So, it's been a year?

Days go by, months go by, and suddenly it's been a year. What have you done? Did you do something special? Did you make it count in a good way?
In the past year we, as a family, have done BIG things.









We have finished school years, said goodbye to a job, sold an entire 3,000 sq.ft. house worth of furniture (and the house), packed up our lives into boxes, said goodbye to our church family, our family, our neighbors and friends. We have shifted times zones... and more than once or twice!











We have moved over an ocean and delved into a new culture. We have learned a new language, new foods, new customs and habits, and we have become closer to our new family. We have moved into a house half the size and learned that, wow, that's nice. We have started in new schools, made new friends, and riden bikes more than a few times! We have learned what killer slugs are...















We have learned to dress warmly. We have learned what snow is... I mean, really. We have learned to ski!













We have seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets in countries we never thought we'd ever see. We've experienced things that we'd never thought we'd experience and we know that it's just a taste of what is to come!






We have kicked ourselves for leaving things that we should have brought (where in the world are my year books?) and hollered at ourselves for ever having thought of living without coffee creamer. ;)










We have watched the children blossom and grow! We have seen them become fluent in another language and watched how it became so natural to them, that they sometimes play at home in that language. They have seen their mother stumbling over that very same language when they have friends over and I have had the priviledge of using my children as translators. What? What kind of world are we living in?

We have also learned that crying ourselves to sleep is okay because it means we have feelings- It means we love and miss our friends and loved ones deeply and passionately. We have learned that miles have the ability to make some relationships stronger and others weaker- and that, too, is natural. We have learned to hold on tightly to what is important to us, but also to let go of some things, as you must let go in life.
I have holed myself up and shut out the world because sometimes, it was just too much. I have gotten angry, felt lonely, scared and depressed because life will never be the same. But in that same statement, in another mood, can I find such passion and vitality for the future and for life as I have never known it! This little southern girl does not need to "know" everything that surrounds her, does she?









We have watched the changing of the seasons in a foreign land. A whole year is almost done. It leads me to the question. What have I really done? I feel like I haven't done anything. Um, that's a stupid thought. What do you think?