14/365

Two days after Caleb learned to ride a bike,

I borrowed one for myself and we went for a ride.

He rode his bike for almost seven miles.

So proud of him.

Now, I am looking for one at garage sales...

and hoping for many more bike rides to come.

13/365

In New Mexico, sunsets are indescribable...

beautiful colors over endless valleys.

They are different here.

The clouds are different.

And the visibility is a bit more limited in the city.

But...they are still beautiful.

12/365

His bike was waiting by the tree on Christmas morning.

A gift from Grandma and Grandpa.

I had the camera ready to record the moment...

but his response was anticlimactic.

He looked at it briefly and then got really excited about the candy in his stocking.

It turns out he was afraid.

The lack of training wheels, he told us later, scared him.

So, on the first beautiful day we could carve out some time,

Brandon and I set out to teach him.

As I was fiddling with my camera and Brandon turned aside to talk to someone,

Caleb got on his bike and took off...when our backs were turned.

Shortly after, with Brandon running alongside him and me just behind, 

Caleb was making laps around our apartment complex.

A milestone accomplished!

*Again, not sure which photo to pick.*

11/365

For Christmas, Brandon got me an Olioclip for my iPhone.

It is a clip on lens that allows me to take macro, fisheye and wide angle photos.

I don't know what I'm going to do with the last two, 

but the macro has opened up a whole new world for me.

10/365

Caleb is thriving here.

We live in an apartment with lots of windows and lots of kids.

As soon as we open the blinds in the morning, 

he asks to go outside.

He could stay out all day. 

Thank you, Lord, for providing exactly what our boy needs

during this season of life.

9/365

"Daddy, can we play Wii?"

It is often the first thing Brandon hears when he comes home from work.

Caleb isn't allowed to play when Daddy's not home.

It is a rule that has made my life more peaceful.

Not so much for Brandon.

8/365

Dirty fingernails.

Hard earned after hours of playing in dirt,

they are a constant in our home.

Such fun to be a boy...

7/365

A scene that is common to many mornings...

Caleb gets his daily "kids show" when he wakes up.

Breakfast is sometimes served on the side.

It works for us.

6/365

I've been seeking to reinstate a habit of waking early.

It is a continual struggle for me.

This particular morning was a foggy one...

so I brought my camera outside and took this.

Maybe mornings and I just might be able to get along.

5/365

I have two for today.

I am procrastinating picking.

Both were taken at Magic Kingdom.

The shot above was taken on the riverboat ride around Tom Sawyer's Island.

The shot below was taken in Gaston's Tavern, in the new Fantasyland.

I cannot get enough of these smiles. 

4/365

The first of "my" photos taken by Brandon.

Most nights after the three of us pray, Caleb and I read.

Millie often joins us.

Moments precious to me.

3/365

What our kitchen table looks like after unpacking and going through mail.

Thanks, friends, for our Christmas cards.

They are beautiful. 

2/365

Driving home.

Illinois to Florida.

We hit a deer that had been hit just a moment before.

Our prayer for safety was answered, and we were grateful.

Apart from a horrible smell of venison, we and our car were all fine.

Thank You, Lord.

1/365

It was a new kind of New Year's Eve for us.

Spent with family instead of a conference.

The kids made it up til midnight.

We celebrated with Wii bowling, ginger ale punch, and confetti strewn on freshly fallen snow.

So. Much. Fun.

**This is the first of my Project 365.

One photo.  Every day.  For a year.

God draws near...

Barbara Francis, a staff member with Cru, shared this quote by Henri Nouwen in a devotional she sent out this week.  I saved it and thought I would share it tonight...as we all mourn the heart wrenching reality of what happened in Connecticut today. 

Pain suffered alone feels very different from pain suffered alongside another.

Even when pain stays, we know how great the difference is if another draws close,

if another shares with us in it.

This kind of comfort comes most fully and powerfully visible in the Incarnation,

wherein God comes into our midst—into our lives—to remind us,

“I am with you at all times and in all places.”

In Christ, God draws near us amid our sufferings—

the pain of infants or adolescents,

the hurts of young people or the aged,

the grief of the unemployed

or the suddenly single person.

There is not human suffering that has not in some way been a part of God’s experience.

That is the great and wonderful mystery of God becoming flesh to live among us.

God becomes a part of our mourning.

-Henri Nouwen

Christmas: absolute proof that God fulfills his promises

My heart feels so heavy tonight.

Too many people I love are walking through pain...
or are grappling with loss...
or waiting on test results...
or are simply struggling.

I underlined this quote last year, and I read it again recently.  I appreciated it and wanted to share it with you.  I hope it encourages you. 

What God did when he sent his Son into the world is an absolute guarantee that he will do everything he has ever promised to do.  Look at it in personal sense:  "All things work together for good to them that love God" - that is a promise "to them who are the called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28, KJV)."  "But how can I know that is true for me?" asks someone.  The answer is the incarnation.  God has given the final proof that all his promises are sure, that he is faithful to everything he has ever said.  So that promise is sure for you.  Whatever your state or condition may be, whatever may happen to you, he has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee (Heb 13:5, KJV)" - and he will not.  He has said so, and we have absolute proof that he fulfills his promises.  He does not always do it immediately in the way that we think.  No, no!  But he does it!  And he will never fail to do it.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

December Traditions

Though short sleeves and flip flops make it more difficult, we've been getting into the Christmas spirit down here.

In August, we showed up at our furnished Florida apartment with only the stuff that would fit into our cars.  Our boxes of Christmas decorations are still safe and securely stored away in storage in New Mexico.  I did, however, manage to make room for our twenty five Christmas books and the little set of Jesse Tree ornaments I made last year.

You can read a little more about both traditions in my other posts here, here, and here.

I love this season.

This year's new addition

If you're looking for ways to keep your Christmas

centered on Christ this year,

I love this book...

am intrigued by this...

and am looking forward to checking out this.

What I am up to...

This is a screenshot of my computer tonight.

I am finally attempting to make a book of Jude's life...

using the daily posts I wrote here during his 67 days.

While I am so thankful for this blog and its daily recordings of his life,

I want to hold something tangible in my hands when I feel like remembering.

It is something I have been wanting to do since last fall...

but it's a project I haven't had the motivation to tackle until now.

It's a process that is difficult on so many levels,

and I would thoroughly appreciate your prayers.

Please pray that the Lord would lead me as I work on it...

that I would finish it in His timing...

and that the Lord would continue to work in our hearts as we miss our baby boy.

Thanks so much!

The Thanksgiving Tree

This year, we did a Thanksgiving Tree...

similar to this one that is commonly found on Pinterest. 

Finding sticks in the land of palm trees was rather difficult,

but we eventually found some.

Instead of buying scrapbook paper, we used what we already had. 

Watercolors.

We painted the leaves using a technique that I think is really fun...and dries really pretty.

I found it years ago in this wonderful book. 

Give thanks to the Lord, 

for He is good; 

His love endures forever. 

1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy Thanksgiving

60 Years

One of my very favorite people in the world turned sixty recently.

My dad.

Caleb and Grandpa before the party

This weekend, Caleb and I flew briefly to Indiana for his birthday party.

To celebrate, my mom booked an old favorite of his, Henry Lee Summer,

and the local Civic Theater was filled with friends and family.

My mom and dad danced all night.

I am so blessed to be the daughter of such wonderful people...

who love each other so much...

and who know so well how to enjoy life. 

I love you, guys!