Welcome 2018!

We have a tradition in the Martin family. Each New Year's Day we all meet at Grandma's house and spend the day together. Keith has 5 brothers, all are married, all have children. Some of his nieces and nephews are married and some of them have children. When everyone is there it is around 50 people. This year his only younger brother, Curtis, had sick children (four sick boys, y'all pray for them!) so his family wasn't there. But it was still a huge crowd for a not so huge house.

As you can imagine, the amount of food is mind boggling. It is a good way to start the year. Family, food, fun, and this year there was also singing. Most in the family like to sing. It is one of those things in conservative Mennonite settings. People learn to sing well in 4-part harmony. It is learned at school, at church, and often at home too. It is pretty amazing actually.

I know a lot of people are saying this, but 2017 was a hard year for me. My health has been bad. The pain levels have increased. I have almost constant nausea. It has just been rough. I feel broken and worn down. Chronic pain tends to wear you down on an emotional level. I still have all of the support I have had through my family, but I am struggling. I trust God, that He knows best. I know He could heal me or lead us to the right doctors and treatments. I want to be one of those amazing people who goes through years of pain and can praise God for the experience, but I am just not there. "Lord I believe, help Thou my unbelief." sums up my life right now.

Welcome 2018! I have chosen a word, or maybe 2,  for this year that I want to focus on. I am going to save that for another post. This one is long enough, so I'll share it with you tomorrow. Besides it deserves a post of its own.

I am taking up my 365 project, meaning 1 photo per day, goal again this year. You can follow those posts here.