Christmas, a Birthday and the End of a Chapter.

Let the pictures tell the story :

At the mall, a couple of days before Christmas. William bought me a bottle of nail polish in a beauty store and was offered a stuffed puppy (and another one for his brother) just for being his charming self. Then we met Santa in the alley. 

Posing in front of the winter wonderland mall decoration with Coco (and Josh's signature face of the moment!)

Christmas Eve dinner. Fabulous food and great company:

Josh and William with their cousins Dan and Evan

We had our traditional Family Christmas program. This year we sang the primary "Nativity" song with the kids acting it out as we sang each scene.

A creative version of the nativity scene (notice William is a "wiseman-angel" and the sheep/bunny (Dan) is holding baby Jesus)

It was a peaceful and sober Christmas Eve. Siblings going through a grieving time were on our minds that night and we all had a prayer in our heart for them.

Christmas morning with little children is always a special treat. Lots of presents and happy faces :

and the rest of the day was spent enjoying the presents with their cousins :

December 27th 2013 is the day I turned 30. Yiiiiiikes! 

I would have happily ignored the event and pretended it didn't happen, but Coraline had better plans for the day. 

30 presents for 30 years! Macarons and a chocolate cake, Tartiflette and Foie Gras… Literally a killer splurge, but you don't turn 30 every day do you?

Coco, Josh and William made me feel really special. They spoiled me with presents and nice attentions. I couldn't have been better surrounded.

We went sledding to Freydieres and enjoyed the beautiful fresh snow.

I discovered Coraline has a talent for photography. When I uploaded my pictures I discovered a ton of little gems like these :

Typical Revel scene beautifully captured by Coco

The next day we took the boys to the river bench to play with their Christmas (and Josh's birthday) presents, a scooter and skateboard.

And on the 31st we celebrated the end of the year with a snowshoeing expedition with our friends from church. Finishing the year in this beautiful surrounding filled my heart with hope and gratefulness. I can't deny I was glad to bid farewell to 2013. 

It's been an emotionally draining, faith challenging, grievous year. I have struggled to find answers to my prayers and to find ways to feel close to God. I have yearned for more wisdom, more understanding,  more faith, more strength, for forgiveness and for power to forgive, and I have felt like I wasn't getting anything. I have been obsessed with finding answers to obscure questions. I have received powerful witnesses from God and challenged His existence the same day. 

Only looking back is allowing me to realize the miracle that was happening. At the end of the year I feel strong and humbled, happy and sad, but mostly guiltless and hopeful. I have gained back my sense of control and there is a blank slate in front of me, ready to receive the next chapter of my life. I have learned that knowledge comes line upon line, and that faith is powerful at changing hearts: my heart. I have renewed my commitment to give faith a chance and live a Christlike life. I'm looking forward to 2014.