Happy New Year's Adam

I don't know why, I just have to do it every year ... say Merry Christmas Adam on the 23rd and Happy New Year's Adam on the 30th, since Adam came before Eve. Okay ... so I did my last corny joke of the decade.

I am so blessed. I've been blessed all along, whether or not I felt blessed isn't the point. On Christmas Eve, Daniel got a call from the director of Fullerton Interfaith Community Shelter, and she left a message on his voicemail that said she was making him an offer on Monday. She just wanted to let him know before Christmas that he got the job. God be praised. Well, God be praised regardless.

This job is such a blessing. It will use all of Daniel's 15 years of experience at the Orange County Rescue Mission, and he will be able to work alongside his old mentor and dear friend, Jim Womak. The shelter is located about 3 miles from our home, cutting Daniel's commute time each way by at least an hour! The position was made possible by a grant, so it is only available until September 30th, which means Daniel has to find other employment in case the position is unable to be incorporated into a full time permanent position. Also, it doesn't pay as much as he was making at the Mission, and the healthcare is not affordable through this job, so Daniel decided to get a second job. He was blessed with an opportunity to work for the gas company. He will be working his way up in the hopes that if the shelter job doesn't come through in Sept, then he will at least have a position that he can move up in at the gas company.

We don't know how we are going to handle this new lifestyle, of Daniel being gone for so long. When he was managing the property at Hope Family Housing, he was able to work from home a majority of the time and Sonora and I were spoiled and blessed to have him in the next room. We already have been having withdrawals as he's been going on interviews left and right and working side jobs for his friend, Bruce Bender *Rob's dad*. What a blessing Bruce has been in the interim, allowing Daniel to take time off whenever needed to go on an interview.

Sonora is an amazing child, as many of you know. She is only 2 years and 2 months, and besides speaking English and Italian, she already knows how to spell her name, read some words, identify many states on the US map, sing entire songs ... I guess it comes with the territory of having mommy home all day and having an over-achieving, goal oriented mommy at that. I am not tying her to chairs with flashcards, just so you all know ... I make it fun and she has no idea she is being prepped for Harvard. She thinks it's just a game in the car till we get to the park.

This year, with it's ups and downs, has also brought alot of reconnecting with old friends through Facebook. I was an only child growing up and have always loved being around people. I love throwing parties, I love the hum of people laughing and congregating. I could fall asleep soundly if I heard my parents up and talking when I was a little girl ... must have felt like someone was up standing watch. Sonora is the same way, she will fall asleep easily on one of our shoulders even if we are in the middle of a heated discussion before she will let us put her into her quiet room and lay her alone on her bed. I wonder if Facebook will still be around when she is my age, and if she will like being connected with people from her past. I have so many friends that I love dearly and time and location have separated us, but my heart is still full of cherished memories and loving thoughts towards them (you) ...

I have much to look forward to. I also have much to prepare for ... Sonora's future. I have been thinking about her schooling, her future, how to teach her about God in a way that will equip her to choose Him for life. How do I show her His love without forcing it on her, yet allow her to crave it and understand her need for Him? Such a huge responsibility that I don't take lightly. I do trust, though, that God knew what He was doing when He put her in my care.

Thank you, all of you, who prayed for us during this uncertain time, these last 3 months while we were moving back home and trying to find the right job for Daniel. Your faithful friendship and unceasing outpouring of support have blessed us beyond measure. We can't even begin to show our gratitude for your friendship ... the kind of friendship that doesn't disappear when times are tough.

Happy and Blessed New Year, dear ones.

Wait and Trust

Daniel is still looking for a job. In the meantime, I try my hardest to be faithful, patient, loving, kind. I fail miserably a lot of the time, but I keep trying. I try to not think about the things that I fear, like not being able to afford health insurance or the mortgage. I have friends and family that have recently lost their homes. I have friends and family that are moved back in with parents, kids in tow. I can't believe it, everywhere I look, there is some kind of chaos happening. Still, I am so very thankful that my husband and daughter and I have each other, and have the Lord. God is the glue that is holding us together through this difficult time. He is the one who makes it possible for me to stop after church in the parking lot on the way to our car and tell Sonora to go jump in a rain puddle. God is the one who allows me to be inspired to get people together to go enjoy the Christmas lights in local neighborhoods and then say yes when Sonora wants to get out of the car and meet Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. Because of the hope God put in me, I do not sit all day long, every day, and worry and cry, like I sometimes am tempted to do, but I get up, go out and take Sonora to enjoy our Disneyland pass, or push her for hours on the swings and try to teach her to share and take turns. I have not been full of grace and always gentle and the law of kindness has not always been on my tongue. I have not been the best example I could possibly be. I have been ducking and shielding myself from fiery arrows that the devil has been throwing at me to get me to quit moving forward. When I mess up, I don't beat myself up anymore, I am just thankful that when I stumble, I fall facing forward, because it means gaining positive ground! Daniel and I don't know where the next paycheck will come from, or if it will be enough, but we do know that God is our main Source, our Provider, our constant Hope. We aren't about to let this trial overtake us. We have seen worse things happen than someone losing a job. We know that it is more important to keep our eyes fixed on heaven and the things of God instead of the present circumstances. I wanted to write a Christmas newsletter to put in our cards that had a storybook ending where Daniel got the best job ever and Christmas bells were ringing. Instead, I look at the last picture here, where all Sonora wants to do is meet Baby Jesus, and I am humbled, knowing that she has it right and knowing Him is all that should really matter.