…and it’s not even close to over yet.

I’m sitting here checking email before I head to bed and find myself with the need to write something. I’m not sure why. I think part of it is being a bit nostalgic or sad after reading this graphic novel called Blankets. It’s not your ordinary superhero, vampire or science fiction comic that you’d initially guess.

It’s a story about a boy who grows up with an annoying brother, a strict religious family and who falls in love with a girl from a different high school. I can’t say enough good things about the way the story was told, how truthful all the words inside it are and how much they remind me of my youth. The story of the boy and girl falling in love is so beautiful and perfect, you will get choked up while you read it.

Most people think of a graphic novel as a lesser (or inferior) medium when you compare it to books, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Some of the more meaningful stories for me this year have come from stuff like Blankets and Y:The Last Man.

There is a reason why tons of movies these days are adapted from graphic novels.

Anyway…a story that impacts me like this one tends to get me thinking about my own life. Which I’ve done a lot of lately. This year has been an insane race to prepare for the arrival of Lyla and that time is close at hand.

Worried about the loss of income if Jina doesn’t go back to work after Lyla arrives, or even part time, we started cutting costs and reducing bills. That went great (even if I miss my truck terribly), but I also felt like I needed to look for another job that might pay me a bit more.

Not only did I get two job offers in the course of two months, but both of these led to my current employer doing everything they could to keep me with them. I’m happy now and looking forward to what they have in store for me there.

I am even turning down a second offer by one of those other companies. That was a tough decision, but one that I felt was right.

Part of the means to increase our income was Pop Critics, the entertainment blog I ran with my friend Jason. But as time went on, I realized how much of my life was monopolized by it and how little I wanted to be that busy once my daughter gets here. Who wants to come home from work, eat dinner and then start working again? (“my daughter” – man that sounds so strange)

So I’ve given that up as well. And I feel good about that decision too.

In fact, this year has been full of choices for me, and none of these have happened without trusting in God to take care of things. Which is why it’s been so amazing for us.

When the idea of Jina being at home full-time after Lyla comes became a reality, the panic (for me) set in. I prayed and prayed and tried to make decisions where I could that would help us come December. I was stressed, freaked out and generally scared to death when I wondered how on EARTH I was going to support this family on my own.

And man how God has taken care of us. When Jina goes part time in January, the hit we’ll take in our income wont be close to as bad as I thought, especially with the sizable chunk in monthly expenses we cut and the raises I’ve received at work.

It took my friend Tyler a few weeks ago to sort of bring to my attention that God was providing for us. It’s strange how we ask him for help so often, yet when the good things happen, he’s the last person we want to “call” and share the good news with.

Are we ready for Lyla yet? Maybe not. But the panic is completely gone now. My time is freed up with the riddance of side jobs. The baby’s room is almost done.

But mostly…I know God is taking care of us and will continue to do so.