Opening the Door to Receive a Merry Christmas

I have this picture hanging in my kitchen. Every time I look at it I am reminded that there is no handle on the door but Jesus knocks just the same. He is a gentleman and will never force himself into my heart. Only I can open the door.

Looking back over 2011 I find myself overwhelmed with memories of events…

January started with a bang and a trip to speak in Texas. Things are always bigger in Texas (especially people’s hearts) it seems. The short trip was fun and I met many wonderful people.

February… the sweetheart month… seems that my boys (my little sweethearts) had already grown several inches. The clothes they had received at Christmas time were already getting too small.

March is typically a month of re-grouping and this year proved to be no exception. The illustrator we had for Oliver’s story ‘Asperger’s Rhymes with Bass Burgers’ was no longer able to complete the job due to personal issues and my marketing contacts were falling through invisible wholes in the floor due to personal issues… strange.

April is always a busy month for me with my own ‘personal issues’: gardening is at the top of the list! Maybe I should say GARDENING! Raspberries, lilacs, vegetable garden, herb garden, flower garden and (of course) nearly 50 indoor plants all require extra attention in April.

May began with an annual event held by Judith Briles. AuthorU (short for Author University) held a two-day Author Extravaganza that was absolutely out of this world! Justin Matott and many other speakers were on hand and I left (literally) swimming with information and ideas!  I also spent ten days in Canada where I keynoted an autism conference and worked with groups of amazing people working to help those with autism. This event was followed by a week to speak in Austin. The busy month found me in as many as three time zones in one day and I logged enough sky miles to qualify for a free flight.

June turned out to be the perfect month to take a family road trip to South Dakota. We saw the magnificent  Mount Rushmore, the dinosaur dig, airport museums and too many special locations both directions to keep track of. Our memories will last a lifetime and I’ve been busy organizing the memories in the boys’ picture books! I pulled a rib and a muscle out of place picking raspberries after we painted the house. Unbelievable pain that I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Andy also returned to work after being laid off on July 13, 2010 (our 14th wedding anniversary) after working for T-Mobile for 15 years. His new job is an 80 mile drive each way (making for a really loooong day) and we may eventually move. In the meantime, he loves his job and they love him.

July was a month I’d like to forget… have you ever had one of those? In May I got bacterial bronchitis thanks, I’m sure, to so much travel.  My bronchitis was still lingering so my doctor sent me to a ‘specialist’ who decided I needed to have countless tests. He had me so scared that I was afraid not to have the tests… last time I’ll let myself get into that situation… thanks to this mess I’ll be making monthly payments for the next three years! The worst part: early test results CLEARLY indicated that my lungs were okay but the specialist miscalculated the FEV1/FVC ratio and diagnosed me with “asymptomatic COPD and lung disease.” YIKES! *I didn’t need the tests at all. Makes me wonder about people’s credibility and more.

August 1st the boys went in for their annual school pictures. It is truly scary how big they’ve gotten and they are both so darn handsome! August 3rd was their first day of school. On August 8th, their 5th day, I went in with cupcakes to for the class to celebrate Tanner turning 12 on the 7th. This teacher (who I had never met before) clearly was out of her element and proceeded to verbally assaulted him right in front of me! Physically assaulting her went through my mind but, instead, we left and I withdrew him from that school the next day. He has been doing incredible with home school since and is at the top of his class.

September was like a blur with home school for Tanner, home work for Oliver and trying to balance my speaking, coaching, writing and autism outreach. My dream of dreams is to open Creative Cranium Centers ®. At these centers, children with special abilities will be learn and become an expert in an art field. So far, I have groups in seven states and Costa Rica interested in opening their own franchise. I’ve spent a lot of time (too much time) trying to figure out the HOW and it seems that there has been entirely too much rain on my parade… BUT – I’m getting better at focusing on the WHAT… consequently, I’ve been getting glimmers of rainbows every so often. Keep this project in your prayers!

October proved to be another exciting month with the boys! I didn’t get a whole lot of real work done but fighting with the hospital – (over nearly $10,000 in charges to me) and the insurance company (I tried to switch back to my old company but was denied because of the incorrect report from the ‘specialist’) – had become (literally!) a full time job!

November is such a wonderful month – not just because it’s my birthday month – because it reminds me of how thankful I am… thankful for my wonderful family and friends; thankful that I have had the wonderful opportunities to speak and travel and meet so many wonderful people; thankful that the doctor’s report is wrong; thankful that my boys are healthy and happy; thankful that my husband found a wonderful job and that we had the wonderful time together with him while he was laid off; thankful to live in Colorado where I can look out my window and see the Rocky Mountains; thankful that I have a library of wonderful books at my fingertips… (currently reading The Power by Rhonda Byrne). You know something? Just writing down a few things I’m thankful for changes everything. I should do it every day! Be thankful…

December brings us to the end of 2011 and to the beginning of 2012. A close friend and business associate told me earlier this year that 2012 was going to “be her year.” She lost her successful business due to no fault of her own this year and yet she has stood faithful. Her strength and friendship has given me strength. I believe she will touch more lives with her new business than she could have ever dreamed of touching with her old job as a massage therapist. When she opens her first Creative Cranium Center ® I believe she will clearly see how God closes one little door in order to open another BIG one.

This year I hope and pray that Christ is in your CHRISTmas and that you see the blessings in your life. Believe in hope. Believe in love. May God truly bless you.