This year, Eorl and I did neither. I'm not sure I even have postal addresses for half the people I would have sent cards to!
The Christmas letter my mother in law sent out had a whole sentence about Eorl and I! It went something like "Eorl and Lauren continue to work hard." That makes it sound like life is very boring for us! So, here is my very general "Christmas letter" summary of my year.
Dear Everyone,
2007 has been a big year! It feels like every year ticks past faster. And in a way, I suppose it does- this year was 1/25 of my life (4%), but when I was 10, a year was 1/10 of my life (10%).
After all the build up, the move to my new job seems to have been worthwhile. While there were many aspects of my old job that I liked, there were also aspects of it which made me very unhappy. I am very happy in my new job, although it's very different, and I'm still settling in. Sadly, it isn't a permanent job, but I think it will be a good "stepping stone" for me- at the end of this locum I will have worked as a Speechie for 2 1/2 years, in 2 different positions- so hopefully I'll be able to get a permanent job!This year we were involved in lots of different ministry activities. Eorl led youth group, and I taught Sunday School (for the first 3 terms, before taking a break). I did holiday kids club in July, and went straight back to work afterwards (silly). We both did Minis in October, and I had a week off work afterwards (sensible, although I was sick for most of it). While I was at home, Eorl lead on a second camp- Junior High. Then, in November, we spent a weekend on our church youth group camp, where I took on the challenge of cooking for everyone!
We're going to have a few more changes in 2008.
Eorl will be staying at his current school- he's happy there.
But, in January we will be looking for a new church to go to, and a new place to live.
Some people have been surprised to hear that... but we never really thought of where we live now as a place we would stay long term. And, despite how long we were there, I don't think we really ever thought we "fit" at our church. Now that I don't work 10 mins from here, there's nothing to tie us to the area, so we're taking the opportunity to move on.We haven't exactly decided where we'd like to move to, but we have a general area in mind. The idea is to place us in between where I work, and where Eorl works. This will hopefully decrease the amount of time I spend driving- because I don't commute well. So far it's been okay, but it's summer time, and the novelty hasn't worn off yet!
I've lost 11kg doing weight watchers... which I'm happy with! But, I have a lot more kilos to lose!
I think I initally anticipated that I would lose weight faster than this, but over the past few months, losing weight hasn't always been my first priority (particularly during the few hectic weeks before leaving my old job), so overall I think I've done well.
So, this time next year, I hope to be healthier, living in a different place, and going to a different church. But I plan to stay a Christian (and growing in my faith), married to the same husband, and friends with some of the same people (although I hope to be friends with some new people too!).
Have a Happy New Year!
love Lauren.PS: I did not go to the dentist in 2007 at all. I'll have to fix that in 2008!
