When Christmas-time felt like a Battlefield

“Hope is an amazing, God-given gift. It fuels your dreams, lightens your spirits, and lifts your despair. When life becomes a battlefield, hope digs in and fights the good fight.” Hope is where we are finding rest these days. Hope for healing, for safe travel, for good company, for relief and for normalcy, and hope in a savior that died so we could live forever. I don't think we have ever experienced a harder Fall and Christmas season, but at the same time we have found so much joy and love. I compare it to a battlefield, because I feel like we are constantly fighting optimism and pessimism, hope and fear, trust and mis-trust, self pity and courage, weakness and strength, faith and doubt. I am going to be honest, it has been hard to feel merry and bright, joy, peace, and a lot of the words associated with Christmas this year, but at the same time I feel like Christmas is more real this year, the true meaning of Christmas. I asked Dave what he learned most this year and he said, "each day is a gift!" I feel less concerned with the logistics of Christmas this year and am thankful we have another year together. I just want to be with my family and friends and celebrate the greatest hope of all. This Christmas we celebrate life...the life of Jesus, the life we are all given and the life we have yet to live, because life really is a gift!

A Year in Review
Dave and Shelby
We celebrated 9 years of marriage this year and are more in love than the day we got married. Dave had his biggest year in business, being in the top 2% of about 200 agents at Keller Williams. He sold his most expensive listing ever.  His favorite point of the year was when we took the kids to Yosemite. We had time with friends and family and saw one of the most beautiful places in California.

He has also faced one of the challenging points of his life so far, being diagnosed with ITP an autoimmune, platelet disorder. The last couple of months have been a roller coaster with doctors visits, weekly blood draws, limited exercise, diet restrictions, treatments, financial and administrative burdens, unknowns for the future and physical toll on his body. He started a new treatment last week called Rituxan. This is a mild form of chemo therapy that he will undergo once a week on Wednesdays for the next three weeks. He has one treatment down and that went smoothly with only one minor reaction, a dry/scratchy throat. He has been a little bit more tired than normal, but other than that he is fully functioning and working extremely hard. Although this process has been challenging, Dave being the optimist that he is has learned a lot about himself. One of the first weeks after being diagnosed he said he already learned how to be a lot more empathetic. Even with this battle he is fighting, he still strives to make a difference in the world!

I have been taking things in stride. I wish I could say I was as positive and optimistic. I have been trying to hold onto the words in Duet. 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you no forsake you." I have been resisting the temptation to let this challenge consume me. It has been a huge change for our family, but I am trying to lay the burden down and rely on God for strength, faithfulness and perseverance. I have learned a lot about my husband, insurance/administration and community. We feel so loved through this process. We have had so many people willing to watch our kids, bring us meals, and send us encouragement. It is a humbling experience. We are so grateful! I survived another year of parenthood and am really thankful for the two beautiful kids we have been blessed with. You read about my highlights on this blog all the time:)

Tyler

Tyler started his first year of pre-school. He can write his name. He loves to write letters and receive mail. He is so loving to his little sister. He likes to come in every night and give her a hug and a kiss and say "goodnight baby sis!" He likes riding his two wheel bike everyday. His favorite things are super heros, trains, cars, bikes, puzzles and instruments. He plays the drums and guitar at church sometimes. He is a stubborn, inquisitive, social, and smart kid! 

Angela

We call her "our little tornado". She loves to destroy things in her path. She loves knocking full cups off the table and onto the floor.  She loves to eat and she eats all day long, even more than Ty sometimes.  She is talking up a storm, words like boot, Ty-Ty, more, shoes, beach, too, see, me, no, and bike. Her favorite activity is climbing. We have to watch her every second, because in one minute or less she can climb up on the dining room table. He favorite animal is the peacock. She looks for them all the time in our neighborhood and when she sees them she will run after them. She is a easy-going, happy, cuddly, smiley, spunky and chubby kid!

This year for Christmas we pray your family finds hope, even if you are experiencing hardship or a battlefield of your own. We would love to hear from you and your family.