hello, winter!

I hurried the kids out the door...to play in it, of course! It's going to be sunny and warm (55F, 12C) by Thursday, and this snow will be just a memory. It's well below freezing right now, but even today it will warm up to the middle thirties, and the melting will begin. It's seriously like a winter wonderland right now though....






And last night, Miss Lydia came to visit!
Here's my baby Camille with Mali's baby Lydia...and me, Grammy:)


The heater is humming, and the house is filled with that special lighting that only a snow filled yard can provide. It feels like Christmas, and makes me want to do Christmas-y things, instead of attacking the sink full of dishes. I need to make a turkey dinner list because we are having our Thanksgiving celebration on Wednesday. I should be baking pies today, but I'll do it tomorrow. I am leaving everything 'til tomorrow, ha.

Emily and I were looking up tickets to fly to Norway in March for a sisters' conference at church. I know, ha, Norway in March. We had wanted to go to England first, but it's too pricey, plus we want to figure out if we can take a few of my other girls, but shh, I don't want them to know about it until I figure out if we can manage it. Traveling with Em is always an adventure. She's good at navigating, but also very chill if things don't go according to plan.

Samuel is back in Washington D.C. after a week of training at Fort Benning in Georgia at a leadership/squad leader training thing. I am very proud of Sam:)

And let's see...if you read this blog and think my life is just bliss...you are partly right. Because I firmly believe that God causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him. But that doesn't mean there isn't a suffering involved. During the 8 years I have written this blog, things have happened in my life that I have shared...like losing baby Robert, and a few miscarriages...the loss of my parents...my brother's suicide... and things that I haven't been able to share because those stories are not MY stories to tell....a few of my kids have gone through hard times...SERIOUSLY hard times. There have been times that I have known the sun was behind the clouds, but it didn't feel like it.

When I choose not to share certain things, it isn't because I want to give the illusion that my life is picture perfect. But no matter what lifestyle my kids grow up and choose, I still love them. I hope and pray, of course, that they choose to seek God in all they do. Because I love them. I want them to be happy. So I pray for them, and seek with all my heart to personally live a life that is well-pleasing to God, to be a good example, to bless and serve when I don't feel like it, to forgive and forget, to be a doer of what I know is right, and not a preacher.

And yeah, there is no shortage of work to do here today...I need to start with my list and make sure I have all I need to start baking those pies. The 23 pound turkey is thawing...I need to buy squash...ours didn't grow well in the garden this year...