A YEAR IN REVIEW!

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
(Psalm 34:17-19 ESV)


As I took down the Christmas decorations, I was overcome with the gut wrenching pain that has been my affliction over the last couple of months. I missed my parents even more as they had filled every inch of our home with love, warmth and groceries. The Christmas decorations went up during our crisis and taking them down was a stark reminder of the gravity of the last couple of months. I tried to cry, but the tears would not come; I felt numb. So what did I do? I started rearranging furniture, organizing closets, cleaning out the garage, I went on a cleaning tsunami, with the sound track of Les Miserables playing in the background. Everyone stayed out of my way, except for our curious cat, Fresca, who obviously doesn't know that when "mom means business", stay out of her way. It gave me a lot of time to think, pray and process. As I was cleaning, I started thinking about the year we had and the pain of the last few months started to diminish as I realized how "rich" our year had been.  The following is from my hairdresser/friend Jackie Maclean's post on Facebook:

"I'm going into the new year without new goals or agendas. Only deep sense of gratitude for what I have already been blessed with. This year I've seen the great losses of so many and it's reminded me again that life and family is so precious!" 

January

A trip to Saskatchewan for my grandma's "home-going", What a celebration!

Aunt Rebecca, Kourtney and Shaelyn.

March

We celebrated Shaelyn's 11th birthday in Tuscon, Arizona where we had a great time visiting Todd's cousins and Uncle Danny and Auntie Olga.

Catching up with cousins Kourtney and Natalie

Off to explore Sabino Canyon with the cousins and Uncle Danny.

May

Shaelyn went to Moncton, NB for a skipping tournament.  My parents came along to watch and I got to catch up with my friend, Lorraine, who now lives in Nova Scotia.

It was great have my mom and dad come to Moncton with Shaelyn and I.

My twin and I riding in a horse drawn buggy in PEI

July

Summer started with a bang with visits from cousins, trips to Kelowna, Alberta and

Saskatchewan.

Not sure who can jump higher!

Pretty sure it's me.

Ciara, Shaelyn and Kourtney getting to know each other in Okotoks.

Spending a day at the lake with Tammy and Keilan in Calgary.

Kourtney and Auntie Charlotte out for a stroll in the park in Regina.

Fondu at the Grizzly House in Banff 16 years after our honeymoon.

Enjoying the scenery cycling in Banff.

August

Lots of great times enjoying the sunshine all month long!

Nate, Shaelyn and Clarise at the beach in Kelowna.

Floating the Penticton channel with Uncle Wonderful.

Hanging out with dad on the Ferris wheel at the PNE

September

We never really got into a routine, started noticing signs that things weren't right.  Kourntey celebrated her 15th birthday with a PINK party!

Cupcakes by Kourtney andApril!

Happy Birthday hug from Kim!

We conquered the Grouse Grind

October

Sylvan Lake for family reunion, next week to Kelowna. Kourtney sang at her Uncle Meldon's communion service . . . . . this is when we knew there was something really wrong.

Lutzer family reunion at Sylvan Lake was a blast . . . again.

November

Kourtney was admitted at Children's . . . . . and you know the rest.

A huge blessing to our family has been our friendship with the Visser family. We love you guys and are thankful so much for your support, your commitment, advice, as well as your unconditional love to our family.

Scott and Angela going to a redneck Christmas party!

Shaelyn and Fresca

I was able to conclude that 2012 was one the *Best* years we have had, there was no way that we could let the last few months cloud the accomplishments, the travels, as well the relationships that we established, built, and fostered. Although the last few months have been horrendously difficult, there have been many positive changes.Our family is now stronger, closer and healthier emotionally then we have for years! Happy 2013!!