2011 has come to a close. For us, it has been an "okay" year. I know a lot of people are much more worse off than we are, so complaining will do a whole lot of NOTHING!!!
So, what happened to the Matthews' in 2011?
For one, we finally got solid answers about Hannah's medical condition. It was no longer something mysterious and very scary, but had a name: "celiac disease". We learned everything we could about it and faced it as a family.
We came to terms that Suzie Q was gone...... at least from our household. But we also knew that she had "chosen" her home and that she was making a widow happy.
We lost three family members in rapid succession. I cry even now as I write this remembering the pain of losing them. But I also remember back when my cousin Steve had passed and I was in a depression, it was Jon - my sweet 7 year old who said "Why are you so sad? HE'S IN HEAVEN!!! When I get to heaven I don't ever want to come back here!" Those words of wisdom snapped me out of my deep, dark pit of dispair and for that I am grateful.
We saw Corey work long, hard hours getting his database built. A database that is now in demand and is one that Corey has made a name for himself.
We saw the inside of Wesley ER more than I would have liked, getting Jon's asthma under control (is it ever under control?).
We saw Jon make great, new friends in little league.
We also saw Jon become a really great ball player. I'm one proud mom!
We saw Corey as he coached the Ashley Sporting Goods Team (7 & 8 year olds), and then again as he coached the 7 year old Allstar Nationals as they went all the way to State!!!
We made great friends who we will treasure forever!
We cried as Hannah broke her arm and had to wear a cast for most of the summer. But we cheered as the doc gave her a waterproof one, and then cheered again as she got a bright pink one then a neon green one.
We thanked God when Hannah's cast was taken off and she didn't need surgery (even the orthopedic surgeon was shocked and could not explain how her arm had straightened itself like it had).
We celebrated 11 years of marriage.
We welcomed a new kitten into our house.
We celebrated as Corey "dropped" his retirement packet. Woohoo!!!
We saw Lisa undergo surgery (hysterectomy).
We saw Jon have surgery as well (tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy).
We had a great time at the beach in Galveston celebrating Thanksgiving with Papa, GeGe, Jill, Richie, Eric and Joshua. It was great!
We visited Papa & GeGe several times (traveling safely every time, thank goodness).
We had a great Christmas as my parents visited us.
We were blessed over and over again by The Lord.
Wow, looking back on it this way I think I need to revise "we had an okay year" to "we had a great year". We had our ups and downs, our "mountain tops" and our "valleys" as they say, but you don't see a tree bearing fruit on a mountain top covered in snow. It's in the valleys that you see the fruit, and it's in those "valleys" that we really grew. We had a our struggles but we always made it through.
So 2012 - here we come!
