A Great Day

Sunday was a great day. I watched my precious niece, Reese, be dedicated at our church...and also witnessed my sister Colleen's baptism. What a wonderful way to start the week.

3 Years of Marriage...

Josh and I celebrated 3 years of marriage on January 14th. After being married 3 years (lucky number 3) a lot has happened in our life. We have made many memories together and I can't wait for the next 50+ years. I know it sounds cliche, but I really did marry the best man in the whole world. Sorry ladies. He makes me laugh more than any other person I know. I couldn't picture myself with someone who didn't make me laugh as much as he did. Here are some things that have happened over the past 3 years...

We had a precious baby girl who has brought tremendous joy into our lives, and changed me in ways that I could never imagine...

We bought our first house in 2007...

We changed about 8,000 diapers...

We hosted about a BILLION parties. If you know me, you know that I love to be a hostess...

We spent 8 days in Cancun for our one year anniversary, lost our luggage for 3 days, and flew the Mexicana Airlines on one of the weirdest flights I've ever experienced...

We've been in about a million weddings...

We had our baby girl dedicated to the Lord in front of our closest family and friends...

We shed many tears with family members....during both the good and bad times...

Josh threw me off of a jet ski when we were in Lake Chelan and landed me in the ER...thanks babe.

We became part of an awesome church and have built some great relationships...

I watched one too many football games to count...

Played about a trillion games of Phase Ten...

Changed my hair color 6 times...

We swam with dolphins in Mexico...and experience I'll never forget...

I can't wait to see where this journey will take us in the next 3 years...

Christmas

My daughter was watching the "My Little Pony" cartoon this morning. The ponies were very concerned that Santa wasn't going to make it to their town (for some reason or another). One pony said "Oh no, without Santa there is no Christmas!" It made me very sad to think about the message it was sending out to little children who were watching the show. Don't get me wrong, I took Ava to see Santa at the mall, and have explained that Santa is the one who will be bringing gifts to her this year. But it really made me think about my duty, as a mother, to explain the true reason as to why we celebrate Christmas every year. My parents always did a wonderful job of helping us realize the meaning of Christmas, and what it's all about. Now it's my duty to pass this along to my precious little daughter. Talking about Santa is alot of fun, but I don't want her to feel like that's all it is about. So, this year we will be starting a new tradition in our family on Christmas morning (since she was too little in the past to know what was going on) that I'm really excited about it! I'm excited to continue building some memories with our family and celebrating the birth of our Savior. I also want her to realize that there are so many children and families out there who do not have the financial means to open up gifts on Christmas morning. We purchased some gifts yesterday that we will be giving to a family in need. I would encourage you to do the same! It's a wonderful feeling and experience to see the joy brought to tiny little faces who normally do not get much...or anything at all. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the time spent with your loved ones!

Luke 2:11 "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Feeling Anxious

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I have been feeling a bit anxious with everything going on right now in our economy, with the presidential debates, companies being forced to be bought out, etc... I've listened to experts talk about what is to come. I've tried to take their advise as best as I can. And I'm waiting.....I don't really know what I'm waiting for. It's kinda like the hype that started with the whole Y2K thing (remember that? when it turned midnight on January 1st, 2000 and all of our computers were supposed to crash or something like that!). I don't know what I'm waiting for. I feel like we're prepared, and I have faith that our God will provide. It's hard to feel encouraged right now though. Everyone is so scared. Maybe we have a reason to be, but I do have faith that we will survive. I read a verse today that inspired me. What are all of you doing for encouragement right now?

“[Praise to God for a Living Hope] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”- 1 Peter 1:3