Snow much FUN :)

A few pictures from some great sledding at Mt. Bachelor
Soooo grateful for this fun opportunity
This week has been an awesome time to watch cousins
laughing and enjoying each other
VERY SWEET!!

Yep, that's my man in the gortex camo

My Halls are Decked :)

Here are a few pictures from around our house
the last couple weeks
I've been working quite a bit lately and doing some
hustling and bustling when I'm not

It's fun to work on special projects for people (gifts)
but me oh my, I'll welcome January "uneventful-ness"
I've taken both of the kids on shopping dates and
I've been making my Grandma's special Coconut Bon bons!
Wow!!! She used to make hundreds of them
They are SOO GOOD but take A LOT of time
I think after two tries, tonight I finally perfected
the "dipping in chocolate" process
I was a bon bon dipping DIVA!

Last weekend Zach and Alexa were in the
Christmas Musical at church
It was a fun production
Z was a wise man and had a
little narration part
A did a ribbon dance with four other girls
I got to decorate the set!!
I was so happy with the end result!
I'll post pictures soon

I savor the quiet time in the late evenings lately
after our kids are in bed and the day is almost done...
A lovely time to calm my heart and refocus my
attention in the direction of my Saviour :)
So grateful he came to make a way for me!

This nativity was a gift from brother Doug~love it!

Sweet little angel plays Silent Night
It was ALWAYS on display at my Grandparents home at Christmas
Grandma gave it to me a year before she passed away
I think of her as the centerpiece of all my Christmas decor

This little heart is hanging all year round

My fun polka dot ribbon was the only addition to our decorations
this year, hmmm except for one little ornament

WE enjoy our pellet stove SO much this time of year!
Love it's glow along with the tree lights.

10-10-10

take a picture every hour for ten hours on the 10th of the month
it's fun to document your day and see if you capture
something you wouldn't normally notice
and try to improve your photography skills too

Christmas Concert

Our little girl is LOVING
7th grade choir

Thanksgiving 2010

Just a few pictures and words about our Thanksgiving
We spent the day with the Gonnerman family
at the home of Scott and Jacqueline in Lake Oswego

Cousins enjoyed playing together,
indoors and out
We were treated to a slide show of recent family
get togethers put to music by Scott
Ate...much
Had craft/collage time with kids
Gave testimony to particular aspects of God that
we are thankful for

The day was particularly nice for me
A true little break or retreat kind of feel
I just "let" the day happen and was blessed :)
Needed one of those
Feeling very grateful for this family I married into!

Thankful

Being thankful, giving thanks, gratefulness,

contemplating blessings given...
it's essential

I'm thankful for a merciful and gracious
God, who delights in me!

The variety of friends He's given

Children who tell me they love me
willingly and often :)

The perfect husband for me

A job that I enjoy
and really, really, great ladies to
work with

I'm also grateful for....being 44

the maturity that has been developed over
these decades,
gained understanding and perspective

Life is good.... often hard...but good :)
Happy Thanksgiving

Like french fries and salt

He completes me,
we are like peanut butter and jelly,
peas and carrots, Romeo and Juliet,
root beer and pizza, The Lone Ranger and Tonto
Snoopy and Charlie, Laurel and Hardy

(And I'm not talking about the dog)

Feeling grateful and especially blessed lately with my husband
Like "iron sharpens iron", he is good for me
Yesterday I found myself in the middle of the afternoon feeling very anxious
and concerned about a couple of different issues
my mind kept going off on rabbit trails and exaggerated & unpleasant end results
In the past I've found myself prone to call a friend first, in the midst of
the anxiety

Not yesterday.........THIS is where I chose to implement my more recent
"crisis game plan"
it's called.....wait for it.....................G G G!
How about that?
My 3 G's stand for........God, Greg and Girlfriends
This would be the priority order of "go to peeps" (Did I just refer to God as a peep?)
I chose to give it to God first, spent some time praying and reading
and found great comfort and calm :)
And then my second G came home from work
lucky for me, A and Z were in their bedrooms, enduring consequences for bickering
and bugging and being ugly to each other
So I got my second G ALL TO MYSELF...for quite a long while
I listened to his day and then he listened to me.............

I LOVE how his perspective on my "issues" brought more
comfort and calm :)
the balance in our personalities, of our views, it's a good thing
it's a God thing
So thankful for him
after talking with me, and after finishing his lovingly made
meatball sandwich and side salad.....
HE sat for 45 minutes with our children and led what I would call
maybe a quarterly, necessary discussion about the
importance of taking the high road if you feel you've been wronged,
zipping your lip, and most importantly choosing to show love
to the other instead of choosing selfishness
He did this after a 10 hour work day, and with the patience of a saint

I'm grateful for him
Happy to be the ying to his yang :)