20eleven.

Eleven highlights of 2011 (not in any specific order):

11. My surprise birthday party

10. Moving into Shiloh

9. Shiloh Christmas Party

8. Getting a job

7. Heather got engaged

6. Bailey

5. Emma got engaged

4. Myrtle Beach

3. Lindsay

2. Half-Marathon

1. Australia

 This year has been quite a year. Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, spending a week at Myrtle Beach with some of my best friends, seeing two people who mean so much to me get engaged, having my 'own' house, running 13.1 miles, and Bailey was added to our family :)

Not only was this year one of the most eventful, it was one of the most difficult. I lost someone who I called my brother. Someone I grew up doing everything with. Someone who knew just how to pluck my nerve, but at the same time knew exactly how to tell me what I needed to hear. The last 5 months without him have been a roller coaster of emotions. Sadness, guilt, anger, peace. It hit us so hard and so sudden. I've never experienced something so painful. But I have also never experienced something where I felt God more present. He wrapped His arms around me like I have never been embraced. He brought my family together in a way I never thought would happen. He helped me work through my doubt and fear and blessed me with peace and understanding. So much has resulted from his death. A child down in Alabama accepted Jesus after hearing his story; an entire town was able to hear the gospel at his funeral; a half-marathon and a 5-k was run for him; eyes have been open to the uncertainty of life and the urgency of salvation; and my love for the Lord has been amplified.

Hunter Scott Liebold, I love you.

God's going to do something big in 2012. A post will come later tonight that...

but for now, goodbye 2011...hello 2012.