not think I could lose weight eating any carbs but they were both losing. Tim dropped out of WW because of his work outage (this means he works more not less) and I decided to give it a trial run. I love it!!!  I apply what I have learned over the years about my own body: eating more fats than carbs but it is super fun for me to have bread and butter occasionally and really I can choose to eat anything I want to. The key is habit (my CM diet?) and tracking and it works. I have found it to be so easy. I think it is easy because I had limited my diet for so long that WW was like going off a diet. I have also started exercising more. Exercise always felt so stressful for me but for some reason I just love to do it now. Maybe it is just an answer to prayer and God ordering my affections. Maybe it is because with WW I am looking at every good decision I make as a point in the good category and I don't have to exercise but when I do I get credit. No pressure. I have lost almost 10% of my body weight in a few weeks. Emily is now on WW Lifetime. She gets to go for free! That is my goal too.


These are just the obvious big events of my year. Many little things contributed to even better things. I have no greater joy than seeing my children walk in the truth and now my grandchildren too. My parents are in a better situation to begin 2013. I am looking forward to 2013. So many things to look forward to in the lives of my children: graduations (2 coming up), marriages (girlfriends needed), and more babies perhaps;  but then again so many uncertainties. God is good. In the good times God is good. In the bad times God is good.  I hope to boldly proclaim God's goodness to those around me in the coming year.  Only one life...