purposeful.

We've rung in the new year, and just as Christmas has come and gone, so have our 2012 calendars. Hopefully, your Holiday season was one that you'll cherish for years to come. Ours was filled with family, family, great food, and more family...isn't that just the best?

Right after new years, Jude had his surgery for craniosynostosis - in case you missed it, I wrote a little about his condition here. Jude's surgery went well and by well, I mean the best it could have gone. There were no complications and his surgeons were phenomenal. Your prayers for our family were graciously heard, thank you for all your love.

Our last few days have been spent adjusting to helmet life. Jude will have to wear a helmet for the next 12 months to maintain the success of his surgery. And although we've trenched through a few rough moments, we're pushing through.

It's easy to cave in on yourself while staring at all the things that seem to be falling down rather than all the good building up. Like focusing on my baby boy wearing a helmet for the next year, 23 hours a day. Or not being able to feel his fuzzy hair when his head nuzzles into my chest, right under my chin. Or realizing that when I naturally go to kiss his head, when I'm holding him in my arms, my lips will land on a hard plastic shell. But as I stared at him yesterday, watching him sleep for the last time without his helmet until the 12 months are up, I realized the helmet is not a mean bad guy, but a nice guy, fulfilling his purpose. If it weren't for the helmet and having surgery at such a young age, Jude would have had to undergo a much more invasive surgery, hospitalizing him for much longer and possibly requiring multiple surgeries throughout the course of his elementary years. Not to mention, there are so many families, my heart breaks for, ones that have suffered the grief of losing one of their little ones, or ones who don't know what it's like to have a baby to hold. So, if this little helmet of his helps nip his craniosynostosis in the bud, then I should probably cut the thick clear plastic headgear some slack. And really, isn't he just the cutest little astronaut, speed racer, rugby player, 40's football star you've ever seen? I mean, a helmet's never looked so good. ;)

With realization comes clarity, a peace of mind that makes action purposeful. And purpose is really everything. One of my hopes for 2013 is to strive to be increasingly purposeful, in everything I do. To be more purposeful in my friendships, to be more purposeful with my words, to be more purposeful with my time, to be a more purposeful mom, and a more purposeful wife. And please don't get me wrong, by purposeful, I don't mean that everything must have a lengthy, involved, plan or intention. Rather, to live the life you've chosen with dignity and ownership, to give each day, each hour, each minute, the purpose it hopes to have.

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