2011: a year remembered

happy new year!
it makes me sad to see 2011 go
but i am very exciting about the things to come in 2012

for me, this year was all about learning.
and i am afraid that learning patience may be an ongoing lifelong lesson
but i encountered lesson after lesson on patience this year.

for a while, i have felt like i have been needing something in my life
i consider my life very fulfilling
i have a great family and amazing husband
and my job is really one of the best things i can imagine doing with my life
but something was missing

i hope that i can apply what i learned by finding the joy in my role as a mother

i hope that i will continue to enjoy the good and bad that comes with pregnancy

i hope that i will enjoy the late nights, the early mornings, and the never ending work that comes with the job title 'mom'

and i hope that when i am tempted to complain i will remember the year that i spent learning about patience

and that i will always act like i remember that this baby girl is a blessing that i am grateful to have

and i can honestly say that i am grateful for the gospel
because i have learned a little more of what it means to trust in the Lord
and i have gained a bit more understanding of His timing

i also learned a little bit more about my role as a teacher
i am the kind of person who grieves any ending
and the end of the school year was no exception for me
as i said goodbye to my students, who taught me more about life and learning than i taught them, i learned that being a teacher is wonderful
and a part of the blessing of my profession is that i have a short window of time to inspire, teach, and to learn from my students
i hope it has helped me to make better use of my time and to strive to have a good attitude about teaching

i also learned more about appreciating the people i have in my life
and i hope that i will act like i have learned something about this.