Time...do you have enough to consider my thoughts?

Well, Christmas has passed, and a new year is upon us. I didn't post any pictures of Christmas, and I don't think I will because I have so many pictures, and they don't really mean anything to you guys. However, we had a great Christmas with our family and friends - the only thing that would of made it better would have been my family from Colorado being here too (or us being there). I am just glad that we were able to be with them for Thanksgiving this year. My family, like many of yours I'm sure, draw names for Christmas gifts. My little sister Rebecca had me this year. She's not actually "little" anymore; she will turn 27 on January 1st, but I still think of her as little. The box that came from her was little, so I knew it was jewelry. I'm not really a jewelry person, but I was willing to give it a chance! When I opened it on Christmas Day, this is what I saw...

It is not a watch...it's a bracelet with several different watches on it. At first I was a little baffled. Why would she get me this? She told me she was getting me something that she saw a while back and thought it would be a good gift for me. Huh? As soon as I opened it I said "It's what I never have enough of". Well, the funny thing is, as soon as I saw it, I knew it was THE perfect gift for me. The reason this gift is perfect for me is because I speed through my life without slowing down. In a weird way, this bracelet is a reminder to me to slow down. Remember my near death experience I wrote about? Well, I have only shared with a few people that I really carry a lot of the responsibility in that situation for it being a near death experience for me. I was rushing to get to the post office because I needed to pick up a package. The post office closes at 4:30, and I have to work until 4:00 with a 20 minute drive to the post office. Do the math - I had 10 minutes to spare, but I was still following the van in front of me way to close. If I was following the "2 or 3 second rule" it would not have been so stinkin scary for me (or as near death). I cried for a long time after that near accident, especially when I was with Mark at home. I realized that my rushing could have cost my husband a wife or my children a mom. Am I willing to give that up just so that the kids could have had their Crocs that particular day? Would my kids care more about getting their Crocs that day (even though it would've been the 3rd day in a row I didn't make it to the post office), or would they rather have their mom? The answer was easy - they wanted their mom. Funny thing, when I made it home, they only asked about me. Was I okay? They didn't even mention their package? I never did make it to the post office that day, and they were okay with that.

Why am I in such a rush?

What is so important that it can't wait a few minutes or even a few days?

Why do I feel the need to rush, rush, rush?

Why can't I sit still?

Why do I always have to be doing something?

What am I afraid of? Running out of time?

My resolution for this new year is this --- slow down and enjoy my time. Enjoy the time I have with my family, enjoy the time I have with my friends, enjoy my time alone with God (be still and know), enjoy sitting and reading a book without feeling like something else needs to be done, etc.

I have worked on that a little this break. The first few days at home without school was hard for me. I was thinking that there is no way that I can be home for 2 weeks without something major to do. What were we going to do if we weren't planning lessons, packing lunches, catching the bus, etc. Well...I was determined to do something I wanted to do. I have read four books, and not really cared about what I am going to teach when I get back to school. I have spent time at the movies with my family and not cared about cleaning the house. I have slept in with my kids in my bed...that is a true gift. Baby steps that will hopefully lead to more that I can give.

I am thankful that God works in mysterious ways - I think He somehow led my sister to get me that bracelet as a reminder. I will wear it often to remind me of my time - it is important to those in my life (my husband, my kids, God, my church family, my friends, my family, my students). I will spend my time more wisely, and I will not rush through my life.

Happy New Year.

Near Death Experience

Have you ever had a near death experience? I can now say that I have, and let me just say, it was the most frightening experience of my life. I don't want to have another one of those experiences, ever. I was coming home from work on Monday on 730 (between Boyd and Decatur) when I witnessed a head on collision. I was directly behind one of the cars involved, and I nearly missed being in the accident myself. I tried to avoid contact, so I swerved off to the right side of the road. I was going too fast to do something like this, but I thought that it would be a better idea than ramming the guy in front of me in his rear with my car. In doing this, my car swerved, spun, and finally came to a stop in the opposite lane, facing the opposite direction. So, even though I was going north on 730, when it was all said and done, I was facing south on 730. I don't know how it all happened, but I know that there was an angel controlling my car and keeping me safe (I know it wasn't my ability to do so). I firmly do believe that something else was with me at that moment. My car was not involved in the accident, thankfully, but I will never forget that day. I am thankful to God that I am here today because my thoughts during that moment were that my big ol' SUV was going to flip and that I was going to die. I am thankful that the two men involved were not too seriously injured, and I rejoice in the fact that I was not. Praise God, and thank God for his angels - you never know when and where they are going to be.

Colorado Trip

We went to Colorado for a week for Thanksgiving, and here are a few pictures from our trip. This was taken right before we left to come home on Saturday morning. It snowed a little bit Friday night.

Here is a picture on the way to Denver - as you can see, they got a little bit more snow than Ft. Collins did. It was beautiful.

Here are some pictures from our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. My little sister is the grown up in the picture, and the other kids are my niece and nephew.

As you can see, we had an incredible trip and a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope all of you had a great one too!