Lia Kate Stone: January 2014

2013, You've been so good to us. As my sister Laci calls it..."The year of miracles". And rightfully so. As I reflect on this past year, beginning to end, I am amazed. I'm thankful for pics on my phone, Facebook archives, and blog entries to help remind me of all we've experienced in the last year. We have a tendency to race through life at record breaking speed without even realizing it. In doing just that, we forget. We forget where we've been, and how great things are...this life we've been blessed with is kinda awesome in a weird, imperfect way. I wish I took the time to realize that every single day.

I have all the normal dreams and aspirations for 2014. You know the ones I'm talking about...like, I want to lose 10-15 lbs, I want to read more, I want to learn more about politics and current events instead of just current events on Sportscenter... I want to be more healthy, I want to train for another half marathon, I want to learn to sew, I want to be more organized, I want to get serious about getting my Masters degree. I want to be a better wife and mom, I want to reach out and help others more, I want to guide my children into being more well-rounded little individuals. I want to be more patient and more tolerant, including tolerating my own imperfections a little better. All the normal stuff...

2013 was a year I had personally dreaded for the past 6 years...this was the year our 4 year old baby girl was having her third big open heart surgery. This was the year we sent her back through those scary doors with all the pediatric cardiothoracic gurus and experts...and I've never wished I could trade places with someone so much in all my life. But we made it. It's behind us now and I almost still can't believe it. For 6 solid years I thought about this surgery every single day. Every day. And although we have tried our very hardest to live in the present and be grateful for our today, it has been hard. Sometimes it still is.

So I think for me, this will be my main focus for 2014. I want to live fully in the present, appreciating my today. I will try to remember how happy and blessed we are right now, and trust that God has our future. He always has, and He has protected us and has been right there through every single happy or challenging moment. I believe He will continue to be. So for the year 2014, I choose joy. I choose peace. I choose trust. And I'm thankful for that choice.

So the Stones didn't do a Christmas card this year... I guess I actually started going easy on myself earlier than today ;-). Anyway, I'm posting some of my favorite moments from the past year on this blog to help jog my memory in how wonderful 2013 was to our family... A year in review of the Stone family. Happy New Year everyone!