I have a new plan for this new year and that is to update my blog at least everything other day…

In 2010 I published a total of 18 posts… I thought for sure I had published more. But what I am finding out is that blogging can be hard… because I don’t really feel like I what I have to say is terribly important or life-changing. So, therefore… why would I share it with the world? Well I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I am going to post more regardless…

Starting today.

Our drive up through Northwest Arkansas... definitely one of our favorites.

On December 22 we left for what we knew would be a busy but joyful time with family. After having had members of my family in town for roughly 3 weeks around Thanksgiving, we were hardly refreshed as we began our 10 hour drive to Arkansas. After 11 days, 6 different beds and more than 30 hours in the car we arrived back home on Sunday. We were exhausted, we were sick (Brandon on the upswing, me with the worst of it) and we were hardly refreshed for the New Year. Now don’t get me wrong, we had a WONDERFUL time with family. We spent time with extended family that we rarely get to see and we got especially good time with immediate family members. We even got to see college and high school friends and had a private lunch to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (which, in 5 years we have only officially celebrated once…) AND we got to spend a few days with some of our very best friends who recently moved from Wheaton… all in all it was such a good time. But it was exhausting. Absolutely exhausting.

And towards the end of the trip we vowed to not do this kind of trip again. It was hard for the two of us, it will be even harder when we have our baby.

Our Baby. It has a nice ring to, doesn’t it?

At every stop we made throughout the state of Arkansas and Oklahoma family members and friends asked for an update on our baby. And we gladly told them what we knew… which wasn’t much. You see there is really no adoption update until there is a baby. And that’s hard. And to be honest, celebrating the holidays without our boy or girl was hard. I felt as if a part of me was missing. But friends and family were so encouraging. Before leaving home and at each stop along the way we received baby items of various sorts… clothes, charms, gift cards, bottles, supples… and we were encouraged by the hope of those around us.

Hope.

I am starting this New Year exhausted, overwhelmed by all that needs to be done, a little sick but ultimately hopeful… joyful. Why? Because I feel confidant that 2011 is going to bring us Baby O’Brien. And I can’t wait to meet him or her.

And in the meantime, I’m going to try and get some rest while I can… in between blog posts, of course.