Bringing 2008 To A Close

Well, as usual, it's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Wow. This year has been a good one, but not necessarily an easy one. Lots of valleys, heartaches, trials, disappointments. There have been plenty of wonderful moments as well, but it's the tough times that stick out in my mind. I'm not trying to be a "downer" here, really. When I think of all those tough times, I think of how God was faithful through each and every trial. His promises held true during those rough and rocky times. I didn't always have a smile on my face, but I did have peace in my heart (as long as my eyes were on Him, and I wasn't trying to fix everything myself). I don't know how I'd ever survive the hard times without having Him to rely on. My Lord really does bring a peace that passes all understanding. God's mercy and grace are never lacking. Never.

So as I look back at this past year, I see God. I see how He is everything I need when I'm scared and uncertain. I see how He has blessed my husband and I with 4 little girls to laugh with, to nurture and to teach. I see that he has placed life-long friends in my path. I see that God has given us a new church family. He's given us the responsibility to serve with them and encourage them to grow closer to their Creator, to know that they are loved beyond measure. God's chosen to bless me with a husband who is also my pastor now. I'm always challenged by his teaching.

The list goes on and on! I am blessed beyond belief! Through the good and the not so good, and the horrible, God never changes or becomes less. He is always sufficient, always giving me strength and direction as I seek Him. I don't know what 2009 holds for me and my family, but I do know that it will be full of opportunities to trust God and praise Him in uncertainty, and thank Him for incredible blessings, and to love Him for who He is. Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures of the family (and friends) as we bring 2008 to a close.

Christmas '08

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! The Jackson six had a fantastic day together. This pic was taken Christmas Eve.

Family...What's Not To Love?

I saw this on one of the blogs I follow, and just had to share it. I know many of you out there will relate to it. It's so funny, and yet maybe they're onto something here... *wink* Enjoy! (Please pause the music player below before playing the video)

Keep Your Socks On!

Despite what the calendar said, it wasn't officially "Christmas time" until I wore my rockin' Christmas socks :) Now that I have your attention, I have something else I really wanted to share today.

Okay, I'm switching gears quickly here, so get ready. 14 years ago today I received a phone call that pretty much changed the rest of my life. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was getting ready for choir practice, when my mom came in and told me I had a phone call. She kind of had a quizzical look on her face, but I didn't think too much of it. Once I realized who was on the other end of the line, I quickly understood what it was all about. It was my youth pastor's wife's brother (did you follow that?)....who lived a couple states away. Little did I know that the young man who called me that day in 1994 would later become my husband in 1998. Well, that's not entirely true. I knew very early on that there was something extra special about this guy and within 3 months of dating (long distance dating) I knew without a doubt that this was the man God had saved just for me.

I need to give a shout-out to my sister-in-law who played a pretty good matchmaker :) There's a lot more to the story of course, but I don't think I could really write it all out. But it's crazy to think that phone call led to a marriage and the birth of 4 little girls. We've had our ups and we've had our downs, and we are still learning what it means to love selflessly. But, I am so glad he called me! I now know that he started to dial my number a few times, but then quickly hung up because he was nervous. I'm glad you finally got the gusto to call, hon :) I love you.

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a first this past Thanksgiving. And it was a good first. While living in Ohio, we would usually travel to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with my husband's side of the family. And there were a couple years where we spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family. Then last year we had our first Thanksgiving without any family....but we had a wonderful day of feasting with some fantastic friends. This year, however, we stayed home and celebrated Thanksgiving with just the six of us. It was so relaxing! Well, after six hours of cooking it was relaxing :)

This was my first year of cooking a turkey and all the "good stuff" to go along with it, completely unsupervised, and without any help. It was a lot of work, but well worth it. I do believe my husband and children (except Emily) were very pleased with the outcome :) Emily apparently would rather have peanut butter and jelly instead of turkey and mashed potatoes....who knew??? Before our meal, we all took a turn expressing what we were thankful for. It was very sweet to hear my kids listing the things they thanked God for. It's always so touching to hear the younger ones lists of joys. For example, Emily was thankful for flowers. I love the innocence and true gratitude of children!

After indulging (over indulging?) ourselves in our meal, we played games with the kids and just relaxed. I even took a nap, which is just unheard of. It's definitely a different kind of experience doing Thanksgiving with just our immediate family, but I absolutely treasured it. It was a great memory for me....and hopefully for the rest of the family too.

Hope you all had a very pleasant and relaxing Thanksgiving. I have so very many things to be thankful for. God has blessed me in so many ways that I don't deserve. God's grace and unchangeable love are definitely some of the things at the top of my thankful list. My family is definitely one of my favorite sources of joy. I can't imagine life without any one of them.

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is well on its way! Can't wait!

Here are a few pictures of our Thanksgiving Day in the Jackson house.

Preparing for the feast!

Lynds and Hannah with the wishbone

No, I really didn't eat that all

Adam taking care of leftovers

Girls playing a game together