"Suffering is not without purpose, grief is not without hope"We had an incredible year in 2010, and we thank God for that. We also thank God for some of the pain and suffering that we experienced in previous years that led us to our wonderful 2010. There are times that we have no idea why we have to experience the troubles that we go through, but in so many cases, it all becomes clear once we let God's plan unfold. The problem we have is that we want God's plan to unfold on our time, not His time. In our case, if it weren't for some of the difficulties we experienced over the years, the boys would have never ended up at Hebron Christian Academy, I would have never ended up at WIKA, and we would have never ended up at Lawrenceville United Methodist Church. What a difference this has all made!
This is the first time I've ever done something like this, so please forgive me if my style is not the best. I was a journalism major in college (OK, now I'm a Chief Financial Officer, go figure), so this is going to be very much sticking with the facts, and not much fluff, but that's just me. As some of you know, I've been forced to go this route because Cardstore.com failed to deliver our Christmas cards this year. Without further adieu, here is our year in review:
Our Trips
College Visits - I think based on our last count, we went to see 17 colleges in five different states. Our biggest trip was to Pennsylvania and Ohio, where we went to see nine schools over Spring Break. We also went to see opening day for the Pirates at PNC Park. It was hectic, fun and incredible seeing so many great schools.
Two family reunions - We had two family reunions this summer, one on my side of the family and one on Laurel's side of the family, both in Ohio. It was great seeing all of my cousins and their families, I just love my cousins, they are an incredible group of people (separate blog post coming soon on this). For Laurel's reunion, we went to Lake Atwood, a lake resort that her family used to go to every year when she was younger. Laurel got a chance to go to her sister Kathy's grave and put some flowers on her grave, and we got to spend time with her brothers and nieces and nephews.
While our trips were nothing fancy, a week for the college visits, weekends for the reunions, lots of driving, they provided some of the best times I've had in years. There is something about being around family that can make anything special.
Laurel and Me
We hit 50 this year! As promised, a separate blog will also be coming on this. Fifty came and went without much fanfare. We're not nearly as exciting as the kids, so this part of the post will be brief.
WIKA acquired a company in California this year, so I spent a great deal of time traveling to Anaheim this year. It sounds much more exciting than it is. In 2009, we had a tough year financially at WIKA, so everyone took a 7.5% pay cut. We had our pay rates restored this year, which was nice, but then something incredible happened. At the end of the year, WIKA paid back all the money that we sacrificed in 2009. In this day and age of corporate greed, it's incredible that we were all rewarded for our sacrifice and hard work, and that we work for a company that values its employees so much. I also started teaching this year at Georgia Gwinnett College, fulfilling a lifelong ambition to teach in college. It's only one course, but it is so fulfilling.
Laurel has spent a great deal of time, volunteering her time to various efforts. She spent time, along with some other ladies from our church, helping a young, single mother, trying to get her life together. It ended up being a difficult and stressful several months as she learned how difficult it can be to help someone turn their life around. Ultimately, she learned, as one of the books she found says in its title, "When Helping Hurts". She has found working at the Lawrenceville Co-op or for the school has great rewards without some of the stress of trying to help one individual. She has not lost sight of this young woman's need or her compassion for her struggles, but she's learned that the problem and solution is bigger than her.
Our Children
I heard a quote last night in Church about which child do you love the most. The answer is the one that needs you the most at the time. Chronologically, here are some highlights of their year:
Megan
Megan got engaged this year to Thomas McDonald, or T-Unit as we call him. They've been dating for a long time, six years or so. They live in Chicago, so we don't get to see them much, but we had the pleasure of seeing them at one reunion, and they also came for a visit earlier this year. Megan also got moved to full time at Bank of America, which was a great blessing this year. Thomas also got a promotion this year at AT&T. She and Thomas get married next June in Chicago, so we are excitedly planning a wedding for 2011.
Kelly
Kelly graduated from Kennesaw State University last December (our first college graduate!). She took an internship with Rowland Mountain, a recruiting firm, right after college, and they hired her shortly thereafter. She then moved to another recruiting firm, TRC Staffing, later in the year. She has been dating Clayton Crowe for about 1 1/2 years or so. She's talked about moving out, but I told her she's not allowed since Laurel and I would be empty nesters once the boys go to college (OK, I'm kidding).
Patrick
Patrick was in two plays this year at Hebron. He was Juror Number 7 in "12" (Hebron's version of 12 Angry Men). He was Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha in November. It was an incredible performance. He also placed fourth in the state at the Literary Meet for solo singing. After all of our college visits, Patrick held firm to his decision that Grove City College in Pennsylvania was where he wanted to go. He applied for early decision, and after some agonizing days waiting for the mail to come, his acceptance letter finally came. So Patrick will be heading to Grove City in the fall, where he has been accepted into the music program.
Sean
Sean has been participating in worship leadership at Hebron, and he has also started participating in worship leadership at our Church. He has a great passion for music, and sings, plays guitar and keyboard. I am in awe when I see him standing up on stage, leading a group of kids in a worship service. Sean also plays on the Hebron soccer team, and Hebron had an incredible season in 2010. They finished 2010 with only two losses and went to the state playoffs. They lost in the second round, but it was such a fun year to watch. Sean ended up as Hebron's Scholar Athlete for Gwinnett County. Sean is still undecided on which college he will attend. He's whittled it down to Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, or Cedarville University in Ohio. Then there is Wittenberg University in Ohio. There is still time for those decisions to be made.
What will 2011 bring? We have two graduations in May and then two weeks later a wedding, so more excitement. We may have more pain and sorrow, who knows. But we know that even if we do, it will all be a part of God's plan. And it's a good plan, and we may not know the reason for the pain and sorrow in our time, we will know the reason in His time.
I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and I hope you find peace and joy in all that you do.
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