Year's End 2014

As 2014 comes to an end and I look back on all that has transpired, I am amazed. Life moves on with or without me, but this year I have been overwhelmed by all that God has done with me. From relationships in our family to our first major vacation, a part-time job to speaking in public, assisting others to receiving affirmation for myself...I experienced life this year, life in abundance.

I look forward to the coming year with anticipation and a bit of uneasiness. God moved me and enlarged my territory (if you will) in big ways this past year and I know He will continue to do so...if I continue to be open to Him. I plan to continue sharing this crazy journey I'm on called life and hope you will continue to join me!

Above:  Photos of the one snow we got before Christmas, but sadly melted so we had a very brown Christmas this year.

Below:  "Uncle" Kevin with the kiddos. Ben and Kevin have known each other for decades, he was the best man at our wedding and has continued to be a dear friend of our family. He lives out of state, but always makes a point to visit when back in Iowa visiting family. If you ever make one of our New Year's Eve parties, you will enjoy our joint tradition of watching Home Alone 2, repeating all the lines and laughing hysterically.

'Till next year!

I Choose...

You...My whole heart
Will be yours forever
This is a beautiful start
To a lifelong love letter

I came upon this song this year and have been saving it for our anniversary post. This month Ben and I celebrated sixteen years of marriage and through all the ups and downs, highs and lows, this song rings true...I choose him.

* I Choose You by Sara Bareilles

Christmas Gifts

Christmas seems to get confused with shopping and money and wrapping and busyness. We focus our family on love and joy and receiving from God and giving it back. We give to those in need and bake for neighbors and make memories with friends and family and take time for people.

On Christmas day, the kids exchange gifts with each other and receive one gift from us. We enjoy breakfast and roast a turkey and make gravy and dine with our extended family. This year was especially blessed for me, as only one member was unable to attend...which meant we had 22 people in our home...and I could not have been happier! The food was yummy but the fellowship was delightful.

Stockings are a very important tradition for my husband's family, so I have made large personalized stockings for each member (including extras for when my family or others are able to join us) and instal lots of hooks to hang them all from. Sometimes the stuffers don't all fit and are contained in sacks underneath. (This photo does not show them all well, but there are 22 stockings hanging here.)

The adults exchange names for gifts and each of the kids get one or two from the extended family. We all love giving gifts, but make sure this is not the focus of our day. When all the food and wrapping are cleaned up, we watch movies, play games, visit and eat leftovers. This year the celebrating ended about 11pm!

Several times throughout the day, I stopped to take in the moment, the sights and sounds of our family together...feeling beyond blessed by all the Lord has given me. May your year be blessed with many such moments, where God's love is showered upon you.

Library Update

The rebuilt Garrison Library is not complete, but partially open. It has been good in a complicated way to see what feels like the last piece of the storm being restored. I don't know if that makes sense, but it feels like the community healing is important in my healing. They opened partially earlier this month, but I have been unable to visit. I have been doing a lot of processing with many aspects of my life, so I am being patient with myself on this one. It took great strength to move back onto the property, to wait out the first few storms, to make new memories and find new normals. Maybe for New Year's, I can visit the new library and make some new memories with the kids there.

The kids and I drove by the construction site and took photos every opportunity we had. Here is a snippet of the process.

Church Christmas Celebrations

Once again, we offered free holiday photos at my church and were so blessed by all the families we met and smiles we captured. I take several photos and then edit my favorite few and send them to the families with permission to reprint. They can use them on Christmas cards, profile pics and holiday gifts for grandparents. This is one of my favorite ministries and while although it is a lot of work, I thoroughly enjoy it every year!

We also had our Christmas party with soup and goodies and games and crafts and caroling and lots of friends! I look forward to the opportunity to visit and share with friends of The Home Page. Here are a few highlights from this year's party!

Holiday Prep

Our family has many traditions, some from Ben's family, some from mine and some that we have made for our very own. We participate in several ministries, open our home to celebrations, go light-seeing and lots and lots of baking!

We have three favorite light displays and this year we were able to get to all of them. Two are near Vinton with lots of lights, displays (like this one of the organ and choir singing) and music playing. The third is near Center Point and is super high tech. The house and yard are all wired together and set to music (which their kids help with) and the final piece is coordinated with lights on the entire cul-de-sac. If you are ever in Iowa during the Christmas season, we recommend taking time to go see these!

One of the advantages of having family so close is making baking memories with them. This year we had my sister-in-law and nephew over to make cookies (butter, snicker doodle, sugar, peanut butter, russian/sweedish/little pecan cookies) and candies (caramels, fudge, covered pretzels, peanut brittle).

We also went to another family member's house and joined Ben's mom, sisters, nephews and niece in making lefsa (a Norwegian pastry made with potatoes). This is a time-honored tradition in my mother-in-law's family and it is a joy to pass it on to the next generation!

What are some of your favorite traditions? Or new things you tried this year that you may make new traditions?

Great Joy!

^"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." (Luke 2:8-20 NIV)

My wish for you this Christmas is to find joy in the knowledge that you are so extremely important to God, that He sent His son, Jesus, to be a baby, a human, a created being as your personal Savior!

Merry Christmas and a very Joyful New Year to you!

Thanksgiving

Giving thanks for another year and the blessings of family. After lots of food fixing and parade watching, hubby's family joined us for dinner, football and a couple games of "Settlers of Catan" (one of which I won!). A day spent making memories and celebrating life are a great way to spend Thanksgiving...and every day. Here is a song by one of my favorite groups The Piano Guys, if you enjoy it, I encourage you to listen to some of there other works.

And finish off this post with this picture of just some of the fixings that go into our family dinner.

Newest Nephew Arrives

I posted a few weeks ago about our village and mentioned that it had recently grown by one. My sister-in-law and her husband welcomed a second son just before Thanksgiving. He is such a precious little guy, the smallest cousin to date, with a head full of dark hair. We are all so excited to welcome him into this crazy, wonderful extended family!

Here are a few more photos of Little Man meeting Little Brother.

First Family Photo

A first photo with Auntie at Thanksgiving. Grandpa meeting the littlest grandchild.

October Birthday Celebration

October was especially busy with our trip to Florida, but we made sure we were home in time to throw a birthday celebration for all our dear ones. Our oldest turned 13 and celebrated with Nascar fun. We served hotdogs, popcorn and nachos. His cake featured the Daytona track and a Dale Earnhardt Jr car.

Darling Daughter turned 11 and had an artist themed party. We decorated with "spilling" paint cans and coloring stations. We set up a canvas and paints for guests to help create a piece of art for the birthday girl. For her cake, we made cupcakes and topped them with sugar cookies cut and decorated to look like paint pallets.

 We had LOTS of young ones join the party and celebrate with us! Nineteen children, 8 of those kiddos 4 years old and under! I attempted a photo with the children and got all but two of them.

Thank you to all who helped us celebrate our children's lives,

as well as several other family member's birthdays!

Vaca Part 10: Homeward Bound

After seven wonderful days in the warmth and sun of Florida's beaches, we loaded up and headed for home. We brought a different route up to Nashville (where we stayed with family again) and enjoyed the beauty of Alabama. The next day, crossing the boarder into Illinois (near Metropolis) we stopped for a quick break and a photo op with Superman. So many wonderful memories made and precious moments to treasure for years to come. I am so grateful for the opportunity to make this trip happen for our family!