Looking back through these photos, it seems impossible that all this has happened in just one month: We rang in the new year; we enjoyed visits to and from friends and family; we had a flood in our basement (a frozen pipe burst); we welcomed our precious niece/cousin, London Lucille Adams, and visited her a few times in the hospital and at her home; we had one too-cold-for-school day and four sick days (two for Simon, one for Clara, and one for Ian + Simon); and we celebrated Simon’s sixth birthday.

I got a text this evening from a friend saying, “This morning was so good. It blessed my tender, tears-at-the-ready soul.” She was referring to Champagne Breakfast, and though the words are hers, I am shamelessly stealing them because they speak my heart as well. Brunch on New Year’s Day with a handful of friends purposefully reflecting for a moment on the past year and putting words to hopes for the new one is a such a wonderfully lovely way to begin. Yes, there were ready tears for sure, but I’m sure we laughed as much as we cried.

We tried to answer three questions (What can you celebrate from this past year? What can you let go of? What do you hope for in 2014?). I don’t know if it was particular to this year or maybe just true of life in this broken world, but I was struck by how each story of celebration (the question we started with) had with it an element of tears as well. Our stories of celebration are so because of the words that came up so often as well: restoration, redemption, reconciliation, grace. Without those words, those truths in our lives, our stories would simply be ones of sadness and failure and shame.

Snippets of the morning — words of truth and wisdom and parts of these ladies’ stories that I didn’t know before — have played in my head all day, and I am challenged and filled with gratitude and hope. Welcome, 2014!

A sampling of our collective celebrations, lettings go, and hopes:

• To being reconciled to a life of rich blessings
• To owning our stories
• To restoration and to redeeming our stories
• To mysteries unveiled
• To coming full circle
• To remission and God’s grace
• To quietness and contentment
• To gracefully giving up hopes/dreams/goals that don’t fit right now (or anymore)
• To walking with the Lord daily and being content with where he has me
• To rejoicing
• To opening our hearts
• To leaning into what God has for us
• To better health and more restoration
• To letting go of distance
• To the 3 Cs: connectedness, clarity, and confidence
• To reaching out in spite of “not normal”
• To hope and peace and joy
• To letting go of fear and trusting God to carry us
• To letting go of self-consciousness
• To transformation and the renewing of our minds
• To ever-increasing attentiveness to His presence

It occurs to me just now as I write this that today marks ten years since the first Champagne Breakfast, and the first time in a new place. Both of those things seem worth noting. And the snow? Yeah, the New Year’s snow was pretty much just magical.

This year I’m going to try something different and post my dailies just once a month (instead of random intervals of 5, 10, 21 days). Most of these you’ve seen as a part of the DPP, but there are a few new ones at the end. December was such a fun month this year with snow and Christmas and birthdays and lots and lots of celebration.

I think this may be my favorite project ever, partly because it turned out almost exactly as I pictured it, but mostly because it was a true collaboration with the whole family. Ian in particular likes to watch the spinning stars and ask, “Who made this one?” I can sometimes tell, and sometimes not.

The idea was inspired by the golden branch in this Living with Kids house tour.  I started with some poster board that we already had and traced a star-shaped cookie cutter. Simon and Ian decorated the stars  with silver and gold glitter and metallic Sharpies faster than I could cut them out. I sewed a few strands and hung them up, and I knew we were on the right track, but to achieve the look I wanted, we needed more! more! more! (This is the Anthropologie Theory, coined by the woman whose stars inspired this in the first place: “You know how Anthro can take even the simplest item [like a piece of plastic] that seems super cheap and not that great on its own, but then use it 500 times in a display and suddenly it’s stunning and you just love it?” So true.)

Jason and Clara joined our second round of decorating stars, and I kind of wandered back and forth from my sewing machine for the better part of the day — not that it took that long all told, it’s just I learned a long time ago to take a break from a project (especially sewing) when it stops being fun.

I’ve never been one to decorate for every holiday, but this was so much fun to do with the family that I’m already thinking about what we can do for President’s Day (just kidding, Jason, I’ll wait until at least Valentine’s Day before I make you craft again).

I couldn’t resist asking Clara the birthday questions too. Her responses were actually pretty accurate, I think. This girl. I am so thankful to be her mommy — this opinionated, sweet, sassy, strong, funny, smart, playful, affectionate, adorable little girl.

What is your favorite color? [Unintelligible, sounded like “blue,” but she also likes “peen”]

Who is your best friend? Si! Ee! [Simon, Ian]

What do you want to be when you grow up? Go? Me?

What is your favorite animal? Beah [Bear]

What is your favorite book? [Unintelligible] [Hug or I Am a Bunny]

What do you like to do with your family? Pay! [play, prompted by her brothers to say this]

What do you like to do outside?  Side? Me? Side?

Where do you like to go? Me? Go?

What is your favorite food: Shoop [soup]

What do you like to drink? Mah! [milk]

What song to you like to sing the most? “Happy You” [“Happy Birthday”]

What is your favorite toy? Beah [Mr. Bear]

I have no words for how great this kid is. Here’s a little interview we do each year on the kids’ birthdays. I realize how inadequate it is in describing what they are really like, but it’s useful as far as it goes in helping remember some of their favorite things. And for all the rest, I say a prayer of thanks for how blessed I am to know this precious, sweet, thoughtful, smart, kind, funny, quirky soul.

What is your favorite color? Brown

Who is your best friend? Mommy, Rowan, Danny, Isaac

What do you want to be when you grow up? A cowboy

What is your favorite animal? Camel

What is your favorite book? Big Book of Big Bugs

What do you like to do with your family? Go camping

What do you like to do with your friends? Play

What do you like to do outside? Play tag

Where do you like to go? The library

What is your favorite food? Cake

What do you like to drink? Milk

What is your favorite TV show? Team Umizoomi

What song to you like to sing the most? “Twinkle, Twinkle”

What is your favorite toy? Monster truck racing car (Legos)

They had heard about this Promised Child and now he was here. Heaven’s Son. The Maker of the Stars. A baby sleeping in his mother’s arms.

This baby would be like that bright star shining in the sky that night. A Light to light up the whole world. Chasing away the darkness. Helping people to see.

And the darker the night got, the brighter the star would shine.

— Sally Lloyd-Jones, The Jesus Storybook Bible

DPP pics from past years: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

We’ve had a wonderful Christmas Eve so far — relaxing in our jams, pancakes and wassail for breakfast, snow on the ground and fire in the place, a few episodes of Mythbusters, and finishing our (electronic) Christmas letter* and all the wrapping.

It’s possible that this could be an even cuter scene tonight when these three get their new matching jammies; stay tuned.

DPP pics from past years: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

* If you don’t get a Christmas letter from us in the next day or two and you’d like one, send me a message with your e-mail, and I’ll send it your way.

As any gamer will tell you, it’s important to find a place without distractions.

DPP pics from past years: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

The children’s Christmas program at church is entertaining every time. My parents and my grandma (Wise Nana) came down to see the boys sing and Simon say his line. Simon got to stand by his buddy Josh this year, so he pretty much felt the opposite of the way he did last year.

DPP pics from past years: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012