Christmas Time....My Favorite Time!

I love so much about Christmas!  Mnay of you know family means the world to me and so I love this time of the year becuase we have an excuse to put everything on hold and spend time together.  It seems like the rest of the year we get caught up in busy work and forget to make time for game nights and evenings around the dinner table together. 

I can't help but be reminded of all I'm thankful for and on the top of that list is my wonderful husband.  He makes the Holidays so much fun.  He's so sweet to endure my non-stop Christmas music, decorations and obsession with the Christmas Tree.  He told me the other day, "even if we were gone and came home the night of Christmas we would drive somewhere and find a tree to put up".  What a guy! He is an incredible man and finds a way to show me daily his love for me.  I am so blessed to call him my husband!  

As I said earlier, I love my family and am so thankful for the close relationships we have with each other.  My parents have always made the Holiday Season special and I love the traditions we've had throughout the year, seemingly picking up a new one each year.  And now I have Tyler's family who enjoys Christmas time just as much as I do!  It's so much fun to join in their traditions and our families together have even come up with some of their own.   My parents and Ty's parents have an ongoing gag gift exchange (although that's not limited to Christmas)  It's always an adventure to see what they've found for each other :)

I am ready to soak up every day in December and I'm so thankful that God reminds me daily of His faithfulness.   I do not deserve the many blessings He's given me this year, but I will praise Him for them and I'm so thankful He's blessed me the way He has.  This next year is sure to bring adventures of its own and I can't wait to see what they are!

Worth the Devil's Time

It is so evident when you are walking close with the Lord how the devil works harder to break you down, so that you are not available for God to use you in every way possible!  Personally, I like it when I can tell the devil is attacking me because that means I'm actually doing something worth while for him to attack.  If the decvil's against it, then I am for it!   There's times I just kick my heels up and get comfortable rather than actively seeking to be used for God's glory.  I don't want to be comfortable in this life becuase it's just a temporary home.  I want to be challenged and I want the Lord to bring circumstances into my life that bring me closer to Him, no matter how hard those situations may be.

There are some incredible things happening in my life right now that are testing my faith and drawing me closer and closer to Him.  I'm so thankful to those around me who remind me of His faithfullness! 

Weekend Fun!

This weekend was filled with so many fun things!  First off, Ty and I are all finished painting the baby's room and have things somewhat organized.  Here's some photo's:



We bought the cute dresser from Miss Mandy McCain and the adorable crib and lamp, from Barb Keen :)  Thanks Ladies!



Friday night we played at the downtown Flatbread and had so much fun!  Paula and her friend, Desirae and her husband, Jerry and Naomi all came down and they were a great audience!  Desirae sat in on a few songs, I just LOVE her voice!  The first song was a little shakey for us girls because we started it too low (I think we tapped into our masculine side:) 

A bunch of girls came over on Saturday for the perfect girls day!  There were amazing goodies, hot coffee, crafts and lots of fun gifts!  Michelle showed us all how to make super cute shirts, gloves and hats....

Here's some of the creations that were designed by some lovely ladies!

Lys made this adorable shirt!

The weekend was topped off with a great day at church.  We lead worship this morning and Tim's sermon was about Noah.  I've really been feeling God tugging on my heart and challenging me to really stand firm on my faith.  This morning was all about having that faith, long before the "rain" comes.  It's easier to believe God once you see the water rushing in, but He wants you to have faith in His plan long before the flood comes, so that you are in the boat...not stuck out in the rain. 

Fall Family Photo's

We had such a fun time taking family photo's last week!  It was a beautiful day outside and the wind helped us girls get that "wind blown" hair without a fan :)

Here's the kids :)

And of course our dog-lickin', lovely family! Oh how I love my boys....

What a Beautiful evening....I am so thankful for family!

cRAfT DaY!

Sunday was filled with great worship, a dear friend getting baptized (making me cry) and CRAFTS!! I went over to Miss Michelle's home and we had such a blast.  She taught me how to make these adorable rosettes that go on just about anything!  I learned how to use a needle and thread, how to use a sewing machine, AND how to successfully hot glue something without getting burned.....I know I know.....I'm becoming so domestic.  What is Ty going to think?

Here's a photo of the cute shirts I made and an adorable hat!  The Shirts only cost me around $5 and the hat Michelle had bought for $1 and we added the cute flower for probably less than ten cents

Today I found these gloves at JoAnne's for $1 and just added a cute little rosette to each one :)

My mom gave me this hat that used to belong to me when I was a baby.  It had a white ribbon that entertwined throughout it, which also dated it a bit.  So, I just added a little flower to the side and hopefully we'll have a baby girl down the road someday who will wear it :)

Thank you so much Michelle for teaching me all these fun creative ideas!

Blessings of Adoption

There is something that happens when a mother first feels her baby kick.  There's an excitement and the love grows deeper and more profound with every movement the baby makes.  What about those who are adopting?  Is it possible to love even before first site?  Is it possible to feel a connection? 

There's a hush hushness (I think I just made up that word) about talking with people who are adopting about their experience and therefore I don't think many people know what the journey is really like.   I get the questions, "Have you heard anything", or "How are you doing".   But what about how are you feeling, WHAT are you feeling, what is God doing in all of this.  I know my experience is much different than anyone else.  Just as mothers who carry their babies have different experiences.  But here's how I'm feeling and how God is working.

When we began the process I thought that we would finish our paper work, be on the waiting list, hear about a baby....be excited, get things ready for our new little one.....happy/a little scared, go to the hospital, hold our baby, then fall in love.  Was I wrong!  The paperwork part was the hardest for me.  I struggled with feeling like I had this huge responsibility to answer all the questions just right, so that it would all match up with the perfect baby God had chosen for us.  I struggled with that because God wasn't exactly reading out loud what he wanted me to express on paper.  My problem was I felt that I was somehow in control. That if I said the wrong thing it would mess up God's whole plan.   Finally, He got through to me that if I'm truly seeking His will for my life and His will for our baby's life, even my silly words on a piece of paper couldn't mess that up.  I was so relieved when the paperwork was finished though because then I felt I could completely sit back and let God work.   No more boxes to be checked wrong, or questions to be answered wrong. 

He wasn't finished working in me though.  I have been falling deeper and deeper in love with our baby.  And Tyler and I have talked about how strange it is that we have no idea if we're having a boy or a girl, or if they will be born in Washington or Illinois.  All we know is that there's is a baby that God has made perfectly for our family and we have been shaped into the parents that God had planned for him or her.  This love is kind of putting a wrench in my patience though.  With every day I feel I am loving our baby more, but I also am feeling more protective.  Wishing I could be there to protect them, wishing I could feel them kick, or make sure their warm.  I also just simply can not wait to meet our little one!  But we're working on that.   I ultimately want nothing more, nor less that what God has planned, so I know that patience is the area of my life He is zeroing in on. 

Adoption for us is our first choice.  We feel blessed God gave us this desire and we are amazed at what He is doing through this journey.  For anyone who has ever thought of adoption as second choice or second best, it is not.   Perhaps you were adopted and deep down feel your parents went with plan B by having you.  I'm here to say Adoption is God's plan, it's the most amazing choice-no seconds involved.  Family is created out of love, security, God's will and faith; not just blood.  Adoption isn't to "save" a child.  They're probably more likely to save you :)

National Adoption Month

A few years ago I probably couldn't have told you that November was National Adoption Month, but today it is a month that is incredibly dear to my heart.  My husband and I are in the process of having our first baby through adoption.  We have finished all the paper work and are now just waiting for that phone call that our baby is coming :)

What struck me today is that we are all adopted.  Christ talks in the bible about how we are adopted into His Kingdom as His children.  What a beautiful example of adoption.  He chose us, he wants our love and He wants us to be a part of His family.  In the same way, we choose to receive Him, we choose to love Him and choose to love Him as our Father. 

One of my favorite Bible stories is of Esther. I love her faithfulness to Christ, but I also love the amazing love her father had for her and the sacrifices she was willing to make for him and him for her. 

Mordecai adopted an orphan he named Esther, as his own child. He loved her, raised her carefully, and she was a good and obedient daughter even into adulthood. (Esther 2:7)

I'm so thankful for the picture God paints for us of adoption.  It was not made to be different or strange....it is one more way God created to bring families together.  It's how we have a Father in Christ and we become children of God and it's a way He gives adults the gift of children and children the gift of parents. 

Ready for the Holidays

Halloween has just passed and I am so excited for the Holidays to begin.  This is my favorite time of the year.  I love Holiday Bazaar's, Black Friday, Gathering around the table with good food and wonderful family, Christmas music, our nativity, and humbly remembering the amazing love God has for me.

This last weekend we had a great Halloween weekend.  I got off work early on Friday and we headed straight up to McCall for a gig we were playing up there.  It was a fundraiser for the Shepherd's Home and the theme, of course, was Halloween.  There were some amazing costumes and the whole band dressed up :)  VP and Kyle were two black eyed peas in and ipod, Englehorn was Good along with me (Charlie) and Ty (Maverick) from Top Gun, and Troy was a skunk. We had so much fun and ended up closing down the party with music playing and enjoying some Ste. Chappelle wine.  It was such a fun night with good friends and my sweet Hubby.  Saturday I played my first gig with Desirae Bronson and we had a blast!  There was a line, outside of the Downtown Flatbread, filled with crazy costumes.  We found ourselves debating weather or not we should tell some of the Halloween goer's that it was not OK to be wearing what they were, but we decided against it.  Sunday was filled with Grandma's yummy beef stew, family, cute kids trick or treating and spending an hour trying to get Oakley down the stairs.  He was a little afraid.  Apparently I have failed him by not teaching him how to conquer the small mountain all on his own. 

Overall a fun weekend and it's just getting me even more excited for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!