His promise.

" And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:3

Sigh. Oh how I have found comfort in this verse this week. This is God's promise. He is off preparing a place for me and when it is finished he will come back and take me with him to see it. I can't even imagine how magnificent this place will be. It will be filled with all my hearts desires, desires I haven't even spoken out loud. Because my God knows every detail of my being it will be so intricately perfect and radiate his true love for me. Sigh. It's amazing isn't it?

We are here at another years end. This has been a year of many adjustments and now that I sit here thinking about it, I realize it went by fast. Tomorrow we will start a new day in a new year. How exciting! What will 2009 be like? I think it will be another year of adjusting. God knows we aren't totally happy here yet. Our lives have changed and we're still working on finding our fit in our community. It will also be a year of discovery. Evan is learning so much and now that he is mobile he will discover so much more. This makes us so excited. It is our pray that this is a year of true contentment. God is at work in us. I feel his pulls and tugs, but I have yet to understand some of them. I pray I am less stubborn this year and am able to rest in the potters hands. We are excited to use our house for God's glory. And we desire to grow deeper in our relationship and understanding of God, marriage, and parenthood.

So as we wait for the amazing place He is preparing for us, we start a new year with joy. We are eager for the sledding in winter, planting in the spring, swiming in summer, bonfires of fall, and the return of the snow. We pray we are able to slow down and enjoy a simple life.

My Love

Evan , originally uploaded by stacie ann photography.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little love Evan. My cousin Stacie took this while she was back a few months ago. That sweet face just melts my heart! Hope you enjoy it too.

Hot Cocoa

Winter Wonderlands need what? HOT COCOA of course! Here is a recipe for the Hot Cocoa my Mama always made when I was a wee lil' lady. Drinking a cup of this reminds me of snow days, sledding, cookies, and game nights. I've made 3 or 4 batches already and winter is just beginning! This mix makes an excellent gift too.

Hot Cocoa Mix

3 cups dry powdered milk
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup powdered coffee creamer
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together. Store in air tight container.

Add 3-4 tsps mix to 1 cup hot water. Top with marshmellows or whip cream. ENJOY!!

Today we were blessed.

Today we were blessed. It is such an amazing feeling to know you have received blessings from God. Indescribable, it truly is. Travis called me and upon receiving the good news, I fell to my knees and wept. I did! Emotions of JOY overcame my body and all I could do is weep in thanksgiving. Knowing that I do not give God all the glory he deserves, and yet he continually grants us gifts over and over. We know he will provide for us, but this can be hard to rely on at times. It is easy to want to take into our own hands. But today he reminded us that he is our provider, he IS in control. We pray we are good stewards of his blessings. Thank you heavenly Father for loving us so much. Travis I am so proud of you and all the hard work you do for our family! I love you!!

Mornin

DSC03838, originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics.

Good Morning.

"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify."
-Henry David Thoreau

France
Originally uploaded by Lucas Joyful Pics

God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form...The perfect surrender and humiliation was undergone by Christ: perfect because He was God, surrender and humiliation because He was man. -C.S. Lewis

Photo Fun continued...

Photo fun! I saw this on my friend Ashley's blog More Than Dog Children and then saw my friend Kristin Two Songbirds On A Wire continue it. So I decided to play along too. Fun times!

Here's the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

Here I am standing in front of the reflective pool at the Christian Science Center in Boston. This was our apartment hunting trip in 2004 before we actually moved. It was a long day we had! Our first apartment was about 3 blocks away from this beautiful building in the Back Bay.


I'm not a tagger either but hope you'll keep the ball rolling and play along. I'd love to see what pics you find.

Just like my Daddy.

Taking after my Daddy! I love my camo gear, can you see me?

Where's the White?

Snow. Where is the snow? We were suppose to wake up this morning to a blanket of snow. I awoke to hear the wind blowing so strongly against the house. (instant grin) The creaks and howls screamed of whirling snow. I was so excited to start the day off with blueberry pancakes and coffee and be in a winter wonderland. Evan would have fun discovering the cold white snow. He hasn't used his snowsuit yet.

But then I went to window still groggy from a good nights sleep and saw colors. Rubbed my eyes a little more, yep colors. Disappointment swept through me so fast. Where is the white? We didn't get any snow at all! Not even ice or frost. I know the forecast was changed to only get an inch or two, but nothing at all is so disappointing. The wind is still blowing, but it isn't blowing anything white around.

I still made Evan and I blueberry pancakes and am sipping on my second cup of coffee. Evan loves pancakes. He is such a noisy eater anyway, but this morning he was really telling me how much he loved his breakfast. Don't worry Daddy we have left overs for you tomorrow.

Now I must prepare for our White Elephant party tonight. I'm bringing BBQ Wienies and Christmas cookies. I need to search our house for the best gifts, and do a little cleaning while I'm at it.

Evan's First Birthday

Evan. Our sweet lil' man. You are growing up so darn fast. We love this and are sad about this at the same time. We celebrated your First birthday with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Great-Grandmas, and Great-Grandpas. Daddy made you a mountain of pillows and blankets for you to climb on. You got balloons and presents and you LOVED your baseball birthday cake. You are such a huge blessing in our lives. Mama and Daddy love you so so much. Happy Birthday Sweet Boy, may we have more fun this next year than we did this past year.

One day Evan had an "AHA" moment and discovered that his big toys were not only to look at but to play with, in, and on. Life's been amazing ever since.

Friendship

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too?
I thought I was the only one." -C.S. Lewis

We were lucky enough to spend a few days with our good friends Troy, Amy, and Audrey back in October. It's amazing to have such good friends that life just seems to go on like you were never apart. It had been close to 6 months since we had seen them, yet our time spent with them felt so normal. God grants blessings big and small and friendship is one of the big ones. We love and miss you Douglas'. You too Nettie, we miss you lots.