This is what I put together for our Christmas letter this year. And funny enough, multiple people have commented on my Christmas letter and how I was just commenting on how "normal" this year was and how ironic it was that we found ourselves in the ER on Christmas Eve. Conor's little arm is now covered in a full cast, his fingertip stitched back on, and our older boys have learned the consequence of slamming doors in our house. Jack's just a few weeks shy from turning 7, and this was our first true emergency, which had me sitting on the ground between the two seats holding Conor's hand to stop the blood from pouring out while Peter drove like a safe and speedy maniac to the hospital. Conor cried nonstop for all but 1.5 hours of our 5 hour stay, and I don't blame him as his bone was exposed and his fingertip was hanging on by the tiniest bit of skin. Let's just say, I'm glad that event is over with, as I think we were all left a little traumatized. Anyhow, without further ado. Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
I spent some time tonight reading over our past Christmas letters, and year after year, there was something BIG to write about – babies being born, lots of NICU stays, lots of doctor’s visits, a miscarriage, job loss, a climbing accident, the list goes on. And this year, I’m not too sure what to write about. The normalcy of life perhaps? As normal as life can be with three exceptionally energetic boys. I literally give myself a pep talk every day when I wake up (or more like when my children wake me up) – God has created you for this! You’ve got this Malia! He has entrusted these boys into your hands because He believes you are capable.
And if there’s anything we have learned over the last several years it’s that through Christ we are capable. Through Him we can endure the hard things. We can hold fast to Him while we walk through it, knowing and remembering that He will rescue us, and with time He will heal us, we will recover, and there will be light again. This is the message God has given our family time and time again, and this is the message we have been able to share with dear friends and family as they have walked through some hard stuff this past year.
Peter deemed this last year our year of recovery. And it truly has been a year of looking back and acknowledging all the trauma we’ve walked through over the last several years as we figure out the best way forward. And if I’m honest, it’s the first year in a long time where we’ve been on the other side of things, where we can truly see the way God is using our personal experiences to minister to those who are walking through what we have walked through. And it’s powerful. Being able to sit with people in their grief, to be able to empathize and truly understand their pain, to hear the unspoken words. It’s so incredibly powerful. And that’s all we ever hope for right, that God would use us and our stories to glorify Himself, that our life experiences would have Kingdom purpose.
Speaking of Kingdom purpose, this year Peter and I celebrated 10 years of marriage! We traveled to Ireland for 3 weeks to visit Peter’s family, and words can’t even do the trip justice. Just know it was an incredibly memorable time – we met our nephews for the first time and had so many special moments with family. Our next visit can’t come soon enough! And while we were there, we got away to Berlin for a few days sans kiddos to celebrate our anniversary. It was such a gift to reflect on the last 10 years and the anniversaries that have come before this one. We have lived so much life together, grown up together, raised babies together, cried together, laughed together, and this last year has been such an incredible year of self-discovery and self-reflection as we dive deeper into who God has created the other to be. I love that man so much, what a gift it is to walk through this life with him. He makes me better, and God knew exactly what He was doing when He brought this American girl and this Irish guy together all those years ago.
And here we are in December, fully acknowledging the joy and pain this season can bring. Our hope and prayer is that we continue to live with our eyes wide open to the joy and the pain in this world, and that our family can offer a glimpse of Christ’s Peace here on Earth. May you see and experience the peace of Christ this season and always!
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