REFLECTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS

Christmas Day has come and gone. We survived. We knew that with the joy of the celebration would also come pain--joy at the addition of our precious Carson to the family, but pain at the loss of our sweet cousin and nephew, Ross, this past year. Through it all, though, we still know that we've been blessed. God has never forsaken us. He has taken our hearts and our hands and gently walked us through the darkness and into the promise of brighter days.

Today we reflect on the past year and look forward to the one that will arrive in just a few hours. Because we have experienced much, we will face the future with a renewed understanding. With God's help, we will learn from our experiences and use them to face the challenges that this year will surely bring. Although we know that the resolutions we make will not be easy to keep, we'll make them anyway because, after all, our intentions are good and our desire is great.

So without further ado, I make the following resolutions:

• to be grateful no matter what my circumstances, trusting that God is in control and that only He knows the plans He has for me
• to let past hurts remain just that
• to embrace my experiences and try to make each of them "learning" experiences
• to forgive and to know that forgiving doesn't have to mean forgetting, but that it DOES mean letting go
• to accept my shortcomings and not be afraid to ask for help
• to seek an opportunity each day to help another individual, no matter how big or small the deed
• to let those I love know how very much they are loved and how grateful I am to have them in my life
• to remember that each day is a gift and that the choices I make each of those days will be the legacy I leave.

"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's" - Henry Moore

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
MAY YOU BE BLESSED IN ITS COMING AS WELL AS ITS STAY.

Merry Christmas Eve!

The stockings are hung......The gifts are wrapped......I just love pretty presents! It doesn't matter the contents of the package; I just love for them to be pretty! I try my best to have all the gifts wrapped and under the tree no later than the day before Christmas because I so enjoy just "looking" at them. That may sound crazy, but isn't a tree surrounded by gifts purchased with love a beautiful sight? Every gift under the tree (or in our case around the tree) has been carefully selected for its recipient with much love and care. Of course, these days everything gets wrapped, no matter how big or small, and this year, it appears that the biggest presents are for the smallest member of the family--ha, no surprise there! No more unwrapped gifts from Santa around the family tree, although Santa did tell me that there are still a few to be added, today... ;)

There's no question that everyone's very favorite gift this year arrived on June 10 in a tiny package named Carson James Clark. He didn't arrive with a bow on his head or a "TO: / FROM:" card attached, but he was--and is--indeed a gift! He is the child we prayed for and the assurance of God's faithfulness. It's hard to believe that he's already six months old and getting his two front teeth for Christmas--that is, his two TOP teeth; he cut the two bottom ones at four months! He is such a joy to each and every one of us; how very blessed we are!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!