Happy New Year Friends! We returned home from a quick family getaway late yesterday so today is a day to unpack, settle in and prepare for the regular routine to begin again tomorrow. Olivia will head back to school after her 3+ week break due to the Thomas Fire, Rolf will head back to the office and I have a long list of appointments to tackle. The boys won’t return to their campuses until the weekend so we have a few more days to enjoy with them. Yay!
In an effort to switch things up a bit this holiday season, we planned a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a few days after Christmas. We left at the crack of dawn on December 26th and enjoyed 4 full days of time together without the distractions of home. I think we did a good job of embracing the experience even though our minds were consumed with the continued swirl of thoughts impossible to shake. There were the obvious thoughts of Rudy and the progression of my disease but I also thought a lot about the holiday season as a whole and it’s distinct progression…starting with Thanksgiving as a time to look back and reflect on things for which to be thankful, continuing with Christmas which, for me, is a time to look within and reflect on how Christ’s presence impacts my life and ending with New Years where the focus is often to look ahead with hope for good things to come. Of course, losing Rudy in 2017 made it painful to look back and particularly profound to look within this holiday season…and is making a look ahead to 2018 kinda empty.
There is a big part of me that wishes I could slam the door shut on 2017 and start fresh in 2018 with a clean canvas on which to create something completely brand new. The challenge, though, is I don’t feel like my canvas is clean…it’s muddled and cluttered with a full palette of dark colors that don’t seem very appealing or useful in creating anything new. I guess the challenge will be to incorporate the hardened, dark, textured strokes of 2017 into 2018’s story and trust that we’ll experience the beauty even if the beauty is hard to see at times.
Welcome 2018…’praying you hold more joy than heartache. ‘Praying we soak up all that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, admirable and good!! ‘Praying all of Phillipians 4:4-9 will define you! Welcome.
Rudy's Beat 
Prayed for you, geylings while you were on your trip! Hopeful with you, and hoping to get to be with you all in 2018, experiencing what God is doing in and through us! Much love!!!❤️❤️❤️
THANK YOU!
We are all right there with you!
We, and I’m sure others, would like to contribute to Olivia’s well! Please let us all know just how to do that.
John and I have come to expect tough times and delight in the perfect moments – looks like you’ve had many of them in the last 10 days!
Love to all
prayers for you all always
Praying for you daily.
Joining all of you in prayer for 2018, filled with hope and promise.
Love these photos…..it’s funny to see how short you are Trish…..your boys are so tall!!! Livy will probably pass you up too! So happy to see the smilin’ Gylings….but yes! Rudy is missing in the pictures!!! I am so very grateful for the courage and joy that still emanates from you all…..but for those dark, sad, and scary moments, know that we all are praying for His presence of strength and comfort.