I always get to this time of the year and am humbled and in awe, when I look at God's hand of provision, protection, and sustenance of and for our family. The truth is that when any of us get up the next morning and make it through a day physically or emotionally, is only because of God's mighty hand of grace and mercy. This year has proved to be a year filled with a myriad of emotions, unexpected twists and turns, and blessings without number. Yet, our family has been sustained, upheld, protected, and loved beyond measure by our Great and Mighty God - in times of light and in times of darkness - in times of plenty and in times of want. We close this year thanking Him for all that He has done for us, and we open the new year, thanking Him for all that He will do.
Our precious son Elijah Brooks, now 3 years old, brings us more joy than we ever could have imagined. He is everyone's best friend if you will let him be. I echo what I have said numerous times over the past 3 years, he is full of life and love for all people. He lights up a room when he walks in it, and his smile can heal any wound. He is compassionate and feels things deeply, and is very conscientious of other's feelings. He is a lover, loving even the unlovely and unlovable. He loves life, and life loves him back. He is cautious and does not take many risks. He reminds us daily not to take life too seriously. He has especially helped to heal some hurts in all of our hearts this year over the difficult things my family has faced this year. He has been a minister to our family in numerous ways, reminding all of us that "Jesus can fix anything, you just have to ask Him"!
As we prepare to welcome our precious daughter into our family this week, I have decided to finally turn this blog into a book from the past 3 years. This seems to be a good time to do what I have wanted to do for quite some time. Tomorrow is a new year and our daughter will enter the world this week, bringing hope, joy, more love, more laughter, and more healing into our family.
So, today ends "phase 1" of our new life with our precious gift from God - our son, Elijah Brooks. Tomorrow begins "phase 2" of our new life with our other precious gift from God - our daughter, (name to be revealed this week), and her life with her big brother.
In 3 more years, I will be writing a similar post about our 2 precious gifts from God, our son AND our daughter, and will be printing another book which will include both of them.
Goodbye 2011, and hello 2012!
(Spoken by Elijah Brooks tonight at dinner, after this post was written):
EB: I love you sooooo much Momma
Me: Well, I love you too sweetheart. Why do you love me?
EB: Because you're so sweet to me!
EB: Daddy, I love you sooooo much
Jay: I love you too buddy. Why do you love me?
EB: Because you work hard so we can have food to eat :)
3 comments:
So well spoken, Erin. And all so true.
Love, Dad
Hey there! We missed you this morning at MOPS...I knew your due date was getting close...so exciting! :) We would love to do something for you, bring a meal etc. I didn't know what your church family might be doing and didn't want to overwhelm you. If you get a chance drop me a quick email laurabohlerforman at gmail dot com and maybe we can talk more about it. Please know that we are praying for you and can not wait to see this precious new little one!!! Lots of love! :)
Loved Christmas with y'all! So much has happened since then with the addition of sweet Ellison Anne January 5! Your family is so precious and God is so good to bless us as He has done.
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