2006 Overview

2006 at a Glance
I was listening to the song, "So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over...a new one just begun." While this year flew by, we have so many precious memories worth sharing. I will never forget a sermon we heard by Bob Hazelett in the beginning of the year who said that 2006 was the year of triple blessing. He referred to scripture and what He had discerned from the Lord, and then he prayed over anyone who wanted more of God's blessings. Shawn and I went up to the altar, and Bob said that he believed he was hearing that we were being blessed with real estate. There was no way he could have known that we were settling on a house - we hadn't told anyone in our church yet.

The blessing of our home
We settled on our house in the end of February and began cleaning every inch of the house, painting every room, carpeting the upstairs, and doing more work than we would have ever imagined. While it feels like a never-ending process of updating, we absolutely love it here now that we have Joshua. The layout is fabulous for a family, we think the private back yard is perfect for us, we are so close to the elementary school and all the fields and playgrounds that go with it, and the location is out of this world. It was truly a blessing when we were making trips back and forth to the NICU since it only took us about five minutes to get there and back. We love the openness of the first floor for entertaining since we knocked out that wall between the living room and dining room, and there is no cozier feeling than snuggling up by a nice fire in our family room. We weren't sure that this was truly a "blessing" at first, but we know now that it is exactly where we were supposed to be.

The blessing of our jobs
Shawn worked this entire year for Dart Container, where he truly respects his boss. They have been great to work with him on allowing him to go to my doctor's appointments and Joshua's. He has also been given new responsibilities and able to grow in his work there, which is important to him since he is so intelligent and needs new challenges to thrive. I think he likes the purchasing aspect of his job. He has also done really well selling laptops and other items on Ebay for extra income. I worked this year right up until the day I went into the hospital as Marketing Manager for Masterpiece Marketing, a busy marketing/ad agency specializing in Christian ministries. After having Joshua, I resigned but have been able to do some writing from home to make extra money, which has been a real blessing for us. I was also honored when Millersville University called me this summer to see if I would be willing to teach in the fall. Even after hearing that I was expecting, the department chair was okay with me giving it a shot, and I only missed one week. I received a great review and have been asked to come back this Spring to teach a different course and then teach the same course in the fall. This has also been truly a blessing as I have loved teaching, it occurs after Shawn gets out of work (and I can do grading at home while watching the baby), and it provides steady income for our budget. While we're still not where we would like to be budget-wise, we have seen God's hand guiding our steps and providing opportunities for us to make the income we need.

The blessing of our church
Shawn has been asked to head up the A/V team at our church, which is responsible for making sure the words are displayed on screen for worship songs, any kind of visual presentations that the church does via computer, etc. I have been blessed as part of the worship team, playing the piano and singing. We have also loved helping out with youth group. Through these times, we feel like we've been ushered into the very presence of God. We have also received prayer support and encouragement from our church family in so many ways!

The blessing of our son
I will never forget our vacation this year over our anniversary to Daytona Beach, where we stayed in a gorgeous 3 bedroom 2 bath condo with full kitchen, dining area and living room right on the beach. The place had indoor mini-golf, a huge pool and hot tub, was within walking distance to all the shops, and did I mention a gorgeous beach? We even upgraded our car rental to an Infiniti G35, which Shawn has always liked. Since we had free airfare and an extremely reduced room rate from someone who couldn't use their condo that weekend, we felt blessed to have such a "richy" cheap vacation. It was there on our anniversary that I took the pregnancy test, and Shawn and I checked it together and found out we were having a baby! We curled up together in a blanket the next morning and sat on our balcony as we watched the sun rise over the ocean, and we both realized that our lives would never be the same.

From there, we saw God's hand every step as we were terrified over umbylical cord cysts that were non-existent, and we heard through my niece Grace that Jesus had our baby in His hands (singing about it to the tune of "He's got the whole world in His hands"). Then, we both cried when they couldn't find the baby's heartbeat and we were rushed to a STAT ultrasound at the hospital. Later, we were horrified when we were told that our baby had a mass on his lung and the prayers over his life and breathing began. Then we rejoiced when we found out we were having a boy. We kept going to ultrasounds and seeing our little one because of his health issues, and it was so great to see him all the time and how he was progressing. The doctor nicknamed the baby "Jumping Bean" since he was so active. I remember reading through dozens of baby book names at Barnes & Nobels, creating a list, and finally letting Shawn pick the ultimate name. What a name! Our son would need to be strong and courageous, and we have heard over and over again that he will be a leader of peoples.

I distinctly remember that Saturday in September when we called the doctor because I thought I had a migraine. I went into the hospital with a headache (which turned out to be extremely high blood pressure and kidney failure) and Joshua was delivered via emergency C-section two days later. My first look at him when my eyes were able to focus without the heavy-duty drugs I was on...it was amazing! I beamed with pride at my new little bundle of joy, all 3 lbs 4 oz of him.

His scrawny chicken legs have grown over time, and now he weighs a whopping 12 lbs 1 oz!!! I have seen him grow from needing an isolette warmer to not fitting his clothes. We celebrated his first smiles and coos of delight. We are still learning how to be the best parents we can be, and we continue to pray over our precious little one. I was listening to the CD that Gayle, Brian & Grant got Joshua for Christmas and it has a song "I was born to worship" and thinking about Joshua being born to praise God just gives me goose bumps.

The blessing of our family and friends
We felt so much love and support from family and friends this year! From mom buying us appliances for our house to all of our family helping us paint to friends and family helping us move in...we felt very fortunate to have everyone in our lives who gave us a hand. Then when we were experiencing issues with our son, the encouraging emails, prayers that went to heaven on our behalf, the cards and notes we received...again we were blessed. When the baby arrived, Shawn's family filled our fridge and cupboards with groceries, did some much-needed lawn maintenance, picked up our nursery furniture that we had just bought but hadn't had the time to go get, and made sure our house was ready for us to come home. My mom bought us so many things that we needed for Joshua but couldn't afford, and she still comes over to this day with formula and diapers in hand. She has blessed us by watching the baby when we've needed to go somewhere, too. Gayle and my sister Jen lent me maternity clothing, which was SO great! And Alicia and Brian & Gayle and Jen & Mike have lent us things from their kids that helped us not have to buy so much. It was great that Jordon and Joshua were born around the same time because his clothing has been fabulous! Bonnie has come over during the day occasionally to give me a break, too. We've also had many friends bring us meals, which came in so handy when all we could think about was rushing back to the hospital to see our baby. Erica, who we have nicknamed "Nanny Jo" has stayed with us for weekends to give us some sleep and also made us dinner several times. The Ginders have also bought us things for Joshua and been a big part of his life already. And the list goes on...we have felt the honest concern and care from all of our friends during this time as well as unconditional love from our family. We couldn't ask for more!

The blessing of health
After Shawn tearing his ACL and my breaking my wrist at the same time a couple years ago, we recognize that we have been fortunate to not have any accidents this year. I also came so close to dying this past September...closer than I probably even realize...that we know Jesus Himself has touched our lives to give us the ability to live longer on this earth and enjoy our time with each other. Shawn, Joshua and I have all been healthy this entire year as far as I can remember. I didn't catch any major illnesses during my pregnancy, and since Joshua has been home and we've had to be extra cautious, we've all felt great! Hearing what my friend Jen is going through, I know that we can't take for granted feeling well every day. We have been truly blessed!

The blessing of each other
Shawn has been the most amazing husband. He rose to the occasion in the hospital as he was in the room during my C-section, helped me go to the bathroom and shower while I was barely able to move the day after, and constantly made sure our son was doing okay in the NICU. He has been a great father to Joshua already, and I know that he'll be a great dad always. More than that, he has been a faithful husband...always loving, always encouraging, always supporting. I am so thrilled to have him as part of my life - he is my best friend and love of my life.

More blessings than we can count!
I could go on and on about how God has provided for us, given us cars to drive and food to eat, clothing on our backs and a roof over our head. He has given us talents and abilities to enjoy life to the fulleset. We have people surrounding us that mean so much...the list goes on and on. The most special blessing of all is knowing that we have eternal life in heaven from the work done on the cross where Jesus died for our sins. May we never lose our focus on Him even with the day-to-day worries and victories. He has been faithful to us!

What a year 2006 has been for our family! I am looking forward to a special 2007 together!