family fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! i am so thankful for family this Christmas. while i've always loved the idea of having a white Christmas, i was afraid that i would miss out on my family's get together because of this winter wonderland we've been having. thankfully, we decided to try to make it to albany...four hours later, we arrive. it was INSANE traffic/road conditions.
Christmas Eve has always been the big celebration at my Grandma's house. last night about twenty-three of us made it. (my mom has seven brothers and one sister...i can't remember how many cousins i have...and how many kids they have...) i don't remember ever being anywhere else on Christmas Eve and would be VERY disappointed to miss it. anyways, the evening is filled with good food, delicious treats and lots of laughter. some of my cousins played Christmas songs on the organ and one recited from memory the scriptures of the Christmas story. after dinner we played games and talked. i am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing family!
some years i have been so focused on the gifts, whether getting the perfect gift for someone else or for myself, that i've been let down. there would be a huge anticipation and then disappointment. this year with everything happening this last month my focus is completely different. when everything in my life is shaken, my possessions lose their value and i simply desire to love on the people around me.
i am thankful for you. you are in my life for a reason. i'm so blessed to have you in my life, and i'm sorry if i have not portrayed that in all of my actions. i pray that God will open your eyes to how much i value you, and more importantly how much He values you.

what have you been blessed with this year?

family fun!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! i am so thankful for family this Christmas. while i've always loved the idea of having a white Christmas, i was afraid that i would miss out on my family's get together because of this winter wonderland we've been having. thankfully, we decided to try to make it to albany...four hours later, we arrive. it was INSANE traffic/road conditions.
Christmas Eve has always been the big celebration at my Grandma's house. last night about twenty-three of us made it. (my mom has seven brothers and one sister...i can't remember how many cousins i have...and how many kids they have...) i don't remember ever being anywhere else on Christmas Eve and would be VERY disappointed to miss it. anyways, the evening is filled with good food, delicious treats and lots of laughter. some of my cousins played Christmas songs on the organ and one recited from memory the scriptures of the Christmas story. after dinner we played games and talked. i am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing family!
some years i have been so focused on the gifts, whether getting the perfect gift for someone else or for myself, that i've been let down. there would be a huge anticipation and then disappointment. this year with everything happening this last month my focus is completely different. when everything in my life is shaken, my possessions lose their value and i simply desire to love on the people around me.
i am thankful for you. you are in my life for a reason. i'm so blessed to have you in my life, and i'm sorry if i have not portrayed that in all of my actions. i pray that God will open your eyes to how much i value you, and more importantly how much He values you.

what have you been blessed with this year?

someday...

one of these days, i will have a fun blog that tells all sorts of details about the cool things i've been up too. until then...the storm rages. literally and internally.
this is the closest i've ever been to a blizzard. pretty insane stuff. i have had a rotten attitude for the entire storm, complaining to myself about how i want things to be different. my self-centered attitude has resulted in zero change to the storm and my circumstances. has it helped? have the people around me appreciated it? hmmmm. no.
i remember when snow was always fun, exciting and an unexpected blessing. you have to remember that i've lived in the willamette valley almost my entire life. :o) a few years ago, financially losing a few days of work was hard for me to deal with, and i lost out on an opportunity to enjoy the days off. again, with a totally different scenario, i've have overlooked the joy and the excitement that big storms bring. am i affected by those days off i had years ago? not really. so what did my worrying and my bad attitude accomplish? a bad few days.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" --Luke 12:22-26--

from this moment on, i have decided to change my attitude. i have SO much to be thankful for. i have all of my needs provided for...plus more. i have really appreciated the support of my friends and family...God has really blessed me! thank yous to everyone!

someday...

one of these days, i will have a fun blog that tells all sorts of details about the cool things i've been up too. until then...the storm rages. literally and internally.
this is the closest i've ever been to a blizzard. pretty insane stuff. i have had a rotten attitude for the entire storm, complaining to myself about how i want things to be different. my self-centered attitude has resulted in zero change to the storm and my circumstances. has it helped? have the people around me appreciated it? hmmmm. no.
i remember when snow was always fun, exciting and an unexpected blessing. you have to remember that i've lived in the willamette valley almost my entire life. :o) a few years ago, financially losing a few days of work was hard for me to deal with, and i lost out on an opportunity to enjoy the days off. again, with a totally different scenario, i've have overlooked the joy and the excitement that big storms bring. am i affected by those days off i had years ago? not really. so what did my worrying and my bad attitude accomplish? a bad few days.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?" --Luke 12:22-26--

from this moment on, i have decided to change my attitude. i have SO much to be thankful for. i have all of my needs provided for...plus more. i have really appreciated the support of my friends and family...God has really blessed me! thank yous to everyone!

life can be dramatic!

so, this past month has been emotionally draining for me. first, my 11 month old nephew spent a day and a half in the hospital with croup. he had such a hard time breathing and he almost totally lost his voice...it sounded very pathetic when he would talk or cry. thankfully he is doing 100% better now. last week my dad had a heart procedure done here in portland at OHSU. overall, it went good and he recovered quicker than the first time he did it, but a couple days later, his eyesight was blurry and he was not feeling good. so he called the doctor and was sent to the emergency room. they were there ALL day testing him for different things, their biggest worry was a stroke. that was the hardest day. a dear friend confided in me that day that she was becoming very fearful and depressed. and i had stayed at my brother's house to watch the kids, and boy were they grumpy! the next day we found out why... my 3 year old nephew has hand, foot and mouth disease (a viral infection) and my 14 month old niece has a ear infection. bleh. all of this on top of a snowstorm that has left me stuck at my brother's house since sunday. thankfully i have had a few chances to escape, otherwise i would have HORRIBLE cabin fever. so all in all, i love snow, but would really like life to get back to normal so i could go home. whew!

life can be dramatic!

so, this past month has been emotionally draining for me. first, my 11 month old nephew spent a day and a half in the hospital with croup. he had such a hard time breathing and he almost totally lost his voice...it sounded very pathetic when he would talk or cry. thankfully he is doing 100% better now. last week my dad had a heart procedure done here in portland at OHSU. overall, it went good and he recovered quicker than the first time he did it, but a couple days later, his eyesight was blurry and he was not feeling good. so he called the doctor and was sent to the emergency room. they were there ALL day testing him for different things, their biggest worry was a stroke. that was the hardest day. a dear friend confided in me that day that she was becoming very fearful and depressed. and i had stayed at my brother's house to watch the kids, and boy were they grumpy! the next day we found out why... my 3 year old nephew has hand, foot and mouth disease (a viral infection) and my 14 month old niece has a ear infection. bleh. all of this on top of a snowstorm that has left me stuck at my brother's house since sunday. thankfully i have had a few chances to escape, otherwise i would have HORRIBLE cabin fever. so all in all, i love snow, but would really like life to get back to normal so i could go home. whew!