happy new year!

1-11-11

Another year is upon us. CRAZY! I love what Erik's aunt posted on my wall a couple months ago. "You will hold [Brody] again soon. Time has a way of going fast. I think the Lord sometimes does that for a reason. That way we can see our loved ones again and know that the ones we left behind will be joining us again before long."

I love that! Thanks, Aunt Darlene!

Today is also Brian's birthday! Happy 32nd, big brother! Not sure if they celebrate earth birthdays in heaven, but we are thinking of you with love. Fun memory: last night my dad played an audio clip of me when I was about 2 years old and he was asking me to say a bunch of different words. I used to call my brother "Bah-gie" instead of Brian. Not sure why... Brian seems much easier to say!

So on this tape (which Dad turned into an mp3) Dad would say to me, "Say morning!" And I'd say "Morning!" It went something like this:

Say Brian "Bri... Br... "Bah- gie"
No, say Brian "Bri... Br... "Bah-gie"
No, Brian "Nooooo...(I was very frustrated!) Bah-gie."
"Martha" (my mom's name) "Mar... Mar... Mommy."
"Morning" "Morning!"
"Night-night" "Night-night!"
"Brian" "Bah-gie."

My Uncle Craig took up calling Brian "Bahgie" for years after I learned how to say Brian. Brian didn't like it very much, but grew to tolerate it. Heh heh... he can't stop me right now, so Happy Birthday, Bahgie!

Ahh, Brian was such a wonderful brother! So glad he's my family. Yay!

Oh another cool note about today ... I just found out my friends, Noah and Shamim Buck, are celebrating 11 years of being together today. They met on 1-11-00 at the turn of the millennium and are celebrating 11 years together on 1-1-11. Love it!

I had a lot of different thoughts run through my head today about what I should post regarding the New Year. As I was reading my Bible, I came to a section that I thought would be perfect. No matter how much adversity you face, always remember this:

"Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, 'For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.') No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39, NLT)

Happy New Year and always remember God loves each one of us!