~2012~

               Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
                  from my family to you and yours!

Listening to:

How Christians Should Respond to Suffering and Tragedy  by Pastor Jordan Cooper, because 2012 has been continuing the human tradition of awful stuff.

Coming out of the Woodwork

It's nearing the end of 2012, and it's time to put my school things away for a few weeks and pay more attention to my family. (Not that I DON'T pay attention to them, but... well, maybe I don't so much these days.)

2012 was a year of:

     Getting on with life after the earthquake and tsunami of March 3, 2011.
     Getting used to having two kids in university, and only one kid at the dinner table.
     Getting a longer waistline.
     Getting things out of the closets without ever seeming to get things back into the closets again.
     Getting to work at several nice schools with students who are pretty nice people.
     Getting to have my firstborn come home for a few weeks, and getting to see her all dressed up in   
          furisode, the long-sleeved kimono that unmarried women traditionally wore.
     Getting the pleasure of seeing two of my daughters gain full-time work at good companies.
     Getting some relief that my last child could pass the entrance into university a few months
          ahead of the usual testing time.
     Getting grayer and more "smiley" marks in the corners of my eyes.
     Getting forgiven daily by Jesus who humbled Himself to be born of a virgin just so He could die
          in my place in order to reconcile me to His Father, the Creator and Sustainer of everything.
    
2012 was a pretty good year.