Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2010!

Don't forget....its all about Jesus! I'm remembering today God's perfect provision for me (and you!) in the form of a little baby, born in a manger! Thank you Lord for grace and fullness of life through your Son!

Born on This Day

Today a child is born on earth / Today the glory of God shines everywhere / For all of the world /Jesus born on this day / He is our light and salvation / Oh, Jesus born on this day / He is the King of all nations * Behold the Lamb of God has come / Behold the Savior is born / Sing of His love to everyone / Jesus born on this day / Heavenly child in a manger / Oh, Jesus born on this day / He is our Lord and our Savior* Today our hearts rejoice in Him / Today the light of His birth / Fills us with hope and bring speace on earth / Jesus born on this day / He is our light and savation / Oh, Jesus born on this day / He is the King of all nations * Today a child is born on earth / Today the glory of God shines everywhere / For all of the world * He is light, He is love, He is grace / Born on Christmas day

Christmas Pictures 2009

Just a few of my favorites.....courtesy of Brian and Amy Grissom of Rogue Art Photography

Better than the Best

You're better then the best; I'm lucky just to linger in your light.......................


Don't know how I lived without you Cuz everytime that I get around you I see the best of me inside your eyes

(lyrics courtesy of Uncle Kracker, Smile :-))


It will shock none of you that Josh and I are crazy(as most normal parents are) about our kid. He is our biggest blessing, bar NONE. I could start to go into all of the ways he is awesome and why we are so blessed, but I think I've covered most of that in previous posts. Bottom line: Owen has been God's greatest gift and most perfect provision for us. We are better people because he is our son. And ...........our biggest aspiration is that we can help grow him into a person that loves Jesus and follows hard after Him!

My Thankful List

"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." ~Gerald Good

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” — Denis Waitley

Here are a few (big and small) things that I'm really thankful for this year:

1.Owen and Josh. They are my family...my two best boys.... two of the greatest loves of my life. Being a wife and mother is no easy thing. Josh and I are DAILY trying to figure out how to love each other better and to just....get it right! Its hard! (but worthwhile of course :-)) And parenting...we are in the thick of toddlerhood...which means discipline. Yuk. Most days are wonderful, but I have moments that I just want to cry about it all! Praying that consistency pays off down the road! At the end of the day...I'm doing what I dreamed about doing for years. I'm a wife and I'm a mother. I can't ask for much more than that!

2. Sweet Tea! (its probably rotting my teeth, but I still really love it and the favorite part of my work day is walking over to get my sweet tea at McDonalds :-))

3. Our church and small group. We love, love, love College Park. Its taken a few years, but we are finally feeling like we have found our groove in ministry....and if we get there early enough, we can find people that we know and love to sit with during service! We love our new Pastor, who speaks truth and brings it HARD every Sunday. So thankful for that! Our small group meets twice a month and they have become some of our closest and dearest friends. So thankful to share the journey with others who walk similar paths!

4. Good music, candles and cooking! I love to turn up some John Mayer, light a few candles and try a new recipe. I've really gotten into baking and cooking this past year.....I'm set on being the mom with the best chocolate chip cookies! (which won't happen because I've shared the recipe with too many other people now! :-)) Its ok....sharing is better! :-)

5. Grace. I mess things up in my life....a lot. I am immensely grateful for a loving and personal God who COVERS my life in mercy and grace. I am in constant need....and the more grace I receive the more I know that I have to pass it on.

So many things to be thankful for this year. It is so good for my soul to sit down and really think about how we have been provided for and graciously given more than we need in the past year. I hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with friends and family!

Trick or Treat!

I am so bummed that I didn't get a family picture, or even any pictures of Josh and I separately with our little lion! It was such a chaotic time that I just forgot about it! Owen had a great time though....and I think you will agree that he makes a pretty sweet little lion! He had the ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRR down and everything!

We love Fall

Its been a beautiful, perfect fall here in the wonderful state of Indiana. It got cool in the middle of September, and while temperatures have crawled slowly back up here at the end of October, it never got hot again, which makes me happy. I've been trying, and trying to upload a bunch of pictures but for some reason it is taking FOREVER so I'm settling with the best one....


Here is Owen at Eagle Creek. I love this picture. It will definitely be framed and put somewhere in our house.
We have lots of Halloween pictures to put up to. All in good time. We had a great night hanging with bunches of friends and family. I love our house, but we are outgrowing it when it comes to hosting events. If only we could dig a basement underneath our house and throw all of the kids down there! Honestly though, we are very grateful and very blessed. Always trying to keep things in perspective!
And now its November! This is really my favorite time of year. I'm already praying that I can keep my focus on loving people and being generous...instead of getting caught up in when and where we will spend our time and what kind of gifts we will buy....cause really....its easy to loose the spirit of this season if I don't concentrate on the right things!
Happy Fall everyone...hope you have all enjoyed it as much as we have!

Family Pictures

Our dear friends, Amy and Brian Grissom of Rogue Art Photography took these pictures for us! We love them! Enjoy :-)