Disbelief!!!!!

My heart breaks for the families and friends of those lives lost in the Connecticut shooting!  I pray God's hand and peace over every person involved and hurting right now!

2012

 

If I had to chose one word to describe the year 2012 for our family, I would pick the word "change".  This year we have had our mountain highs, and our valley lows, and more change than every other year combined.  It's a good thing that no matter what kind of circumstance we may be facing, God's holding us in His hands. With that said, we've needed to be held a great deal this year. This year Tim and I have grown closer to the Lord and closer to each other. 

 

The new year started with Tim's dad in the hospital, and with us left to wonder if he was going to make it out.  The year is ending with our family moving to a new house and a new city.  In between, there has been Tim's new job, the loss of a grandparent, little baby Jayda, part of our family broken a part, Tim reuniting with his birth mom, the loss of a family pet, my dad having heart surgery, and I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting.  This year has brought indescribable joy and unbelievable heartache.  While 2012 has been more than we were ever expecting, so has been God's grace that has carried us through it. Never have we experienced such highs and lows in one year.  Part of me wants to hold on to 2012 a little longer, while the other part of me wants it to end.  It's been a bittersweet year.  We are leaving 2012 with more joy, a heavier heart, and very blessed.  We now have a greater understanding of what it means to fully surrender to the Lord, and both Tim and I have found new meaning to the word "patience."  We've learned that when we are weak, the Lord is strong. We've learned to be still before God. We've learned that God can take the ugliest of situations and turn them into something beautiful, We've learned more of what it means to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, and we've rejoiced in our sufferings because is brought us hope, understanding, patience, endurance. For all of these things we are humbled and grateful.  We look forward to the start of 2013 knowing that whatever happens, we've got the Lord by our side.  

The last piece to the puzzle....

Several months ago, I blogged about our journey in trying to find Tim's biological family.  Well, at the beginning of December the journey ended.  After 39 long years, Tim and his mom Johnene met for the first time.  What a journey it's been for us all.  We can't wait to share the story with you, but for now, this is a rather private family affair.  We are still trying to wrap our heads around what it all means.  While I enjoying blogging, there are just some things that are private, and for now, this is one of those things. 

 

I will say that it was wonderful being able to meet Tim's mom, sister, and nephew's. We are so grateful for the opportunity and for the Lords timing.

 

Tim and his mom....We love you mama!

Jayda and her cousin Malkia

 

Handsome young Skyler dressed up for church

 

Tessa had fun this year decorating herself instead of the tree

 

Tim and his sister Rose

A little of November in pictures

It has been a wild year.  2012 will go down in the history books for our family!  More to come on all of that later.  For now, I will leave you with a few pictures from November.  Enjoy

 

These pictures were taken in a beautiful little valley nestled in the Cascades.

I still believe it snowed just for us that day

Me and my girls getting our pretty on...  

Our 2012 family photo.  It will never get old taking family photos.  Thanks for the new tripod babe!

 

Our girls soaking up a little sun on a bed of leaves

...and lastly we can't forget about Thanksgiving



A Burlap craft

Burlap is such a great material and has so many uses.  This craft was a lot of fun and took very little time to complete. 

 

Materials you will need:

A piece of burlap material

A piece of wood or board approximately 8in by 18in

Acrylic paint

A stencil (for the letter)

hot glue

twine

 

Start by stretching the burlap to the edges of the board/wood.  Hot glue the edges in place. Cut the remaining material to the edges. Once you have the burlap glued in place, take your stencil and place it where you want it.  Paint your letter (I used the first letter of our last name) and remove your stencil.  I used a piece of the extra burlap that I had to make a flower for the top left corner.  A bow would work just fine too.  Be creative and add whatever is best for you. Once your paint is dry you can embelish as you wish.  I chose to go simple with my letter and added a little button to the bottom left corner.  Now take the twine and wrap it around the bottom of your board/wood.  Once you have the desired amount of twine in place, tie it in the back.  Take one more piece of twine and hot glue it in place on the back of the board/wood.  After the glue is dry hang it up and enjoy.  The twine at the bottom is for placeing pictures in or anything else that you would like.

Pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating

 

Tessa's favorite part of carving her pumpkin is playing in all of the goo

 

Jayda was just trying to figure out what her sister was doing



 

 

Our little Orca Whale

Our little pumpkin

 

Tessa's little cousin, Fi



Our neighbors had little glasses of wine for the adults 

counting her candy

Soaking up fall

One of my favorite fall memories is from when I was a little girl.  I would spend hours piling up leaves, and I would then run and jump into them.  I would throw the leaves into the air and watch them fall slowly to the ground, and then I would do it all over again.  Needless to say, when I see a big pile of leaves now, all of those memories flood my mind.

 

These are a few of the fall pictures I took last week while we were in E. Washington