2017 has certainly been a year to
remember! Endings
that created new beginnings. That
would be the summary of this year for us.
We celebrated these endings and beginnings, but in some areas they were
bittersweet. Change has never been easy
for me, but these necessary changes have blessed us so much this year, and we
know that we are loved and cared for by our Creator that has good and fruitful
plans for us. We have so much to celebrate
and be thankful for this year!
The beginning of the year marked
the ending of a dream, and the beginning of another. Andee and I had always planned on returning
to Canada after he completed his training in
the US. But God had other plans. Letting go of the return to Canada (at least
for now) was an incredibly difficult process, but we knew it was going to be a
part of our story for Andee to take a job here and remain in Iowa. A
healthy combination of sadness and hopefulness accompanied this decision, but
we are confident in it and love our lives here in Iowa!
This veer from the plan sparked
an array of new and beautiful beginnings!
We started the hunt for a house in mid-January, and put an offer in on
our dream home in February. Our offer was accepted, and we moved in at
the end of March. It is so far beyond
what we ever expected, and is absolutely perfect for us. Equipped with bedrooms for family and friends
to come and stay, we were thrilled with our new home! But two people living in a big house - what
were we to do with all the extra room?
Right on (God’s) schedule, Andee
and I found out in late February that we were pregnant! This marked the end of my hesitation and the
beginning of a long road in trusting God with us and our new addition. We were so excited to begin this new chapter
of our lives as we began the journey to starting a family! Little Baby Luke would be due in November of
2017, and we were anxiously awaiting his arrival!
In the midst of the joy of
pregnancy came the realization that some necessary endings would have to take
place to make space in our lives for our new addition. I have always wanted to stay at home with our
babies, and so I decided to quit my job at the church to make this dream a
reality. I absolutely loved working at Prairie Lakes Church, and so I did not take this
decision lightly. I did, however,
receive so much love and support from my coworkers in making this decision, and
am confident it was the right one.
Another necessary ending, this
one without even a tinge of sadness, was Andee’s graduation
from Residency! After 7 long years of
Medical training abroad, this graduation was a culmination of all the hard
work, countless moves, endless paperwork, lots of curve balls, and God’s ever
prominent hand in our lives as we put to rest this phase of our lives and
looked forward to the prospect of Andee starting his full time employment as a Family Medicine Physician! Needless to say, we were thrilled to have
this process finally in our rear view mirror, but are forever grateful for the
impact that this journey has had on our relationship with each other, our
ability to persevere, and our level of trust and hope in our good God who
orchestrated it all! We are better
people having been through this!
And now for the biggest news of
all! On November 7th, 2017,
we welcomed Aaron James Luke, 6 lbs 4oz,
18.5 inches, into our lives! Words cannot
describe the feeling of hearing his first cry, holding him for the first time,
and the rollercoaster of emotions that follow in the lives of a new parent. This new beginning is by far the most
beautiful, challenging, life-changing milestone that we have experienced thus
far in our lives. God has blessed us with the privilege and
responsibility of raising His child to know and love Him. And that is what we shall do!
As we look back at all that we
experienced in 2017, we also look forward to what 2018 has in store for our
growing family! We love all of you
reading this, and we hope that you will continue to experience life with us in
2018!
Merry Christmas from the Luke Family – Andee, Diana, Aaron &
Vera
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