A year from heaven....

Congrats to my amazing, smart, wonderful Hubby! He was accepted to the BYU Masters of Accounting program! First of all, let me explain a few things.....the accounting program at BYU is the top rated accounting program in the US. This means two things: a. It is super hard to get in, and b. it is an extremely tough program. They really put you through the ringer, and so keeping your grades up is difficult and exhausting. But, somehow my Jimmy managed to do it despite the fact that he had to work full time providing for a family of six. I am one proud wife!!! I really don't understand how he managed to do it during our family's year from hell, let alone do it well enough to be accepted to the Masters program. I have been pondering this a lot lately, which leads me to my random train of thought...... This year our family has really had a tough go....not as tough as some, but tough none the less. Here is our year in a nutshell....... It started of with us rushing our Sarah to the urgent care because we thought she had tumors in her throat...(it turns out they were just her tonsils that had swollen so large that they were threatening to cut off her airway, so she had to have emergency surgery to get them removed).... Next I gave birth to our "surprise" baby. She of course is a huge blessing, but it took me a long time to come to grips with the fact the I was pregnant again without planning on having a baby. (anyone who has ever had an "oops" pregnancy can relate....it was SO hard to wrap my brain around).... When our sweet surprise was a week old, Daddy started the accounting program at BYU....which meant mommy was alone with four children six and under ALL the time.... When she was six weeks old, I got so sick with my gallbladder that I could hardly function as a mom/wife, then ended up having emergency surgery to get it removed, which meant I was laid up for way too long (have you ever seen a house with a sick mom? NOT a pretty site).... Then when she was two months old we found out that she would need to have the top of her skull removed due to a birth defect, which meant a hospital stay and lots of follow up treatments.... Then, as if things were not hard enough, Jimmy lost his job.... Then I caught our kitchen on fire (yes, I was JUST boiling water. Don't make fun, it could happen to anyone:-) Writing this down it doesn't seem so bad to me, but going through it was TOUGH! But you know what? I wouldn't trade any of it for anything. I have never felt closer to our Savior, never had such a strong bond with my husband, or appreciated my children so much. This past year has left me so grateful for what I have. I am learning that it doesn't matter what you may or may not have in life...if you have your family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ you have it all. My husband and I joke that we have had the year from hell, but when we look back we can see that it was really a year from heaven. With trials sent our way to help strengthen us as a family. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that gives us just enough to help us grow and a Wonderful Savior who steps in and takes over when we can't take any more. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28