sunlight and faithfulness

it was a beautiful day today! still a little chilly, but warm and sunny enough to spur a little spring fever. i opened the curtains and the front door (i love having the glass door, it lets in so much light) and brightened the place up today. i finally got some long awaited cleaning done as well as a little more progress on my craft room. john tinkered and worked out in the garage. the hours thankfully went by rather slowly, making this sunday a relaxing day of rest. we had a simple dinner and then sat down to read and knit. aaahhh, what a nice way to end the weekend.

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i have been struggling this week with some emotions and circumstances. selfishly feeling sorry for myself and hanging on to bitterness and hurt. i was reminded by john a couple of times and again in the sermon today that God knows best. his timing is right, he gives only good and he is all i need. he blesses some with more and some with less, but loves us the same. do not compare, do not be jealous. be grateful and humble and wait. thank you lord for your faithfulness, for if anything depended on me, all would be lost.

your love, oh lord, reaches to the heavens
your faithfulness, stretches to the sky
your righteousness is like the mighty mountain
your justice flows like the ocean tides

i will lift my voice, to worship you my king
i will find my strength in the shadow of your wings...

are you ready for this? how long has it been :)

so, it's january 19th and i am posting christmas pictures. it's hard to believe that this is first minute (or fifteen) i've had to sit down and download them! please ignore the fact that most of them have red-eye, i didn't want to take the time to edit them all. also, kate (8 year old niece) took most of these pictures...she caught some good moments!

our holiday festivities went a little something like this...

• christmas eve - church service at kbc and then dinner, gifts and games at my parent's house with mom, dad, jana and joe
• christmas day - breakfast at pap's, lunch at nanny's, presents and spent the afternoon playing with the kids
• ed and liz (john's brother and sister) spent the week with us - we really enjoyed just hanging out in the evenings, knitting, chatting and watching movies
• it was great to see all the nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters...unfortunately, all the kids passed around the crud and eventually some of the adults had to endure it also (i think everyone is back to normal now!)
• john was sick on new years eve so we just had a relaxing evening at home
• bonnie and court (john's mom and step-dad) stayed with us the week after new years - so glad we were able to spend time with them also!

pepper among presents




jana and joe


mom and dad




dad unwrapping pants that look just like the ones he's wearing!






liz, clare and missy...in the back, connie, asha, chuck, anju and pap


chuck and asha in the background...ed, skyler, kate and liz


john helping with the pancakes


elijah sleeping through the whole thing


anju digging in!


sydney


chuck


aunt clare


kaleb


a blurry picture of rob


me and kate


kate and aunt clare


me again


pap unwrapping thoughtful gifts from the kids like super glue, a pickle picker and bungee cords...awesome
!


ed and liz


the kids before the madness of presents

christmas clean up and the couch

christmas pictures are coming (a few anyway) - i promise!

but FIRST i need to finish thank-you cards, finish un-decorating, complete two more days of work, spend time with the in-laws and sleep a little.

if only i could load more than five pictures at once...

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poor john is still coughing (and snoring) therefore i've been sleeping on the couch. contrary to what you are thinking with me not handling "sick" very well, i have chosen the couch so i actually have a good night sleep and can fight off any sick germs that might be attacking me. so far it's working...

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we are starting our small group study again tomorrow. i've really missed this fellowship, accountability, laughs and a reminder that i'm not in this walk alone.