Josh and Jamie

Kindergarten pictures

2009-01-27T20:26:00.004-05:00

So today my little kindergartner, Linda, decided to draw a "beautiful" picture for me. Yes, her word...beautiful. And it is, at first glance! :o)

Pretty innocent, right? Let's take a closer look....

What are those little dots you ask? C'mon, you can guess! That's right...the little dog's poop! Which brings out the story of Linda's dog pooping all over the house, including on her bed.

Kindergartners...they're amazing!

New Year

2009-01-01T12:22:00.003-05:00

So it's a New Year! Looking back at 2008, it is amazing to see what God has done in my and Josh's life.

providing me with the jobs I needed...a new car, just in the nick of time...Josh getting into medical school...moving to Erie...meeting new friends...getting connected with a great church...

But then on the other hand, I look back and I can only see the things God didn't give me yet.

I have so many goals and dreams for my life and they all seem to be on hold right now. I get so mad at God because He doesn't seem to "care"! And then someone steps into my box and says, "wait a minute! What about....?" OHHHH!! He really does care! God must get so frustrated with me. I feel like He's always showing me something to remind me of His supremacy in my life, and I get excited and take two steps forward in my walk with Him. And the next day I take 10 steps backward because I've forgotten already!

So, I guess this new year comes with a challenge for me. I long to be able to put my goals and dreams in God's hands and let Him be the timekeeper. That is truly the hardest thing for me. I cannot seem to trust anyone to do something right, I have to do it myself! And it affects me in so many ways, but especially in my relationship with Christ.

I pray that you'll consider how to strengthen your relationship with Christ this year too. Don't make it a "resolution"! I've given up on those because you get so excited to start and then you fall off the track and don't get back on! Just make a commitment...for your life, not just the year. If you fall behind, you have the rest of your life to catch back up! (hmm....I sure can talk the talk, but Lord, please help me walk the walk!)

Another note...I started reading this blog a few days ago based on Kate's recommendation. I HIGHLY recommend it to you too! You need to start at the beginning of her blog, January 2008, to really understand it and to feel where she's coming from. I must warn you though.....HAVE TISSUES READY!! It is just an amazing journey through a family's trial of life, pregnancy, and life after a death. I am still not the whole way to the present posts because I have to take a break after reading each month's postings. But it is so worth it! Please promise me you'll read it!

2008-11-28T16:36:00.008-05:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! And now I can officially say...

Merry Christmas!

Ok, now back to Thanksgiving! :o)

Yummy, Yummy!

We're in Michigan with Josh's family right now, celebrating Thanksgiving and enjoying the long weekend. We went over to Josh's grandparent's house for dinner, bringing 3/4 of the food with us. All that work for a half hour of gorging! Amazing what we'll do for good food!

Everyone enjoying the dinner.

Lots of games and good times followed dinner.

Uno!

We got to spend time with Josh's great-grandma. She's the wittiest 97 -year-old I know!

This was Josh's entertainment for the day, going out in the woods and shootinglittle balls of paint at other people running in the woods. Otherwise known as - Paintball.

Now the excitement and craziness of Christmas comes.

Only 26 days, 7 hours, and 49 minutes...but who's counting?

mmmm...good

2008-11-20T20:33:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving = good food and good company

We had a Thanksgiving dinner at our house last night for our small group. The spread was AMAZING! Everyone did a fabulous job with what they made...turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrot casserole, green beans, salads, rolls, and pies. Who could ask for more?

The best thing about it...we get to do it all over again next week!

Only 34 days, 4 hours and 15 minutes...but who's counting?

Christmas is coming

2008-11-16T18:25:00.004-05:00

I love this time of year! All of the stores are putting their Christmas decorations up, and the weather is getting snowy.

This is last year in Dayton during the one time it snowed a lot...from what everyone says,

it'll be like this most of the year here in Erie! yikes!

I sing "Christmas is Coming" at least once a day, Josh says at least 6. I don't think he's ready yet!

Last Christmas at my parent's house

Only 36 days, 6 hours, and 20 minutes....but who's counting?

What am I supposed to say?

2008-10-09T18:18:00.002-04:00

I'm struggling with this blogging thing, and it's only my second post! I'm constantly thinking, "What could I write about?" Some things are too personal, some things are too gross, some things seem just down-right dumb! Maybe I'll come up with something eventually!

On a different note, we had small group last night, which is AMAZING. It's so good to know that there are couples that are going through the same struggles that Josh and I are going through. It makes me feel not quite so alone.

Starting Out

2008-10-07T19:21:00.002-04:00

Based on the crazy number of people I've met lately who blog, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm not promising anything spectacular, not even a post every day! I've never done anything like this before, so I can't say I'm feeling free to speak my mind right now. We'll see what happens as the days go by.