The "something exciting" that will change our families life forever is.....

MY LITTLE SISTER IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!

SEE... I told you it was very exciting :)

Megan and Henry began courting in the middle of December. When it first happened it was so hard to comprehend it all. The first few days were filled with mixed emotions of happiness and sadness. Happiness because my little sister's dreams have come true... and sadness because of the realization that one of my best friends was going to be moving out!

The first time that Henry came to visit Meg reality really began to sink in. This was really happening.

Knowing that our life will never be the same again is hard, the way our family works and operates is all going to change. Change seems to always be a bittersweet thing, but it's not at all a bad thing!

Christmas was amazing. It was during this time that Henry (aka "Fritzy" (the nickname we gave him :)) really became a part of our family. And it was also during this time that most of the sadness drifted away, and this "Prince Charming" became more then just someone that was sweeping Megan off of her feet... he became a big brother.

It was like he had been in our family forever.

Since then it has been all been a blast! Sure I still have a twinge of sadness when I think about how Meg is soon no longer going to be a constant member of our household, but the knowledge that she is about to be one of the happiest girls alive... and the fact that I am soon to have another big brother makes up for it all :)

I'll leave you with a few pictures from Christmas eve and Christmas Day. There are not very many since our photographer was somewhat "ahem" distracted :)

I promise I'm back to blogging regularily again!

Forgive Me???

Ok, so I haven't been blogging in a while.... MAYBE if I show you this one picture that was taken yesterday you'll forgive me?? 

Maybe??

Life has been CRAZY. 

Besides Christmas, New Years, celebrating 4 birthdays, hockey, renovating our room and getting ready for a friends visit. We've also got an exciting new special something that has happened in our lives and changed our family forever. 

I'll be sharing about that SOON.

But for now... I've gotta leave ya hangen'. :)

As for pictures of Christmas and all the other stuff... NO WORRIES. 

I will be posting them soon!!!

Merry Christmas!

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; 

And the government will be upon His shoulder. 

And His name will be called 

Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Put a sock in it!!

For those of you that know this bit of information as old news... please bare with me. I actually learned this morning that my little sis has tried this....and I never knew :)

I tend to get rather excited about new and cool hair styling discoveries.... so I decided to share it with you all.

Curling your hair with a sock

I tried this last night... and it works AMAZINGLY. 

AND without having to use any heat or hairspray is a HUGE bonus! I would especially recommend trying this if you have long hair... 

So ya, call me crazy... but I LOVE this :)

Hey girls...

Have you ever been afraid that all the effort that you put into keeping pure emotionally and waiting for God to bring you your future spouse will be in vain?
I know personally speaking there has been times when trust turns to doubt. I wonder if the day will ever come when my prince charming will come waltzing into my life, or if it is just a beautiful dream that will never come true.
God has brought me through a season of learning this past little while. There were so many doubts that I had to address and put to rest. It has been hard, but through it all He has confirmed for me that He is in control of my life and I can fully put my trust in Him.

I have been working on compiling this post for a while in my brain, trying to figure out the best way to write it ect.
I've decided to list some fears and doubts that a young woman could have as they are waiting for God to bring their "special someone" along.
Some of these questions have been my own, and some are ones that I have heard from others. I didn't come up with any answers on my own, like I said... God has been teaching me SO much!


Question:
What if my standards are to high and there just is no guy out there that fits the bill?

Answer:
Who gave you these standards? Do you believe that they came from God? If God has a husband out there for you, He is going to make sure that He will be the right person! You will NEVER have to settle for second best.
If God is the one that gives us our convictions... is He not big enough to give the same convictions to your future husband?
God is the same yesterday, today and FOREVER! If He can raise the dead and heal the sick... than it is a small thing for Him to make a perfect match for you!

Question:
What if I miss him because I'm not getting out into the world often enough? (ie. college, social activities ect.)

Answer:
If God has a husband picked for you, there will be NO-ONE that will be able to stop you from meeting him. God is not short on resources!! Nothing is impossible for Him! He will lead you and your future husband to the right places at the right times, so that you will be able to meet each other.
I have heard of girls that feel like they need to go to college because that is where their parents met, they feel like they need to get out there to "find" their husband. That is like trying to make a miracle happen! GOD IS BIGGER THAN THAT!

Question:
What if there is no guy out there that will think I have an attractive personality?

Answer:
God made you to be EXACTLY who you are. And He doesn't make mistakes!
If God has a husband planned in your future... He is going to make one that likes YOU! He will take care of all the details!

Question:
What if there is someone right there in front of my face, but I miss him because I'm to reserved or shy?

Answer:
Always, always remember that God cannot be stopped by SMALL issues such as this!
You don't need to be pursuing anyone, that is the guy's job... not yours.
Your focus right now should be to grow in God and prepare yourself for the day that your heart is claimed. And you can't be doing that if you are constantly worrying about how you can make that guy notice you or this guy look your way.

Trust in God

I have learned over and over that if I don't trust God with my future, then I become obsessed with worry. 

Time and time again God has shown me just how big He is! I KNOW that He is big enough for me! And I pray that you will be convinced that He is big enough for you too.

This is For You Liz....

I was telling my AMAZING friend Elizabeth on Skype this morning that we took family pictures yesterday and promised her that I would blog one of the pictures so she could see it. 

So without further ado...here it is Liz girl.

Your crazy family :) 

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

And as for the rest of you... there will be more pictures to come soon! So keep an eye out! :)

I'm. Loving. It.

Wow.
It's been a while and a half!!
I would apologize... but I think it was a good thing that I was able to have a little "blogging break". It will end up being a good thing for you all as well... I promise :) I've got some good blog posts up my sleeve!

Winterness has begun to settle itself down in our household. We've begun to pull out the good ole' books, and projects that are meant for the lazy winter days. Curling up in front of the wood stove has become routine.
Usually we would have already been out on the ice rink for a while, but weirdly enough... it hasn't been cold enough to make ice! I think this is the first time in my life that I have actually prayed for cold weather.... I wanna get me out there playing hockey!! :)

My little niece Makayla has been wonderful :) She is still the most ADORABLE baby girl ever!
 *sigh*
 I LOVE being an auntie!

Christmas has s-l-o-w-l-e-y crept up on us. Even though I've been listening to Christmas music since the middle of November... it seems to have come so fast!! I LOVE this time of the year!!!

This morning the men of our family had to do some hauling grain SUPER early this morning. They needed one more driver to bring the auger to the bin, and I got the "honors" *smile* 

It was still dark with the sun just starting to make a sliver of pink sky on the horizon as I drove. I turned the radio on and listened to Christmas music.... NOTHING like that feeling!

I always feel God so close when I get to admire His beautiful creation.

My amazing lil sis Megs decorated the house all pretty for Christmas. It is our tradition to do it on Dec. 1st (mostly because that is the soonest that we are allowed :).
Have I ever mentioned that I love Christmas time??
Wellll I do... LOTS.
I love it when we can eat supper ALL together as a family with the Christmas lights on, the big lights dimmed and Christmas music playing softly in the background.
Things just couldn't get more perfect then that!

So now that I've rattled on about all of the things that I love about this time of the year. What about you? What things are you loving right now?