gotcha day

i know the title of today's blog sounds like it's about 4 months early. well, this is no april fool's...
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today marks 12 months since sarah and i became parents for the first time. one year as daddy and mommy, and we already have 5-year olds! we celebrated by going to chuck e. cheese for dinner... how overstimulating (to the adults).
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2008 was a huge year for us no doubt, filled with unknowns, adventure, stress, brokenness... but growth in so many positive areas which tipped the scales beyond bad to joy. we've grown close as a family, and continue to do so. we've learned to rely on God more. we've learned patience, love, grace. despite the depths crossed these past 12 months, we have plenty of room to grow as a family, which is good. good because we haven't arrived. while it would be great to be at the top, it's encouraging and exciting to think there is so much more we still get to learn and explore together. it can be scary looking at 'today' and wondering what the future may hold, but with God by our side, we're sitting on the edge of our seats with child-like anticipation.
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BUT... my personal flaws have been placed on a pedestal under a spotlight for the past year. i've outgrown some immaturities, and have improved others. but as discussed above in regards to our family unit as a whole, i know how far i need to go yet also as an individual. as of january 5th, 2008, i wasn't sure i was a good husband... BAM!!!... now i'm a father of two too.
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today... 12 months to the day. today i'm seeing year 2 in a totally different light with all new challenges i never expected last january 6th. this year, 2009, should be exciting in its own right, and i'm looking forward to the personal growth via a spiritual whoopin'. but what challenges i already see down the 2009 path are already daunting too. don't worry about spreading them out over the next year, Lord... you'll manage for us.
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"consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds..." - happy new year... again.
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p.s. - sarah just handed me a paper sonja wrote at school, no doubt with the help of a teacher as the handwriting is impecable. it says (parenthesis mine): "mom and dad like acada (should actually be 'acadia', our cat). sonja and alex like dogs." mom-n-dad - 1; sonja-n-alex - 0