Hug a Snowman Day

I think we should start a National Hug A Snowman Day :)  

AWWW!

Well, I guess it couldn't be a national holiday, right?...DUH...snow people don't reside in all 50 states, but you know what I mean.

Maybe this would help melt some of our snow?

Hey, there are no bad ideas here...

Nope...this is cheating :)

I had to include this one...I am not sure if it is a hug, but this is my favorite...

I know this is something that would happen to me with my track record on skis...and, not on purpose! 

LOVE IT!

See, Olaf agrees and he is a snowman! 

So, why has no one thought of this before?

Just trying to rise above the temperatures.  I think if we all did our part, this could work.

Good day to you...and good night...don't let the frostbite bite!

Karly, you can't turn six years old!

Can it even be possible that my baby is turning six today?  NO WAY!  We spent last evening trying to think of ways to keep her five years old...but, she was not "down" with any of those ideas :)  I made brownies for her class and we put M's on all of them and then she "freaked out" because they were supposed to be frosted with W's...for Western Schools...(her idea)...so, I turned the pan around and it all made way more sense ...YAY...too funny! She is pretty excited to be going to a school carnival tonight, having some friends over on Saturday, and then having a family lunch/party on Sunday....turning six is absolutely fabulous!  I have never had that sad, "my baby is growing up", feeling until this birthday!  She just seems way older now!

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY, KARLAYNA SUZANNE!

"When I was One, I had just begun.

When I was Two, I was nearly new.

When I was Three, I was hardly me.

When I was Four, I was not much more.

When I was Five, I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever."

~A.A. Milne

Great poem!  Wish I had written that! 

SO PERFECT FOR THIS FREEZE FRAME KARLY MOMENT!

♥ WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, KARLY! ♥ GOD KNOWS HOW TO GIVE GREAT SURPRISES!
Daddy, Mommy, Savannah, McKenna, Kassandra, Danielle, and
Kooper too!

"I'm gonna play this at your funeral..."

Savannah said to me tonight with a couple tears in her eyes and I thought, "are you already planning this...?" :)...but, I didn't say that because I could tell it was emotional for her.  Then she proceeded to show me a music video by the Newsboys to a song called, "In That Home"...oh, my goodness...what a blessing!  If you walked in my shoes (via this blog) through our whole adoption process to know the ups and downs, my almost breakdown moments, crying out to God moments...this will be a blessing to you as well.  I needed tissues, but when do I not? Right?  Here's the link to the video...WOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vjyq02xBSk

No one said it would be easy...but, then there are days like this where it rocks your world in an AMAZING way!  We are almost to our one year anniversary of the adoption and I cannot believe the work God has accomplished!  Some would be tempted to say..."What a difference a year can make", but it really is GOD!  WHY?  BECAUSE HE'S AWESOME!

Thought Bubbles

You know what is a cool thought...at least I think so, so if I am "cool"...maybe this is good.  God wants to narrate our life story.  What got me thinking about this is I want a weird little corner in my basement where I can put my elliptical machine and some weights and so, I was thinking about what I wanted as a background for that area and I decided I want funny things about workouts.  I want those balloon words or thought bubbles and I want them to say crazy stuff about losing weight because people get so serious about it and then they get all depressed...so, I have been looking for jokes and fun statements to put on that wall.

I found some really funny stuff and can't wait to use it...I figure I will burn more calories if I am laughing while working out.  Anyway, one of the statements I like says, "My workout is going to be so good Morgan Freeman should narrate it." Wouldn't that be hilarious!  Why is that so funny to me?  So, that made me think about what it would be like if my life was being narrated...imagine a play-by-play of all our actions...maybe even thoughts...then my brain went on to, I should check with Morgan Freeman to see if he is available (that is the grandiose delusional part of my brain :)...then, back to earth, that GOD WANTS THIS JOB EVERY DAY!  Only He doesn't just want to narrate what I am doing after or while I am doing it...He wants me to seek HIM for each step.  He is the writer, director, producer...and narrator too.  In my small group Bible study, we are going through the study called "not a fan"...it is a challenging devotional to help us go from being just a fan to being a complete follower of Christ.  The journal asks really personal questions about our motives, thoughts, and what might be holding us back from giving God complete control.  It is a good study...HARD, but good.

I think much of what I battle is in my mind...thought processing, attitudes, motives, letting some thoughts linger that I should take captive, expectations...those crazy thought bubbles.  This is one reason it is so important to fix our minds on Christ.  We have a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ when we are living in and by the Spirit...and then we have peace.  I love this verse..."I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.  If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:17-18  So, that makes me think...if I need peace in some area of my life, am I paying attention to HIM there?  Are my thoughts fixed on HIM at that very place?  Imagine peace like a river...and righteousness like the waves of the sea!

SIDE NOTE: Since I started talking about my plans for the workout area...that made me think of my EAT sign, so I thought I would give you a funny update.  This is the sign I put up in my kitchen that says EAT...only, when I put it up there and got down from the stool to look at it, it said FAT.  The story is a ways back now in the post called "Here's the skinny"...So, my "everything should be in it's proper place" attitude won me over...so I fixed it.  I raised it up a little bit so I could actually see the whole word, EAT.  BUT, I just noticed this over the weekend...there is a shadow from a light in the kitchen that shines on the word and if you look at the wall behind the sign...THE SHADOW SAYS FAT!  (The Shadow Knows :) I can't win!

The Cold Never Bothered Me, Anyway...

All our girls are loving the music from the movie, "Frozen"!  We just got the soundtrack for Karly's birthday and we have been serenaded by five lovely voices.  Savannah found a video of a children's choir performing, "Let It Go" and it is fabulous.  I thought I would post a link to the video because I know the girls would love to share it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAJYk1jOhzk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

OR...this one is great too!  A weatherman uses this song to give his traffic report!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWw0WEtZJRQ

Both are really cool! (See what I did there :) Enjoy!

This Mix

What is this mix? How can I be?  

When did a speck of sand become the reality, ME?

HE thinks, it is.  Through power, HE gives breath. Unique, HIS way HIS specialty.

me...HAHA! A creation feat; raw, but perfect in life

Oh, to comprehend HIS ways, HIS wise...still HIS thoughts on me transform

HIS mind in me, HIS will before

this heart stirs passionate... HIM to seek

sought by LOVE...the ONE TRUE NEED

fulfillment floods my thirst-quenched soul

this mix, HIS LOVE, makes whole

I had a weekend of fun and crazy firsts...I was able to get my van out of the rut, but not without asking for help. (Why is it I always hate asking for assistance?)  Thanks to the two men working in my basement, my van was freed to allow me yet another trip to the grocery store :)  My driveway was a complete sheet of ice and my parents were coming to visit us to celebrate Karly's birthday a little early, so when I returned home...I parked closer to the end of my driveway so I wouldn't get stuck again and to prevent my parents from trying to come in too far and get stuck as well.  I realized I could bring groceries into the basement via sled instead of trying to climb the icy driveway, so that was a first and I felt a little like a sled dog :) When my parents arrived I knew my dad would be confused as to why my van was way down our driveway...so I was waiting for them with the sled.  I ran out to load up their luggage and tell them it was safer to just come through the snow to the basement than try to come to the garage or front door.  My mom didn't have her boots on, so I brought her to the basement on the sled too...she laughed all the way and told me that was a first.

This is random...but, cute....sled dogs on vacation :)

My dad has been helping us with all the electrical needs in our basement, so that has been so great to have his assistance and my mom is such a great creative influence for me, so it is always fun to bounce my ideas off of her and hear her ideas...I feel sorry for my dad and Brad because mom and I, when we are together, always think of things that have never been attempted before and ask dad and Brad to (somehow) make it happen.  I had fun shopping the thrift stores with her to find things for our basement and I was able to make old $2 sports T-shirts into decor for a wall that will be behind a ping-pong table....yay...that was fun!  AND, Brad is very happy with that!

I am getting really excited about being able to use this extra space!

For some reason, our property has become a winter trail for deer and turkeys...with the snow as deep as it has been, they look for shallow places to pass and we have a row of pine trees on the perimeter of our yard where the snow is not too high.  We have been enjoying watching them all pass...usually we see 6 or 7 deer in a group, but on Saturday night we started counting the ones we saw out our sliding glass door and we counted at least fifty...there must have been a party :)  That was a fun first as well!

On Sunday, we celebrated the installation service for our new pastor and just really praised God for His plans, His timing, and for a great hope for the future for our church in reaching our community for Christ. Please pray for the transition time for Pastor Toyer and his family and for he and Brad to learn to work together as a team for God's glory...all transition times can be challenging. 

It was definitely an interesting weekend...a mixed bag of sorts, with lots of different things going on at the same time.  I have been thinking God's creative work in us doesn't stop when we are born...He is constantly refining and creating new perspectives for us.  Even if we get stuck in a rut, He is able to get us out...if we will ask Him to...and I think those past "ruts" can become like a phrase or scripture that we have underlined to remind us of HIS power and HIS creativity in helping us overcome.  God bless you today!

Well done, Grasshopper.

One year, while I was attending Praise Gathering with my choir, I heard one of Mark Lowry's comedy acts. One thing he said was really funny to me at the time...but also so clever...it stuck with me and I still think about it when things in life are tough.  He said when asked what his favorite bible verse is...he answers, "And it came to pass..."  His point was that tough things don't last forever...and, praise God for that! I can relate to that with just putting up with the weather this winter....my van is currently stuck in the driveway because I thought I would attempt to get it into the garage, but it started sliding backwards and sideways on all the ice and rather than hit the van of one of our construction guys that is helping work on our basement, I turned it toward a snowbank to stop it from sliding....stuck in a snowbank or collision with another vehicle...what would you have chosen?  Anyway, I am more excited about this winter passing than I have been in, I think, my whole life of winters.  Sometimes tough times...and I am not just talking about a hard winter... can seem like FOREVER to endure.  But, I feel like God says something like this to me, "Patience, Grasshopper."

We are reminded in God's Word that our whole life on earth is just a wisp, or a blade of grass, so that makes us a little like the grasshopper...I guess, or as I like to think of myself like one of the fuzzy little dandelion seeds that are fun to blow at the end of the summer... Job talks about it in the Bible and I just read some of it yesterday.  And, in James 4, we are reminded to take our life seriously and that we are only a bit of a cloud catching a glimpse of sunlight before we disappear.  If you have ever seen the movie EPIC, it reminds me of the scene where the snail and slug are talking to the fruit fly...I am getting way sophisticated on you here...ha!  Hope it is not over your head! :) Sorry...Tis the season of my life, I guess, that a lot of my insights are derived from children's movies.

Anyway, here's a link to the scene (in case you aren't in that season) :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqMM0gSrfMM ...after I saw that I laughed really hard because it was so shocking to me, but the illustration is not so comical when you think of yourself as the fruit fly.  We are like an insect having a conversation with God and during the time we are talking with Him, we live our entire life and, to Him, it is just the beginning of our conversation...(which is really true when you think of eternity). When I think about my life this way, it makes me want to do more...WAY more with my words and actions...I often think about whether my thoughts, my beliefs, and actions are so closely linked that I actually live what I believe.  AND, do I pour my life out like a drink offering?  Sometimes, in my selfishness, I ask God if I have any more to pour...or I start comparing myself to someone else.  But, that is dangerous to do because this is my life and my one chance to live it...no one else is responsible for making sure I have lived it to obey and glorify Christ. (That reminds me of a great song by Switchfoot..."This Is Your Life"...are you who you want to be?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWArhq3FUEY)

If you google "Life is Short"...you will come up with a bunch of people's philosophical opinions of...so, you should _________. (whatever that is) ...one I like is Life is short, smile while you still have teeth :-) BUT, what would you fill in the blank?  What passions has God given you to live out while you still have breath, Grasshopper?

May I have a word?

It is so interesting to me that God is still talking to me about the "awesome" lesson.  I know I have mentioned it a few times in my blogs, but it just keeps coming up for me.  I mentioned that I took Savannah to the LEGO movie on Thursday last week...well, the main song in that movie was a song called "Everything is Awesome" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6lHm-stXdM ...it is a catchy song and I have found myself singing it more than a few times since then.  I also had a co-worker ask me to do something for her today and all it took was a quick click of my computer and it was accomplished...then she emailed me right back to tell me I was awesome...haha! I had this weird thought of her sitting at her computer in her office somewhere being completely in AWE of me for clicking one thing...weird, right? :)

Then, in my bible readings, the word has come up twice this past week as well.  On Monday my reading was Genesis 28-31 and, in Genesis 28:17, AWESOME is used to describe the place where Jacob dreamt of the ladder to Heaven and of the heavenly beings ascending and descending. Then, on Tuesday, my reading was Judges 12-16 and, in Judges 13:6, the word is used to describe a visitation by an angel to Sampson's mother.  Isn't the contrast astounding?  I mean, me sitting at my computer screen clicking a button compared to a heavenly being visiting a woman to tell her she will have a special baby...or a dream of heavenly beings entering and leaving the earth through a gateway to Heaven...yep....quite a contrast.  I don't know if God is trying to tell me that I do not have Him in His rightful place right now...or if there is something else He is showing me through all of this, but I am pleased and thankful that He is speaking to me about it and I am praying I grasp the message...that I am teachable.

One thing I am seeing (and I am not going to say this to try to make myself look good in your eyes, so please don't take it that way)...I have been more faithful with my bible reading than in years past and I have noticed that things I am reading about definitely correspond with things I am experiencing.  It makes for an actual conversation...really...more ongoing than I have experienced before and I think I have really missed a lot of lessons for not being as faithful in the Word as I should have been.

All that, and a bag of chips!

It is really hard not to say the word, "awesome"...I have had to begin some behavior modification on myself in order to change this habit.  ZAP...(just kidding) So, now whenever I start to say it...I finish the "awe"...with "that and a bag of chips"...how's that for a blast from the past?...haha!  The girls, especially Savannah, love it! (I am being sarcastic about that). We are in this totally new territory with a "teenager" and suddenly we are "so embarrassing!"  Brad took the younger 4 to a Daddy/Daughter dance, so I took Savannah to see the LEGO movie on Thursday night and when we left, I was trying to walk like a LEGO person....she wouldn't even look at me and ran to the car.  I told her since I have never had a teenager before I have to experiment with a lot of different things so I will know which ones are embarrassing to her and which are not :)...she said, "Sometimes I will not talk to you or act like I know you in a public place if I see anyone I know." HA!  She's all that and a bag of chips...ahoy!

Me, as a LEGO :)

We had a terrific weekend with all the girls.  We traveled to Traverse City on Friday and spent the night at The Great Wolf Lodge and hung out at the water park Friday night and Saturday then headed back home late Saturday afternoon.  Thank you to those of you that went together to purchase this gift for us for our adoption celebration last year.  It was such a great gift and we are spoiled (in the best way) to have such wonderful family and friends who have been and continue to be so supportive and generous in their love toward us.

1,000 gallons of water every 5 minutes...crazy!

On our way up there, around Clare, MI, I saw two eagles in flight.  Now, every time I see an eagle, I am going to think of Pastor Scott and our church family....weird how things happen like that and then something becomes like a symbol to you.  But, as I watched them fly, I was reminded of God's faithfulness to our church.  We have been in a time of transition, praying and searching for a lead pastor since August.  Our search committee finally (and unanimously) presented a candidate, Jeremy Toyer, to our church for a vote on February 2nd and our church voted (very strongly) in favor of calling him...and he and his family--wife and 6 kids...5 sons and a daughter...ha! (very strongly) accepted the position.  I am so thankful for God's leading in this very important decision for our church.  We have also been blessed, in the last couple weeks, to be offered another church building (free of charge) in Parma, MI. We have a lot of thoughts about what we could do with it as a community center, so we are just praying that God will give us clarity for the purpose of His gift to us.  It is so exciting for me to know I am a part of a church where God is working!

You would also like this one....I was at Meijer on Saturday night to pick up a few items and I was ready to leave and had just started my van when I saw a young lady (with red hair) struggling to push her cart through the snow and ice.  She was giving it her all, but it wouldn't budge through the messy parking lot with her load of groceries.  So, I got out and asked her if I could help her push it.  She said, "I don't know why I can never find my car...I came out this way, but my car is two aisles over there!"  I told her I used to do that too until...and then my story about the grocery store parking lot and my wisdom in always parking in D from one of my previous blogs.  I laughed and thought, "it happens to us all...not just blondes or brunettes, but even red heads too."  We finally got it pushed over the ice and she was able to get to her car...that was a fun adventure!  Don't you think sometimes God puts little coincidences in our lives just to make things interesting...I love that about Him!  If you were God, wouldn't you have some fun with that too?  He's all that...and AWESOME too!

♥ Conversation Hearts ♥

"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day," says the LORD. "I will put my laws deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people." Jeremiah 31:33

GOD IS

One thing I have been trying to do lately is save the word AWESOME for God.  I heard a preacher talk about the awesomeness of God and I realized I use the word a lot... I guess I felt like I was starting to use it to describe things that make me happy and things that excite me, but it was becoming a pretty generic word for me. So, I am going to try to set it apart from other words.  If you hear me use it for something other than God, you can feel free to say something to me about it.  

I think the more we come to understand the LOVE of GOD for us...the better we will understand the meaning of the word AWESOME. AND, when we grasp even a part of this...we will stand in awe of what He will write on our hearts...the secret things He speaks to us about His love...His conversation hearts.  They come to me with messages like, "I will never leave you", "I provided a way through this", "You are always on my mind", "I have good things in store for you", "I am going to let you experience this to make you stronger" did I mention..."I will never leave you"...the things that make Him our God and us His people. When I read that part of the verse I feel like that is the ultimate satisfaction for God and that makes me tear up a little bit that at the end of all the struggles I have to be in AWE of myself or in AWE of things that really aren't AWESOME...God just wants me to call Him GOD and to belong to HIM...how can that be His desire?

Sometimes, we can learn from other's mistakes.

Brad told me a really funny story one time about a lady he observed in the parking lot of a grocery store. She was a brunette and was wearing a t-shirt that said "Silly blonde, brains are for brunettes"...and yet, she was wandering the parking lot aimlessly looking for her own car...ha!  I took note...."I will not be that brunette!", I thought. So since then, I have always parked my vehicle in section D at Meijer.  Smart right?  In my opinion, that is the way lessons like that should be learned.

Other times...
One day, not so long ago, I was at the gas station...it was a blustery day and I was in a hurry to finish my selections and hop back into my van because the sleet and snow mix was stinging my face.  I think the pump screen asked me some questions and I was pushing buttons and then it was time to swipe my card.  In my haste, I shoved the card into the slot...only it wasn't the slot for my credit card...it was the slot where the receipt is distributed.  So, I tried to fish it out...but I couldn't... That thing was jammed in there real good. Then my thoughts went to..."I wonder how many other people have ever done this?" and... "Can I plead temporary insanity?" So, I had to tell the gas station attendants what I had done...hoping they would be at least slightly amused...but, due to the weather, they were not.  We stood outside for a while for them to take the top of the gas pump apart to retrieve my credit card...I had a second thought about asking them if I could just wait in my van...yikes!....So, take note of this one and pass on the wisdom you have gained from experience.

A Sweet Story

The past weekend was pretty busy for us, but that was good because I had also received some sad news on a couple fronts and it was good I kept busy.  Sometimes life can really take us on a roller coaster ride and in those times I am just so thankful that God is constant!

Today, I attended a funeral for a good friend's father.  It was a beautiful service and he had lived a long and full life, but, even so, it is difficult to say "see you later" to someone so dear.  He was in his 90's and, in a few more days, would have been celebrating 68 years of marriage to his wife, Ruth. When I arrived, I found out my friend was delivering the eulogy and I was not prepared with tissues...my friend that was sitting by me told me I could use the sleeve of her coat if I needed to...ha! that is called friendship!  Luckily, my friend started the eulogy with something funny..."Have you heard the one about the farmer?"  I would much rather begin my crying with a good laugh.  Her dad was a dairy farmer and he was quite the character, so there were a lot of great stories from his life.

One of my favorite stories was about how he and his wife met...He was putting some money into a vending machine to buy a candy bar and, instead of one coming out, two dropped to the bottom.  He gave the second to her :). I am not sure how long it was after that event that he proposed, but all the way home from the funeral I was smiling as I thought maybe that was the proposal.  I could see how that would make sense...Even if a man gives you his "accidental" chocolate, he's the ONE, right? :)!

Anyway, I thought that was pretty sweet!

HAWAIIAN the world is it so cold outside?!!!

I have been trying to remain very positive about the cold and snow, so the girls can stay as positive as possible...but I am beginning to lose it!  Some may argue that I have already lost it....desperate times call for desperate creative measures!  I realized on Thursday I was beginning to get annoyed, so I decided we will party this weekend in complete DENIAL of what is going on outside...

That white stuff...  It's white, sandy beaches, folks! ;-)

Savannah gets home from school earlier than the rest of the girls, so on Friday, I shared my tropical plan with her and we went to work with some decorations, Hawaiian food...and, of course, some kind of tropical beach idea for her nail salon.  She told me she thought she was, "definitely dressed for a Hawaiian Party"(dripping with sarcasm since she was wearing flannel)...but, did you know there IS such a thing as aloha flannel?...that seems like an oxymoron to me....but, I like it.  We don't have aloha flannel, but we have plenty of plaid flannel...so all the girls and Kassi's guests (it is her weekend for overnight friends) dressed in flannel with flowers in their hair and we had a fun night...food, dress-up, ocean nails, a fashion show, a few rounds of jelly bean hide and seek (which is really just sardines), a wii dance party, the limbo, brownies and ice cream and the Teen Beach movie.  What could possibly be better than that?

 Aloha Flannel

 If you need something to make you think of summer....get a personal sized watermelon.  They are really good right now and the girls devoured it.

 Jelly Bean Hide and Seek...there were 5 packed in the bathroom by the toilet, but you can only see two and the hair of a third...

 The making of Hawaiian Pizzas 

Ocean Nails with bubbles...Vanner's creation

It is Saturday morning now....I think this is our busiest "girl stuff" weekend...I keep having to rethink the schedule.  This is too much for my brain...so yesterday, Kassi's friends came over after school for that Hawaiian Party.  Today we take them home, then attend a birthday party, then take Karly for a play date with a friend, then take Danielle to a friend's house to go ice skating with her, pick Karly up, then pick Danielle up, then pick up a friend of Savannah's to go to the symphony with us, then drop Kenna off to see a play with a friend, go to the symphony with the family, then pick Kenna up...and somehow get everyone back to the right place at the end of the night.  A funny thing happened when Brad and I were trying to think about all the transportation issues for this weekend.  We had figured out that Kassi's friends could probably ride the bus home with her from school on Friday and we must have been so excited about that...that when Savannah was talking to her friend about coming over, Brad suggested she just ride the bus home too.  I was whispering to Savannah what to say on the phone...so, I whispered, "tell her to ride the bus home with you"...Savannah started to say it...then she just looked at me with disgust and said, "Mom, it's on Saturday!" LOL!  Brad is now denying that he told me to say that, but I WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW!..haha!  I hope we will survive this weekend!  Well, all the girls are definitely smiling! BLESSINGS!

You Are My Hiding Place

One of my all time favorite games is hide and seek.  I remember growing up playing it with all my cousins after dark on the golf course behind my grandparents little house on Sunset Ln in Mount Morris, IL.  It was so dark you really could just lie on the ground and the seeker would sometimes pass right by you. Whenever that would happen I would get the giggles and usually give myself away.  I have so many fond memories of those times of play...catching fireflies, baseball, the park at the end of the street with the twirly slide, the park that seemed so far away at the time that had the rocket ship, sparklers, silly skits we made up and made all our parents watch over and over, our heated Scrabble game arguments..."that's not a word!" :), silly tricks we played on people, chin heads, all grandpa's marvelous toys, spoons on our noses, our lemonade stands to raise money for an air conditioner :), the 4th of July parade, popcorn, homemade pop and the great fireworks display...where we would guess the next firework color and oooo and aaahhh loudly, the carnival that came to town, and lots of singing...(I still can't believe a carnival came to such a small town, but I think those times were just about perfect...so, I am not going to worry too much about how all the stars aligned to make it so magical to me.)  Anyway, about this time the last couple of years, I start to remember these things in better detail and I miss them.

Grandpa had passed away while I was in college, but grandma passed away several years ago and it was about this time that we were all travelling through blizzard-like conditions to meet up in Mount Morris again to celebrate her life.  As her health had declined, she struggled with dementia.  It was difficult to see her lose her memory and not be able to comprehend what was happening to her.  She said some really funny things too...like once, I had just gotten a perm and mom and I went to visit her...the doors opened and when grandma saw us she said, "Oh, there's Sue with the big head."  I, of course, thought grandma was referencing my new hairstyle and mom thought she was having a memory from her childbirth...ha!  I hope in Heaven I get a chance to laugh with grandma about that one.  I remember when it started for her she would say she was having "dark thoughts", but she couldn't really describe them to us.  It was like a part of her was hidden away and she couldn't even find it.

One of the best surprises for me at her funeral and memorial service was that she had taken it upon herself to write out the book of Psalms while she was in the care facility.  I know she wasn't "all there" mentally during that time, but to know that she did that spoke volumes to me about her understanding of where her help would be found. I think about that often and it gives me a certain peace because I know she found the best hiding place.

LET'S GROW cccccc...OLD TOGETHER!

I saw this unique snow-people picture this past week when I was a little bored and thinking what we could do with all this snow...and wanted to save it for today!  Tomorrow, Brad and I celebrate our 12th Wedding Anniversary and this only seemed fitting to me :)  

What an incredible man God has given me to share my moments with!!!  The times I get off track in my thoughts and lose my thankfulness in my marriage are times when I start to expect things of Brad that I could only receive from my Heavenly Father.  Our walk through life together is to encourage each other into the arms of our Savior.  Our hearts belong to God, but God gave us each other...

TO GET THERE 

(kind of looks like together, doesn't it)  I know sometimes I use some liberties with words, but I really like that concept....together...to get there.  Sometimes, when our girls are running in the church and I am trying to remind them not to run...I tell them they can "walk with a purpose, but not run".  People always laugh at that attempt of mine to get them to obey...but, I think that is what Brad and I do.  We don't have a lot of alone time together as I often wish we would because our purpose a lot of times means we tag-team so many things right now for a big family and an even bigger church family, but we are still a TEAM and we are WALKING WITH PURPOSE...TO GET THERE.

Have you ever taught yourself something...that is strange...really God teaches it, but you are learning it again as you remember something you thought once...OK, I really need to give you an example because trying to describe the example is bombing :)  As Brad and I have been cleaning out the basement for finishing, Brad found a book of poetry I wrote throughout college.  There were times, during that part of my life, when I felt like a sponge for what God was trying to teach me and the way I was able to express it was through my little poems...some of them are absolutely ridiculous and funny now, but some of them gave me reason to consider some things again....like this prayer.  I wrote this before I knew Brad was the match God had for me.  It was a prayer for my spouse and a surrender of my previous romantic notions that somehow a man could be everything to me.

Write my name on his heart, Lord, only if I can follow you

Let his liking not fade, but grow into conviction with a vision of partnership

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, let him only behold me as your masterpiece

And I pray that within this molded clay he find beauty in such forms as...

kindness, tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, graciousness, gentleness...

And let my greatest strength be that weakness that continues to drive me to desperately seek you and need you to save me--

I no longer pray that he complete me; for I trust that you are complete--and in me, 

YOU MAKE ME WHOLE.  

I now pray that together, he and I will fulfill your perfect plan. 

Complete, each of us in you, yet rewarded with this incredible gift of companionship and purpose.

This must be the secret to loyalty and love.

Know what I learned and sometimes am re-learning?....Let God be the one who holds your heart and then, enjoy His magnificent gifts...if you sincerely pray like this...God will answer it!
Brad, Happy Anniversary, My Love! :) LUB :)
Yours for Life, ME