Grace

Grace... a word I've been pondering for a bit now.

I was taking a nice quiet walk through the woods the other day after the snow fall and I was thinking. Sometimes thinking too much can get me in trouble. This episode was good though. I was thinking about how perfectly the snow fell.

How it landed perfectly on each and every branch... On each and every surface.

And then it hit me... His grace. It falls the same way! On us; on you and on me.

And then I was thinking about some decisions I've made recently. I need His grace. To fall on me ever so gently. Ever so softly. Just like the snow fall.

Check back soon for some more pics from my walk.

More later.

Dad

“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” –Unknown

On this Valentine’s Day when couples are celebrating their love for each other, I just want to take a quick minute to tell my dad thank you.

Thank you for taking me in as your own.

Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family.

Thank you for being there: day or night, rain or shine.  

Thank you for accepting me when I fail.

Thank you for cheering me on when I succeed.

Thank you for sacrificing and giving.

Thank you for protecting your community and your family.

Thank you for showing me how a man should treat his wife.

Thank you for being the solid foundation of our family.

Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is about.

Thank you for everything you have done and are still yet to do!

“A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men.”

And thank you for setting the standard high! 

More later. 

Thankful

I wanted to get a post up back in November about what I have been thankful for over the last year, but I never did. Mostly because I just couldn't find the words to put around all of the moments that were so very special and gave me the gratitude to continue pressing forward in this thing called life.

Since I'm on a picture kick right now, I'll just share some pics of the moments that are etched in my heart. There are many more than could be shown, but here's a few of the extra special ones:

As usual... more later!

RussRuss

Of all the pictures celebrating Christmas, New Years, and Emily’s birthday this one is my favorite. It may be my favorite picture ever.

You see- this is my baby brother, Russell. I love how Emily is looking up at him.

Emily loves him! I mean LOVES him! And Russell loves her too!

I have been around babies and little ones the majority of my life. But, Russell has never been around babies before. You know... since he was the baby of the family and all. And to see him get so excited about Emily getting so excited to see him melts my heart.

And of course, Gango is in the background eating dessert and wearing her pearls J

Oh, and she calls him RussRuss. 

My cup is full. 

More later. 

Family

While Ryan and Jessica were in town for Christmas with their cute little Emily, we took the opportunity to get some pics of everyone together since we haven't done that in a while.

The church my grandfather pastored for over 30 years 

The two responsible for creating this whole crew

The whole family. All together. In one place. At the same time.

The kids 

Brothers (and one cute little girl)

 Grandparents with the grand kids 

The girls 

The boys 

Mimi and Popi with Emily

There's one more pic from the week that is my favorite, but it deserves it's own post so you'll have to come back for that one shortly. 

More later. 

Reality

Over the years I have often found myself saying, “THAT person needs a reality check!”

More and more I find myself realizing everyone’s reality is different.

Your reality is not my reality.

But more importantly my reality is not your reality.

Shocker I know.

Just thought I’d share that light bulb moment with 'ya. It was kind of a jab to the heart. But one of those necessary jabs.

I’ll share a little bit of my reality with you soon. We finally got some updated family pics of everyone while we were all together for Christmas. Not everyone was cooperative or overly excited about the event, but hey- that’s reality for ‘ya and I think they turned out pretty good considering!

Stay tuned and I’ll get the pics up soon.

More later. 

Empty

The tree is down.
The decorations are put away. 
The family is gone. 
And the house is quiet. 

It feels empty. And it feels lonely.

But these things remain…

Hope remains,

Memories remain,

His presence remains,

Joy remains,

Wonder remains,

and His beauty remains.

Wishing everyone a blessed New Year! Cheers to keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year long! 

More later.