Give Thanks

I really do love Thanksgiving. I try to always keep a spirit of gratitude in my heart. Every night when I tuck the girls in, we reflect on what we are thankful for. No matter how crappy the day may seem, we can always come up with a list of things to praise God for.

Although I am so looking forward to some family time in MI for Thanksgiving, it is a little bit stressful because the weekend doesn't allow much time between driving. And, I am sorry to be missing some opportunities to serve in this city for THanksgiving. If we were here, we'd be joining our church family to serve at the rescue mission.

But, since we cannot do it that day, we went down there this past Saturday and helped package up some gifts that will be given out Thanksgiving weekend. It was a lot of fun. Especially because my girls had three friends sleep over the night before, and they all got up pretty early in the morning and headed out to the city to roll up their sleeves and help out. And, they had so much fun. The joy on their faces as they served just warms my heart. Their friends asked if we could do it again some time? SURE!

I hope I can always remember to GIVE thanks....and to just GIVE.......

Life is so much better when I take the focus OFF of myself and instead focus on others.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Oktoberfest or Novemberfest?

Char and Victoria toasting to Vic's first drink in about 3 years! Cheers.
Neal and Megan
Val and Kim

Amy and Nathan (and Alli)

Timm presenting to Harry, Kristy, Maria and Maggie

So, we had our beer tasting party last night. Timm and I can't agree on whether it was an Oktoberfest party that was postponed, or a Novemberfest party. I know, such deep rooted issues of contention we have with each other, right? I love that man. Not only did he clean up and rearrange the whole apartment yesterday in order to squeeze 25 people into our little living space, but today, while I sit here on my bed relaxing and playing on the computer, he is cleaning up and re-rearrangning all of our furniture for a new look. To top it off, he served beer to everyone all night, with nothing but questions and comments from me!

So, here are a few photos. Wish I was better at picture taking. Contrary to what it may appear, my friends are not all celestial beings. I just don't know how to use the flash correctly, so people often appear to be glowing.

Good beer.

Good friends.

Good times.

Fill er up

Last weekend we had a wonderful women's retreat in the rolling hills of up state New York. It was so AWESOME to get away.We achieved our goals of rest, relationship building, and revival!

We focused a lot on really digging deeply and honestly to reveal what we are filling up on. In other words, do I go to Jesus and say "fill er up" and trust that He WILL? Or do I turn to other things for fulfillment? We broke into groups of three to share, pray, and encourage each other.

When I returned home, the Halloween festivities were in full swing. Three of

us arrived to my front stoop to find our three husbands handing out candy and acting ridiculous with the girls and the neighborhood kids. I must say,

Timm did a great job curling the girls' hair, applying their make-up, and even fastening on Liv's false eyelashes!! Yay Timm! And although he didn't feel compelled to dress up himself, Craig and Neal made up for it. At one point, Alice Cooper (Craig) was tossing knives with my neighbor, the ninja.

Oh, can't forget to attach a photo of the girls as they headed to school the Friday before Halloween

. Liv's school does "character day" and she is dressed as "Matilda" from one of her favorite books. Alli is dressed for Halloween. Can you guess who she is dressed up as?

Somehow, a whole week, and another weekend slipped by already. Life moves so fast. God keeps reminding me to SLOW DOWN and to fill up on Him. I am trying.

This past weekend was pretty sweet. On Sunday, Timm played a song on his guitar at church. I SO enjoyed worshiping while he strummed the chords....very special for me. Then, I was able to meet up with my great friend to cheer her on in the the marathon. What a sight to see! MILLIONS of people. Huge event in NYC. And, I even got to run with her for a while. That was neat. Now everyone keeps asking me when I am running one....I don't think so. But, I have decided I'll do a half marathon. I feel that's a good goal for me before I turn 40.