Hello 2017

Hello, 2017.

When did you arrive? Have I let you wait all this time for me to realize?  My apologies, as I've been focused on the tasks continuously at hand, and neglected to stop to welcome you properly.

Welcome! Come in, won't you?

I consider what you may bring this year, and I cannot see past birthdays.  How silly of me!  In the past, it has been easier to envision what is to come within the context of a year, but now?  We continue on in the same direction, we persevere on our current course.

How long will this course take?  What will it bring?  The rearing of young children is wonderfully repetitive, and yet, full of surprises.  As I try to dream up what moving ahead will be like, I stop to recall: our recent pizza night.

At the moment, our current record for number of pizzas consumed by my four sons: 1 large cheese pizza.

That's right. My 7 year old ate 3 slices, my 5 year old 2 slices, my 3 year old 1 slice, and my 1 year old 2 slices.  Yes, that's a total of 8 slices.  An entire large cheese pizza.  A first! I suddenly fear the new records in the coming years...

So, for now, I'm setting my sights low.  I'm curious to see if my boys will break this pizza record in 2017, or if we will have to wait a few years for them to boast of eating more than 1 pizza in a sitting.

Otherwise, 2017?  You're more than welcome to come in.  We are happy to have you, & I apologize for our tardiness in recognizing you're with us.

Lord, Thank you for giving us this new year.  For new celebrations, new memories, and new records to be logged.  Lord, I pray that this year would be full of you in ways we never see coming, but that we can always recognize as your presence in our lives.  I pray that you would knit us together as a family, that you would continue to give us wisdom to raise our sons, that you would draw those boys to yourself & that they would know you.  Lord, thank you.  For so many gifts already, and for the countless small ways I see you, always present, in our everyday lives.  I'm so thankful to have today to spend with my sons.  In your name, Amen.