G.R.I.T.S

This fall quarter, I have had the privelge of leading our teenage women's Bible class ~ GRITS~Girls Raised In The Son.  I so enjoyed this class and these great young ladies.  The class was basically to "train" our young ladies their responsibilty in the church.  We talked about a wide range of topics.  Some were very uncomfortable, some made us cry, some made us laugh, but all helped us to grow in His grace and light. 

On Friday, December 16, 2011, the young ladies hosted a dinner for their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts.  They did a wonderful job!  And I had a HUGE surprise for them.  One of the topics we spoke about in our class was purity and God's plan for marriage.  Being a Woman whose heart is so lost in God that a man must seek Him to find her.  So each family was asked to present their young lady to remind them of the lessons they had learned and the promise they have made to God and themselves!  The evening was so special and such an honor to share this special moment with these young ladies!!!

What a difference a year makes!

After getting home from taking mom and dad home for an afternoon outing, I remembered that there was a picture of daddy and I taken last year at Christmas. I guess you could say, a picture speaks a 1000 words.  I am proud of all I have accomplished this past year!  I am thankful that I got to spend another year with my Daddy!  I am grateful that God has made me uncomfortable in my transformation! I know that I still have a lot of work to do, but I am SO MUCH CLOSER today than I was a year ago!  

Not long ago, I read 

 excuses are just lies we tell ourselves so that we feel better for not putting up the hardwork it takes to reach our goals and dreams.

Failure is always an option, it is the choice we make when we believe the lies we tell ourselves.  In 2011, when my path was blocked with obstacles, it would have been so easy to make an excuse and go back to the old way.  With every obstacle, I had an option.  Some I walked thru with no little problem and some I turned around and regrouped then found another path.  There were a couple that put me flat on my butt, but when I was able to get back up and climb over them, I realized those were the ones that made me stronger in my faith. So in 2012, there is still much work to do!  Even when I feel like giving up, I love that God never gives up on me! 

 

December 25, 2010

December 26, 2011

Merry Christmas 2011

In so many ways, Christmas of 2011 is in the record books for our family.  A Christmas Story on TBS for 24 being over is a clear indication that we are smiling at our memories.  In one way it is not over~ my Christmas cards are NOT done!  Normally, I would have really stressed over that, but this year stress in our lives was redefined.  So hopefully, they will be in the mail before the end of the week. 

Family Christmas picture 2011

(just in case) 

This is Pearl Moody!  Such a sweet little baby that we got to puppy sit Christmas Eve!  Can't wait to watch this sweet girl grow up with Olivia, Meredith, and Griffin!

This picture is for my sweet Utah friend~ Gwynne.

The Minatra's Charlie Brown Tree!  We usually do not do a live tree, but this year the girls talked me into it.  It was not too bad.  BUT we have not taken it down yet, so I foresee the mess! Oh Well!  It brought us many hours of enjoyment!  I think Snoopy would have been proud!

In our house, Fruity & Cocoa Pebbles held THE BEST PRIZE!  Mary Lane and Katherine thought they had out smarted me.  I kept telling them it would be a small Christmas.  So I had to get real creative about how to "hide" their Christmas.  When they become teenagers the gifts get small with a big pricetag. So this year, I wrapped all their "liittle" stuff and put it in a big box.  So under the tree the girls had two gifts~ one was toliet paper cause we all need a little TP and then the "big" box.  In the box was a few little swim items, gold fish, wallet, some money, and a box of Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles.  Thanks to Aunt Ann's idea of how to hide the ipod~ it became the "prize" in their cereal box!  It was pretty funny.  I had TOTAL got them.  I had even glued the box flap back.  Now here is where Clay and I differ~ Clay would have let them go all day waiting for them to find it!  ME not so much.  I asked is there a prize in the cereal.  Don't think so.  I left it at that kinda, Mary Lane noticed that if did feel rather heavy.  They both looked at each other and opened the boxes to which screams followed!  It was pretty funny and they loved that I got'em!

We had a lot to be thankful for this year!  In 2011, our health took on a how new meaning!  Changing my health, kicked off our year which lead Clay, Honey and Big Daddy to making some changes.  June, trying to keep my sweet daddy healthy became priorty for my sister, brothers, and I.  Someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas....could not think of anything really cause I felt like we had been given the best gift this year~ more time with our daddy!!! 

So from Rockvale, from our family to yours, we pray that all your Christmas wishes came true!  We hope that 2012, God provides you opportunities to grow in His love and grace.