the car saga............................

So we are on week #3 without our own vehicle. yep, it s.t.i.n.k.s. How much we take for granted being able to hop in the car and run an errand here, hit a sale there, or whatever. oh, and grocery shop. that's a nice thing to be able to do. :)
Well, here's the story. We recently bought a vehicle, [new to us], Ford Escape. We love it. For the few brief weeks we were able to have it anyways! It worked wonderfully for us. Now when we bought it, we knew there was a cracked exhaust pipe, for which they bumped $1000 off the purchase price. We also knew this was a BIG job to complete, but felt because of the deal we were able to find, it was worth it.
Shortly after we bought it, Andrew found out that there is a local Technical Institute at which you can get repair work done for FREE if you provide the parts and work with their schedule, etc....So he was in contact with the instuctor and they finally were able to work our job in. Now this was 2 weeks before Christmas. The instructor was clear about it being a big job, which we knew, but he absolutely refused to give us ANY sort of time frame. That was probably the most frustrating piece of the entire process. Like at least tell us, it's a five day job or it's a 3 week job (the latter was not supposed to happen). :)
The weekend before Christmas we finally are able to get in touch with him again and he let us know that the students were doing a really great job on it and it was really close to being done and oh yes, they all just left for their 2 week Christmas break. Commence: frustration beginning. :-0
We were supposed to head across the state to be with Andrew's family for Christmas. Well, long story, short, we ended up having to rent a car for that trip and now we're back home carless again. The students come back next Monday and the instructor is promising the car will be ready next week.
We have had several very kind friends loan us a vehicle for times that we really needed one and for that we are very, very thankful. Andrew is also able to take the bus to and from work which is another blessing. So Graham and I may be going a little stir-crazy :) (tonight he was asking to go bye-bye!!), but all in all, it's working out. Not the most convenient month of our lives, but hey, if we end up getting this $1000 job for almost free (besides parts), what a huge, huge blessing that is!! Just hoping to have our vehicle home very, very soon. :)

thankful

This week my heart is feeling full and so I just thought I'd share...................

*Thankful that my hubby gets to attend the Evangelical Theological Society Conference.
*Thankful that he is having a wonderful time and wonderful fellowship.
*Thankful that Graham is at a fun age where daddy being gone for 3.5 days doesn't put me over the edge. :0
*Thankful for friends to hang out with and a busy schedule this week in which the time is actually going quickly.
*Thankful, no estatic, that we ended up with 2 date nights this week. Monday night & Friday night!
*Thankful for God's daily grace in our lives and getting encouragement exactly.when.needed.
*Thankful for sharing so many giggles with my son. Like when I drop a sock on the floor and he laughs like I am the world's funniest person ever. Yes, you can stay this age forever, little G.
*Thankful for Andrew's job.
*Thankful for my little side jobs of child-care and piano lessons.
*Thankful that after I thought daylight savings time had officially ruined my mornings, G is back to sleeping till 7:30. Those 10 days of 6:30 wake-ups were stressing me out!
*Thankful that after our first little boy destructive incident (G snapping my glasses in two), CoastalContacts.Com was offering a free pair of glasses! What amazing timing, very thankful! (Even though Andrew graciously offered to tape my old ones back together.) :-) And those who know him, know he.wasn't.kidding.
*Thankful for my sweet little family and can't wait to see how Eden fits in.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good to us.

Ps. 34:8

this 'ole week

An eventful week as it turned out! 
The bad:
Graham got a terrible cold. :( Oh, how I hate the colds at this age. His nose is a faucet!
The good:
He wanted to snuggle every day before bedtime & naptime. Since I already see these times as fleeting, both Andrew & I were happy to have extra rocking time. :)

The funny:

 So G discovered this week that he, um.....toots. And like all MALES, little boys, finds it very hilarious! Andrew & I probably need to stop cracking up at him or it will come back to haunt us. :)

The project:

Andrew & I are staying quite busy in our few spare minutes at doing a little room swapping. We are swapping rooms between G, us, & Eden. The best part is, we're getting some serious (way behind!) organizing done. And Graham gets to move in to a big bed very soon. Fingers crossed!

The fun:

On Saturday we joined our Redeemer family at the pumpkin patch. Also included a hay ride, petting zoo, corn maze, & bonfire. Lots of fun! 

The oops:

I totally lost track of my week count in pregnancy. Poor Eden! Well, the good news is, I'm pretty sure I'm either 22 or 23 weeks. Don't worry, girlie, I do love you!

The eats:

People, of course, always ask what I'm craving. Funny thing is, it's the exact same thing as it was with Graham - oranges or orange juice, and multi-grain cheerios. I can't get enough of them!

The blessing:

BIG blessing! We were able to sell our old car! We have sold several cars on Craig's List and it has always been pretty quick & easy. Apparently, not in Pennsylvania! For one thing, everyone who was interested seemed to have some sort of 'situation' and were so needy. They were all driving Andrew crazy. :) You also both have to go to a notary to sign the documents in this state, which added additional scheduling coordination. But the good news is, it is finally done, and we are thankful to have that behind us!



The little things...

This really does seem like a small detail in the scheme of life, but I am so thankful for how God daily provides "the little things". Story: Ever since Graham changed rooms to our new house, the light has been an issue. Even though he had dark-brown curtains, the light was affecting his nap times. Every mom knows, that is a real problem! Our solution: tape thick, dark blankets over his windows for maximum darkness. yes, *super cute*. I have been scouting black-out curtains for probably the last 6 months. Found the ones I should probably buy at both target & wal-mart.

Here's their promise:

~Block out over 99% of light

~Save up to 25% on home heating & cooling costs vs. ordinary curtains
~Reduce outside noise by up to 44% vs. ordinary curtains (even better since my neighbor across our [short] street likes to play piano during his naps!)

Not bad for a curtain, right??!
We received some kind cash gifts at Christmas, so I decided that was a top priority! But for the past 2 months, every time I had been in either store, I have been pushing for time, in a rush, a million other things to do, etc...

Last night I was shopping around 9:30 pm, yes, my only chance at an unrushed trip. :) And I decided, this is the day! I am finally taking down those crazy blankets! So I went to pick up the curtains, $42, which I knew to expect. I got home and was looking over my receipt and realized the curtains had rung up for only $20!! Apparently, they are on clearance (which I now know by looking at their website), but I hadn't seen anything posted. So I am just thankful for God's sovereignty in the timing of my purchase. And a little unexpected $22 savings!
If you happen to be in the market for some, there are quite a few on markdown here. (though my in-store price was actually cheaper!)

THE HAND OF THE DIVINE....IN 2009

2009 brought many changes! As always, the hand of God was always faithful. We praise him for his much undeserved kindness to us this past year.

THE BIG ONES
>Feb. - our most precious boy was born
>April - Andrew graduated from seminary
>July - moved to Pittsburgh and our landlord rented to us without having a job
>August - Andrew got a job! only had to go one month without income, praise the Lord.
>October - Andrew got a better job! a much better fit for our needs & desires.
>November - survived this month being between insurances with no medical expenses!
>Not one, not two, but five amazing neighbors who have showered us with everything from vegetables from their gardens, to clothes for Graham, baked goodies, & Christmas presents for Graham as well. We love Little Italy. :)
>a new church family and new friends in our new home city


MATERIAL BLESSINGS
>given a dryer, stove, and refrigerator for our new home!
>given almost a complete wardrobe for graham's 12-18 month stage!
>over $50 worth of free Happy Baby organic baby food through a special coupon!
>recently found a $50 grocery gift card that someone had slipped in our diaper bag IN JULY! (I guess the Lord felt it would be more beneficial to us now!)



Unanswered Prayers
We praise God for His sovereignty here as well!
>Still looking for some piano students
>not been able to have a regular date night without a big swap pool :)
> that Andrew can get off at 5 pm to give us a little more family time each day
________________________________
We are so thankful for God's kindness every day. Not one day this year did we go without food, clothing, or shelter. That in itself is enough to praise God for. We thank Him for giving us an abundance of grace & blessings every day. We are thankful for the gift of God's son who took our wrath on His head that we might stand in righteousness before a holy God. ________________________________


I talked about my idea of goals in this post, but here are:


Some goals I have for 2010............


>have devotions before Graham gets up in the morning
I have not been very consistent with this as those with young kids know what a roller coaster that first year can be and so unpredictable from month to month sometimes! And sometimes you just want to sleep.............! But especially now that Graham is sleeping till almost 8, this is making it much easier to attain!
>limit computer time to specified, written-down times.
a "quick check" on the computer too often turns into an "extended stay".
>continue regular meetings with an older, godly woman
>talk Scripture & prayers to Graham (and not just when he's in trouble) :)
>Scripture memorization with my sister
>make regular visits to our 5 neighbors
>continue to grow our Momtourage group

OOPS.

Monday: Zoo w/ friends

Tuesday: Playshop @ the library

Wednesday: Playdate at a friend's house

Thursday: Mom has meeting, G play w/ friends

Friday: Kiddy Pittsburgh Symphony Concert w/ friends

Do you think Graham is being over-socialized?!!!

The best thing is, all of these events were free for us through various means. Thank you God, for the FUN you provide for us!

BUT..........oops. I did not mean to end up with a playdate every day this week! Whew. I am glad he's getting to experience lots of fun things, but leaving the house somehow means that mom gets very little done the entire day! We're going to try to stick closer to home next week...................except for those 2 playdates already planned. agghhh. :)

At first I was really kicking myself for probably over-extending both of us this week! But it got me to thinking...several months ago we moved away from a wonderful circle of great friends, especially other young families with little ones. Moving here, we only knew one other family with little ones. In a few short months, God has brought several new young families across our paths and is slowly rebuilding another circle of friendships. So while I would like to take a nap this week (not likely!), I am also reminded and thanking God for filling such a void. And it's not like I can complain, since I'm the one who did it. :) And I do still miss you, my VB friends............. :)

But we're enjoying a fun, if slightly packed, week!

Happy To Report...

Several reasons to be thankful!
>After our nap fiasco day, I decided to try something different the next day. I left him alone without going in to battle! The first time resulted in crying. for. a. long. time. And then he layed down and slept! The next naptime, no tears at all! So... you are told to choose your battles, I obviously chose th wrong one! Very thankful that we only had one day of that! whew.

>At church on Sunday, we had a record high of almost 40 attenders. That is huge. I can't explain to you how huge. Wow. We have 2 new couples who seem excited to join us our body, and 2 other new families who visited for the first time on Sunday. We are thrilled to see our little group grow. So exciting to see God moving here in Pittsburgh!

>It was 70 degrees this weekend! I thought the next time I was going to be outside without freezing would be March! I was SO thankful to be wrong! We enjoyed a little outdoor family time on Sunday. We spent some time walking through the campuses of the University of Pitt and Carnegie-Mellon, both of which are very old & beautiful.

Loving being outside! gman sans shoes, of course!

The one-armed, upside-down snack break. Could he be any crazier or is it just extreme talent? :)

Especially thankful for this crazy bundle of fun who cracks us up every day!!

unexpected blessing!

So somehow we ended up on vacation! It was a little unexpected and little last-minute, but wonderful nonetheless (and mostly FREE, save for a little gas money!).

First of all, Andrew will soon be starting a NEW JOB! We are thankful for first one God provided, though there was a quite a discrepancy in $$$ needed and $$$ coming in! But we knew God would provide for us and HE DID, in a lot of ways these past few months! However, He also provided in now providing a new job that will hopefully make that gap a little smaller. :) He will be working for Education Managment Corporation (EDMC), which oversees Argosy Univeristy, the Arts Institutes, Brown Mackie College, and South University. He will be working in Student Support for the online division of these schools.
So, he starts that job next Monday and decided to quit his other job one week early, so that he'd have an extra week in between. Since we missed having a vacation this summer due to moving and really haven't done much traveling since Graham joined us, we thought it would be wonderful to get away!
Graham & I had been planning to visit his parents soon, even though Andrew wouldn't be able to join us, but it turns out that he could!
Andrew's brother was vacationing in Massanutten (resort area in the mountains in VA) this week as well, so the drive worked out perfectly for us to drive there and stay first and then continue on to NC. (It was also wonderful to break up the trip for the little guy!) Though he is a great traveler, the 8-9 hours straight back won't be our favorite thing, I'm sure. :)

We have usually spent our vacations in NYC or DC or somewhere where we end up walking for 8 straight hours! Maybe it was something about living in such a busy city now, but we were totally loving the tranquility & peacefulness of the Massanutten area. The mountains were beautiful, the trees were beautiful (though how amazing they will be in a few weeks when they all change!), we left after one day, already refreshed! We decided our next vacation is going to be at a cabin in the woods. :) Graham really enjoyed playing with his cousins!
So now we're chillin' with Mama & Papa Hughes and enjoying a few more quiet days. Thankful for a week to stop and BREATHE (the smoke-free, smog-free air. :)

oh, and someone took his first 3 "steps" in crawling forward while we were here!

What a Day of Deals!

Our Saturday turned out to be one of the most fun days we've had since coming here! We've done fun things & really enjoyed our time here, but for some reason Saturday seemed extra special! My boys & I had some great family time!

*****

We started out with a little community service (no, not the court-ordered kind :)
The neighborhood where our church is located was doing Pick-Up Penn (the street our church is on). It was a great way to get out in our community and continue to let people know about Redeemer and also be a blessing to them.
Thresa won a free glass-blowing class for picking up the worst trash (vomit). God bless her. Andrew won a nice, big sweatshirt! Graham & I came at the end of naptime, so I have to admit, I kind of escaped the trash pick-up. (thanks, little G :)
Some of our church team!

Then it was off to afternoon naptime. I'm so thankful that besides being able to do several things in the day, we managed to still work around the 2 ultra-important naps! (because I get so stressed when he hasn't napped and it can make it miserable for everyone included!!)
*****
So, naps done, we were free for the rest of the afternoon and it was off to Picture People for ANOTHER free portrait package!! I certainly did not expect this wonderful freebie again so soon! Now I know, we did just get the portrait package 2 months ago, however, we focused on getting a family picture that time. So this time, it was all G-man! LOVE walking away from the studio with our free pics and not having spent a dime!

killing time, waiting for our turn! ohhh, they have fun toys!

Deal #2 - $1 dinners!

how thankful I am to be back within driving distance of Ikea!

This weekend they were offering meatball & mashed potato dinners for $1!! I have to admit...we added a 99 cent salad & drink to share, so we ended up paying $4 total for our meal...it was worth it! Dinner on the patio was wonderful!
Graham was such a good boy as we carted him in & out of stores, carseats, strollers, and high chairs! I'm sure he was not sure what all the chaos was about!

His hair is starting to come in a little more and it's pretty thin & wispy. (I think that means he's getting his daddy's straight hair!) I thought it was funny that it was long enough to blow in the wind!

And last deal of the day...free clothes!

I had a $10 coupon for Sears, no minimum purchase!

So I snagged this short-sleeve turtle neck for $9.99 - which means I paid $0!!

So, I'll just use this as a HUGE plug for moneysavingmom.com!! Sometimes I find deals other places, but all of these particular deals came through her!!

Sorry, I tried to post the Sears coupon, but the link is gone! The Picture People coupon is here.

She posts a LOT of things and I only use a few select deals, but I highly suggest following her to make the most of your hard-earned bucks! (or you can follow my new momtourage spot where I am posting the deals I think are the best)

.

Like these:

$80 picture package - free
$12 dinner - $4
$10 shirt - free

.

You might just score a DAY OF DEALS too!!

New Additions

Step aside Andrew & Graham...I have some new loves in my life!
We have a stove! We'd been hunting & hunting to find just the right deal, (because we just HAVE to find the very best bargain or it drives us crazy :) and then my Grandma Betty decided that we needed to have a stove right away and offered to purchase one for us! wow! What a blessing, we were thrilled!
Because of her generous gift, we were then able to purchase a dishwasher! I was not expecting that and am SOOOOOOO thankful! (I think I missed having a d/w as much as a stove!)

I am so amazed at how God cares for the smallest details. Such as... people had asked me what color I wanted and my first choice was black (because everything is WHITE in my kitchen!) But I fully expected to have to "take what I could get". In the case of the stove, since we were able to purchase a brand new one I was able to have the choice of white or black. And we found the d/w on Craig's List also in black! The previous owners had only used it for 3 months before they got a built-in one. So it's pretty much brand-new, but was less than 1/2 of the cost of a brand-new one. So God was so gracious in not only providing these items, but even giving me my color of choice!
If you need tips on living without a stove for 6 weeks - I have them. :) It honestly wasn't that horrible!
So now...Let the baking begin!

{ from Whom all blessings flow }

Graham was quickly coming to the end of his wardrobe...for this winter, we only had 2 pair of pants & 2 shirts for him so far. So we were getting ready to think about some serious shopping! My neighbor had told me that someone had given her a bunch of clothes to look through and when she was done, she would pass the bags on to me to see if there was anything I could use for Graham.
So out of these "leftovers" came an unexpected abundance of blessings!
Most of the clothes ended up being 12-18 months and winter clothes, which is exactly what season & size we needed!!
2 pairs of slippers
2 pairs of mittens
2 pairs of shoes
4 pairs of socks
4 hats
3 shorts
2 swim trunks
2 sweater vests
4 pj's
3 halloween shirts
8 short-sleeve shirts
4 long-sleeve shirts
5 sweaters
3 overalls
and...
17 pairs of pants!
(and that was just what I decided to keep! still need to weed out some of those pants...!)
we are so thankful for God's provision!
Most of the clothes are either from Gap, Old Navy, or Children's place and so they've held up well through their prior use.
We praise God, from whom all blessings truly flow!

I really love these army pants & hat!
(but he was waaaaaaay to busy to look at the camera :)

Celebrating God's Goodness, Part 2

This week (wednesday) we are also celebrating 4 years of marriage! What a lot we have learned, enjoyed, and experienced in these few short years!

June 17, 2005

happy wedding day!

After a wonderful, beautiful honeymoon in Puerta Vallerta, Mexico, we packed up a moving truck and moved from Minneapolis to Virginia Beach.
Andrew was starting seminary, we were moving into an apartment we had never seen, and he was jobless then as well! How God provided for us in that time of some major transitions and allowed us 4 wonderful years here in VB!

1st anniversary

Sunset Dinner Cruise on the Spirit of Norfolk

2nd anniversary

weekend trip to one of our favorite cities - DC

3rd anniversary

fondue at The Melting Pot

(we had also just found out we were expecting!)

4th anniversary

a 3rd little head has joined us!!

but don't worry, we are going out child-free :) thanks to our wonderful baby-sitter!!!
Andrew took his last vacation day and has a surprise day planned!! I can't wait to see what we're doing, but no matter, what it will be special to spend a fun day together!

thankful for marriage and my best friend - we have shared so many new, fun, interesting, difficult, exciting, uncertain, and wonderful times together! Anticipating many more to come, my love.

Celebrating God's Goodness, Part 1

By now, many of you have heard that we were accepted as tenants finally! What a HUGE answer to prayer! Thank you to so many people who have prayed with us. The hand of God was so evident in this!

This landlord had turned us down because Andrew does not yet have a job (very understandable!). But as of friday when he told us they would like us to be their tenants he said, "My wife & I welcome you with open arms. We don't know why, but we have such a good feeling about you." How God has worked! We pray that we can fulfill their every expectation! And since they live right in back of us, they'll be able to keep a close eye on us :-o !!

We don't have a ton of pics of it from when Andrew had gone up there to check out houses, but here are a few. (I haven't even seen it in person yet!)

We just love the fact that it is a stand-alone house. Almost everything else we looked at was either a townhome, duplex, or apartment. So we are very excited that we don't have to share walls with anyone!

our home sweet simple home
I have to laugh because recently a lot of friends have been posting pics of their new homes and they are really beautiful. As you look at these pics, you might think, hmmm...I'm not sure why they are so excited. :) But we are as thrilled about this home as we would be a brand-new gorgeous home. And I just say - that's a testament to the grace of God!

But there is no doubt that I have some decorating challenges ahead!

Challenge #1 - the place is covered in BLUE carpet.

Now the one thing I don't own anything in is BLUE.

Everything we have is browns, greens, & orange.

For now, I will probably just pretend it's not blue and hope that everyone who comes over is colorblind. :)

our dark green couches will be an interesting blend...

Challenge #2 - pink bathroom. yep, don't own any pink either.

This one I think I will try to minimize by using brown towels & shower curtain.

That shouldn't be too bad.

here's the kitchen.

not quite sure what that border is and I'm a little scared to find out!

(especially since we're renting and I can only change so much :)

definitely put up some bright curtains because this space needs some COLOR!!

here is the basement.

maybe we can throw up a flatscreen & make a cool man-cave.

ok, the flatscreen is not happening.

but maybe this spot has some potential!

Now Andrew - please get a job quick so we can fix all our " design challenges"!!
The run-down of the house is that it is 3-stories & a basement (yeah for good storage space!!) -

hmmm, thankful (??) I still have 2 flights of stairs to constantly run up & down!!

There are 2 bedrooms on the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor is a fully finished attic. This is one thing we are extremely excited about, because though it is one big open space right now, we'll be able to semi-divide it and have plenty of space for Andrew's office & a guest room. So it's almost like a 4-br house!! Such a blessing - we certainly didn't expect that much space.

So we expect lots of friends & family to come visit!! (not so subtle hint...)

Another thing that we LOVE is location, location, location. This street is less than 2 blocks from us, and as you can tell, it is definitely all-urban! We love it. Everything we need is right here on this street - grocer, deli, drug-store, starbucks, restaurants... We are also within walking distance of the rest of our friends who are already living there.

We see spending a lot of evenings just walking & hanging out!

Now this move does not come without taking a huge leap of faith. Yes, Andrew is quitting his job and we are moving unemployed. We believe that this is how God is directing us and because we have seen SO many answers to prayer in this process, we fully believe that God is going to continue to provide and pave the way. We are not going empty-handed completely. We have our savings, but we pray that God will provide before we have to use that all up! And He may choose not to. He may choose for us to go through all that and be literally praying for Him to put bread on our table each day. And if he chooses to do so, it will be good too. We are excited to see how He is going to continue to work.

But please continue to pray with us for Andrew to find a job as soon as possible.We look forward to sharing when that prayer has been answered!
oh yes, almost forgot...We will be loading our truck July 6th (calling all our wonderful, loving, sweet friends :) and heading up to Pitt Tuesday morning, July 7th!! 3 weeks away...and the packing has begun in earnest!

blessings

This weekend was SO encouraging. God was so gracious in giving me multiple blessings these past few days, which he certainly did not have to do.

1. thursday night I was very sick & friday I woke up with a 101 temp. how can THIS be a blessing? well, Andrew ended up being able to stay home from work that day and besides feeding Graham, I just rested and he took care of everything else. it was like a vacation. you'd almost think I was "faking it" except that thermometers don't lie. but I may fake it in the future if it's that nice. :) haha, just kidding, honey. but seriously, you are the BEST.
(also SO thankful that Graham did not get whatever little bug I had)
2. we have been working and working to get Graham on a set schedule and with Andrew home with me for 3 days in a row, together we finally conquered!! I now know every day what time Graham will eat, be awake, and sleep. and can I tell you that I love that!! it is wonderful freedom knowing that we have a schedule down. it allows me to teach my piano lessons without a screaming infant interfering. I got the laundry done in one day like in pre-babydays! and our baby is the happier & healthier for it.
3. we were able to have several friends over on Saturday night and what a blessing it was to hang out with them, laugh, and learn.
4. Graham slept 7 hours straight on Sunday night!! it was unprecented, unexpected, extra rest for mom and how thankful she was! I think it might just be a result of not getting his full naps on Sunday because of our church schedule, so I'm not counting on it happening tonight, but it was wonderful then!
4. Graham begin to consciously smile & giggle this weekend. how special!
here's a couple of videos (mostly for the grandparents sake :)
and no, we don't really let him watch tv! we just have this ginormous remote which is funny.

Reflected Blessings

Another year behind us...we're one year older, maybe (hopefully!) one year wiser, and completely thankful as we think about 2008. I try to write down blessings that we experience throughout the year as it's so good to read back through those and see how good God has been to us.

Here are some of our blessings of 2008...

~ Opportunity to take our first week-long vacation for just the 2 of us ~

we chose NYC! it was fabulous, we were also given free Broadway tix!

~ Andrew was given a free ipod nano ~

~ Given the opportunity to rent an incredible home a block from the beach ~

~ found out that Graham Owen Hughes would be joining our family in 2009!!!! ~

~ our cars have given us relatively few problems compared to years past :) ~

~ Andrew started his final year of seminary! ~

~ our pantry & fridge were completely stocked with groceries unexpectedly ~

~ God provided new piano students for Kelly in their new neighborhood ~

~ Graham moved off of Kelly's sciatic nerve after an agonizing week ~

~ God has provided so many baby items for Graham ~

(this will have to be another post in itself!)

And just some very "small" things...these are the flowers Andrew gave me 2 weeks ago...going strong!! I've never had cut flowers last this good this long!

And...free flowers courtesy of a rejected shipment at Fedex on Christmas Eve. Beautiful lillies.

We don't know what 2009 could bring. It could be the loss of a loved one, or financial devastation, or a national tragedy, but we rest in the Sovereignty that God holds all these things in His hands and we must continue to rejoice in whatever season God brings.

There are so many more I could list...good deals we have found, things we have been given, God providing for specific needs over and over... one example - our Christmas bonuses from our jobs, though not huge, were enough to cover the Christmas gifts we wanted to buy for our families and friends. This was such a blessing since we are closely watching every dollar as I stop working outside of the home. We are blessed beyond measure. And those intangible things - spending time with family and friends, spending time together, preparing for our family becoming 3...these are the things that make life so full!

Blessings to you in 2009!

Thank you to our Savior. Great is Your Faithfulness!!