The year has come to an end, goodbye 2010

 Well I can honestly say that 2010 has been bitter sweet for our family this year. Sweet with the blessing of Bridger coming into our lives. He brings us smiles and laughter everyday. I can't believe he is already 9 months old. He has grown so much all ready. He has had 3 haircuts all ready in these 9 months. He is pulling his self up on furniture and starting to walk around furniture, He has a vocabulary of 9 words, and finds new ways to entertain us and keep us on our toes everyday. I can honestly say if it wasn't for this little man neither Jon or I would have made it through this year. He was defiantly our inspiration to keep going and stay on the positive side.

We have had an emotional roller coaster this year starting off with Jon being laied off of work, then the birth of Bridger, then 4 short weeks later the bomb Jon's stroke. Jon went through therapy like a breeze he would work on a problem and by the end of the week he would have passed it off and started working on something else. He still has some effects from the stroke his left arm is still numb, he can move it he just cant feel anything. So he has had some interesting science experience with it. He hasn't burned his hand yet so we are lucky, and his hearing on the left side was also effected. He had his heart surgery the first of  June to patch the hole in heart the think the blood clot came from.He went back to work full time after the 4th of July. Which was a major blessing for us and I think for him. I think he was ready to get back into the world and get out of the house. By the end of September work had become slow again and he was only working about 3 days a week. He was layed off again in November, but the Lord's hand in our lives showed again. That night he got the news he was being laied off he received a phone call from a different surveying company offering him a full time job.

We have been given so many blessings in our life this year and if we can say one thing for 2010 it has been defiantly the year of faith. I keep thinking when we are old and grey I hope to be able to tell our grand kids this is the year we come to realize the true love of our Heavenly Father. He has been there so many times this year for us. Rather it was to safely guide our son to earth, hold my hand while Jon was in ICU or bless Jon with a speedy recovery, or make money appear to pay our bills when we thought our money had run out. I have just been trying to keep up with my two boys, and working part time as a crossgaurding. I can take Bridger with me so I can be a stay at home mom and still help bring in the bacon. I have learned a lot of life lessons this year and the greatest one is becoming a mother. I find my self thinking of Mary and the baby Jesus especially this time of year and placing myself in their shoes now that I am a mother. I remember how precious and fragile Bridger was when he was born and how we do every little thing to keep them clean and warm and to think of the little baby Jesus laying in hay that some cow had probably been eating out of earlier, and I can't even imagine anyone hurting my son let alone letting him die for the world. I have a different perspective on things this year and I am grateful for many thing this Christmas season, but especially for my family and for the Savior and everything he does for us everyday and how he shows us his love in our lives and in times of need all year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you and I hope you have a great NEW YEAR! Love, The Spikes