Amazing!

So this picture is already a few weeks old (it's from our first appointment on January 16). And, I'm sure it looks the same as every other baby does when they are about 9 weeks old. BUT, it is still amazing to me.

All I can think about when I look at it is:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your words are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of the them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16


What a mighty God we serve and how gentle are his hands that form us! People always say "every baby is a miracle." How true it is! How can you look at this picture and not believe that there is a God out there who loves us?

The Sights & Sounds of 2007

In January, mom & dad Hagen helped us ring in the new year with skiing and snowmobiling.

In February, it was the sound of scissors cutting and girls laughing as I spent an entire weekend with women scrapbooking. Joel enjoyed a weekend of quiet guy time and the Super Bowl game with friends. He spent another weekend alone while I was off to Washington DC to see the sights and enjoy a teacher's conference. Then it was the sound of laughter and conversation while I visited my sister, Aimee, her husband, Gary, and her 2 kids in Virginia. What a great trip!

It was my turn in March to enjoy a quiet weekend at home. Joel was off to Vail for a weekend with his friend, Garrett, skiing. We then enjoyed the sight of the back of our eyeballs while we rested our way through Spring Break.

April came and went quickly--Mom Hagen came for a day or two on her way through to New Mexico.

May was a whirlwind of events--including me "sucking wind" while attempting to run/walk (mostly walk) the Boulder Bolder (a fun 10K race) with my friend, Janelle (us pictured here, at the end of the race).

In June, the sights were most amazing on our trip to Alaska. My mom, dad, Aimee, Gary, Joel & I enjoyed a 7 day cruise through Alaska. Many sights to behold! We also started a new sight (which also bright with it some smells)-- that was the project of ripping out 20+ year old carpet and replacing it with laminate flooring and new baseboards. Little did we know this would be a sight & sound that would be with us through November! We ended June with some sights in Colorado--camping at Echo Lake with Garrett & Jordan. A new sound entered our lives in June--the sound of book pages flipping and pens writing as Joel started graduate school. He is studying Creative Writing at the University of Denver and hopes to be done by August 2009.

In July we heard the sound of airplane engines again as Joel & I were off on our first vacation just he two of us--to Boston. It's our new favorite vacation spot. We went to a Boston Red Sox game on the 4th and saw their awesome fireworks that night. Then it was the sound of 40+ elementary school kids laughing and working as I led a Science Camp at school. July rounded out with a great trip from the "Las Vegas" Jacobsons and their 4 kids. Lots of fun to be had in the Denver area with everyone + Grandma J!
August started with a trip to Wisconsin for me--a great time with my entire family (my nieces, Faith & Avery pictured here). Then it was back to work for the both of us. August goes by so quickly!

September came and went with a short visit by Joel's brother, Ted (part of the Las Vegas Jacobsons). We went to the Air Force Homecoming Football game. Sooo much fun! September ended with a fun birthday party to celebrate Haiku's 1st birthday.

October means Parent/ Teacher Con- ferences at school and a weekend visit from Mom & Dad Hagen--on their way to an annual conference in Colorado Springs. Gary also came for the weekend to see the Broncos defeat the Steelers. The other sound of October was Joel's car dying--the clutch went out.

November brought with it cooler weather, and a nice Thanksgiving break. (Teacher really do live from vacation to vacation) Joel's work picked up and his fall class was very difficult--Globalism.

December was busy, busy, as usual. We enjoyed Christmas Eve at our house with my entire family plus Joel's' mom, Rhonda. My family then spent the remainder of the week in the mountains, relaxing, eating, and skiing.

Other sights & sounds of 2007 included:

• seeing God work in our lives and provide over and over for us
• watching lots of great movies
• volunteering at church (Joel playing in the band and running sound, me running multi-media and helping lead a high school small group for girls)
• playing piano weekly for the women's bible study I'm in--BSF
• reading lots of great books
• doing lots of work on the house
• enjoying time with our little black lab, Haiku
• and spending lots of quality time with friends and family

New Sights & Sounds for 2008
In February: lubdub, lubdub (heartbeat)
In March (hopefully): "It's a..."
In June, July & August: (from me) "I'm hot and uncomfortable"--most likely in a highly annoying whiny voice
In August (on or around August 21): "It's a healthy (hopefully) baby..."

That's right! 2008=diapers, baby food and no sleep for us!
This is what we created to tell my parents, Joel's mom and my sister and her husband on Christmas Eve (they each opened one). It was really fun to tell them all in person!

Compliment?

A few weeks ago Joel and I were enjoying a leisurely morning. He was enjoying some tea, and I, a tangerine. Joel then leans over--and here it comes--a great compliment, I'm thinking--and says "Your breath is like a mixture between that tangerine and the potpourri spray in the bathroom". Nope, no compliment here. We both think the spray in the bathroom smells nasty.

Moment lost.

Transitions

I've really spent a lot of time thinking about what my first blog should be about. I have lots of funny stories and things to share from our Christmas celebrations, but it just didn't seem like a smooth transition from my more "serious" advent blogs to just jumping back into my regular old routine.

Transitions can be tricky. Waiting is usually involved. An element of the unknown is usually found in transitions. And they always require a sense of patience and practice. Transitions between scenes in a play. Or the movement from singing to preaching in a church service. Moving from the hospital back home after surgery. Finishing high school and going off to college. Being engaged and moving into marriage. After a death and trying to move back into the routine of life.

Moving into 2008 has been tricky for me. There seems to be an extreme element of the unknown awaiting. And I'm sure I've lost my patience somewhere in 2007. And, even though I've had 29 practices at moving into a new year, I'm at a loss.

The transition has been a bit abrupt. 2007 ended so suddenly and I had thought so much about Christmas and cleaning up after all our family events, that I hadn't really thought about 2008 starting. But like with most transitions, here it is, ready or not!

What will 2008 hold for me? How will I serve God this year? Who will I meet? What will my failures be? What will be my biggest success? What will my life be like as I start 2009?

I don't know the answers to any of those questions. I guess I'll just have to find out as I transition back into my routine and trust God to provide all the answers. Maybe my next transition won't take me by such surprise.