Yesterday was my birthday.

I am now 54 years old.

Dang ……. I can’t believe I’m that old.

What a year from 53 to 54 it has been.

Today, our pastor spoke of writing a journal and how the journal will show each and every time how God is showing up in our lives. When the ugly shows up and you wonder where all the good is, you can open up the journal and look back and see clearly that He’s been there the whole time. That’s a big part of why I blog. I can look back and see very clearly:

How I was doing?

How I was feeling?

How did I spend my time?

Who did I spend my time with?

Last year in December and on my birthday, my friends took me to breakfast

Last year in December we took Jack’s first Christmas pictures

Last year on Christmas Eve the whole family attended Christmas Eve at the Farm

Last year on December 30 my Daddy met Jesus.

In January I cried a thousand tears as we had memorial services for Dad. One in Florida and Mom and I flew to Ohio to have a service for family up north

I almost froze to death

Later in the month we saw Jen Hatmaker

In February we celebrated 33 years together

And Jack took swimming lessons

And evidently I needed a vacation…..badly

My baby girl turned 32 and Uncle Kyle made us laugh

In March, my tribe was reunited in a big way

And I started my first book club!

In April we attended Easter gathering together

The pool began and I picked out all the goodies that go along with it

The attic stairs were finally finished

May was full of fun with the girls

And Jack William Wissinger had his first birthday

May brought Mothers Day and blueberry picking

June was filled with game nights

The vegetable garden

The splash pad

Father’s Day

And Mom and I began to volunteer at the Interfaith Thrift Store

July included

Fishing!!!

A weekend getaway

The pool continued

And some sweet time with friends

August brought family to town!

House scraping….. again

Water in the pool

A sweet gift and a reminder from my tribe

The pool house started

In September, I got this cute picture

Our family was featured in the Ocala magazine

I planted a butterfly garden

I laughed

And I spent time with amazing people

I encouraged myself

Halloween was fun!

In November

We went to the zoo

I had the privilege to vote

We celebrated BIG

And December is here again

3G Sunday!

I’m an Uber driver this month and we celebrated St Nicolas Day

I know this was long and some might not have made it to the end.

This was a test for me. As December has now became a really hard month as we now celebrate Dad’s graduation to heaven.

That’s right I said celebrate. It’s been a long hard year and I’ve watched my family grieve. But I’ve also watched my family celebrate victories and laugh. I’ve watched them rally hard. I’ve watched them pick themselves up and have a day when it would have been easier to stay in bed and pull the covers up.

I’ve spent this year, at age 53, struggling to be happy sometimes. But I can look back at the photos and the memories and see smiles and laughter and remember that God is so good. He fills my life with so much joy. So many good friends and I lead an amazing life.

Here’s to 53.

I’m ready for you 54.