Illustrations of Faith: Psalm 30:5

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may stay for the night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Out of it...

I have to admit that 2018 has started off with a whimper for me. I've been out of it one way or another since we got back from Disneyland. First I had a cold/cough/sore throat/laryngitis for two weeks (I know, it could have been much worse!) and then I got a terrible toothache. I'm not really one for taking medicine, but even I had to resort to medication for the cold and especially the toothache.

I really don't like to go to the dentist (due to extreme dental trauma when I was a child) but I sucked it up and went in on Monday morning. To tell you the truth I was actually counting the hours until I COULD go in all weekend. When I told my dentist that, he just smiled... Unfortunately, he had to refer to me to an Endodontist (another day with this pain?!) who I saw yesterday. I'm feeling much better today after part one of a root canal. I know, I know, I would never have believed that I'd be celebrating a root canal (I've had them before and they are no fun). But I was so uncomfortable with the toothache that this has been a relief!

I'm hoping that I can get back on track now that this is all behind me. I have a lot of places to go, people to see, and things to do in 2018. I'm ready to get going!

Birthday Boy

Blizzard's first birthday party was this past weekend. We were unable to make it to Kansas, but we did the next best thing: we attended over Skype. We got to watch him open his presents, sang "Happy Birthday" to him, and saw him "blow" out his candle. JD texted me a few photos of the event that I can share with you.

I asked JD if Blizzard looked older to him when he got him out of bed that morning and he said yes! haha

As you can see, his party was Winnie the Pooh themed.

Looks like he really enjoyed his birthday cake!

Gramps picked out this "monster truck" for him.

He loves anything that rolls along the ground!

Our official one year photo

Illustrations of Faith: Matthew 18:2-5

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

One!

Blizzard is one year old today. This year has passed by in a blur. I'm thankful for the time we spent in person with him, and I'm, well, sometimes sad that we don't get to spend more time in person with him. But I'm adjusting to being a long-distance Grammy. At least I hope I am.

Here's the year in review with this special little boy. He is so cheerful. When we Skype with him every weekend he just lights up when he hears our voices. I'm sure he thinks we live in a box because when we see him in person he looks at us like "who let you out of the box?"!

Thank you, JD and Janel for indulging me in getting Official Monthly photos with your sweet boy. They mean a lot to me and I'm so glad we were able to come up with a way to make them happen. They're unique and will be great memories for years to come...

We love you, Blizzard! Happy Birthday!

Our first official photo - newborn

Skype - One Month Official Photo

Skype - Two Month Official Photo

Skype - Three Month Official Photo

Finally together!

Four Month Official Photo

Skype - Five Month Official Photo

Together again!

Six Month Official Photo

Skype - Seven Month Official Photo

First time at Grammy's House!

Eight Month Official Photo

Hanging out on the front porch in Kansas

Nine Month Official Photo

Back at Grammy's House for Thanksgiving

Ten Month Official Photo

Note to self: clean the screen next time!

Eleven Month Official Photo

Stay tuned for the Twelve Month Official Photo coming soon...

Illustrations of Faith: Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1 NIV

Illustrations of Faith: Job 19:25

A Look Ahead

I usually write a look behind and a look ahead post, but this year I'm only looking ahead. It's not because a look behind would be painful or sad, it's because I feel like I'm discombobulated this year and want to devote my energy to the look ahead.

Daily Devotional: This year I'm reading the Our Daily Bread Devotional Bible NLT for my daily quiet time. My mom gave it to me a few years ago, but I immediately lent it to my daughter. It's back in my hands again and I'm enjoying it so far. It has a gorgeous purple cover, which doesn't show well in this image.

In addition, I'm looking forward to continuing weekly Bible Study with some friends. We are working our way through the studies based on the Jesus Calling series by Sarah Young. It's been an awesome experience. My favorite one so far was the study on courage. We getting ready to start the study on worship. I highly recommend these studies.

Stitching: Last year I completely misjudged my stitching abilities by committing to a friend and then not being able to deliver. {{sigh}} This year I will finish that commitment and then move on to my new goals. I need to stitch three stockings for grandkids, two tooth fairy pillows, four baby samplers. I want to stitch some for me. We'll see. I'm very excited because my DIL Janel invited me to a stitching retreat. We're going in the Spring for three days of stitching and companionship. I've never attended one before so I'm a little nervous, but mainly excited.

Travel: As I mentioned above we'll be traveling this Spring. We plan to travel to KC in September and will plan another trip to KS in between to visit Blizzard and his parents. Last year we traveled more than any other year in our marriage and, while it was fun, it does take some thought and planning.

I'm so optimistic about 2018! Dan's business does not show any signs of slowing down. Our family is healthy. We enjoy every moment we get to spend with them. The grandkids are the joy of our life. We are so blessed!

One Word 2018

Usually I start thinking about my one word in the Fall, but this year has been very different. We had so many late year family events that I was busy concentrating on them and did not give my typical thought to the upcoming year.

When I finally got around to remembering that I needed to choose my one word for 2018 I didn't even have to think about it. My word is people.

As I stated in "The Year of the Purge" post, I feel very convicted to rearrange my life to have more time, effort, energy for the people in my life.

I'm eager to see what kind of changes I can make this year to fulfill this goal.

The Year of the Purge

A new year is almost here! From time to time I choose a motto for the year. It's usually something I'm working for or a dream Dan and I have for the year.

This year's motto is "The Year of the Purge". It has come to my attention since I turned 61 last year that I have too much stuff in my house. It's not cluttered, but even stuff that's stored neatly can be too much.

Part of my arriving at this decision is the fact that there are 15 people in my immediate family and 22 in my entire family. These are people that I love and want to spend time with. People that I want to be available for. I've come to the conclusion that sometimes the stuff I have gets in the way of the people I love.

Another part of my arriving at this decision is getting older. I don't feel morbid about my age... I'm only 61! But I am aware that I have less time ahead and more time behind me. I don't want to have a house full of tough decisions for my family to deal with when I get really old... you know... 100 or so.

I figure since these thoughts are weighing on me I should do something about them. Hence this year's motto.

I've made a list of the areas I want to purge and will work through them one by one. I'm hoping to be done with this project by June 1st, but am not really holding myself to a deadline. I think I'll know when I'm done by the way I feel about my stuff.

As we stand on the edge of the new year I'm feeling very optimistic and excited.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2018!