Joleyn Larson Photography & Design

it’s been a while since i last sat and let my writing juices flow. been so preoccupied with life that it’s been hard to stop and sit. clear my mind and just write. thank goodness for the lull of this quiet monday morning.

still no snow on the ground…which is fine by me…temps in the 40s and 50s and hey the sun is still shining too! 

the boys all in their winter sports. Ry and Alex playing basketball. TR continuing over in bismarck with indoor soccer. all bringing so much entertainment for us to watch. Alex’s zest to just get out there and play…win or lose…Ryan’s competiveness that just screams heart and soul for whatever he is doing, TRs complete control on and off the field…reminding me so much of myself….just trying to soak it all in…and still keep an eye on peanut as she is socializing with whoever is closest.  enjoying the warmth that the gyms are providing after such a freezing cold fall of soccer.

school going really well. the kids are enjoying the new teachers and the new friends that a new school year brings. had our first set of conferences and TRjr made the honor roll for his first semester. {yes, i now have a bumper sticker in my back window too. } proud momma!   the kids are all getting bigger, taller and more independent and i’m realizing how fast time is speeding by more and more. it’s hard not to hold on super tight to them…when all they want is to run free and try it by themselves. it’s so fun watching them grow. {sigh} it’s so hard watching them grow.  

looking forward to the next few weeks…finishing off those thanksgiving leftovers…celebrating Advent with my family….waiting in awe… and trying to simplify things so I can focus on the real meaning of Christmas and not the commercialism that can drag me down to the point of exhaustion. yucko!  loving the Christmas music, excited to get our tree up, excited to wake up and smell the dewy pine every morning. excited to start the holiday baking and really enjoying the lights that are popping up all over our neighborhood too….hoping ours will be up soon too. {wink, wink, honey do}  I just love this time of year!!

this should catch you up a bit. happy holidays friends.

we celebrated one of my most favorite times of year last night. in the darkness we sat with only one light…our first advent candle. we sat and talked and ate our dinner. we thought about what it means to wait for something.

what it means to wait for something so big that you can hardly stand it. we talked about what we could do differently this season, how we could turn our focus towards giving more and getting less….being more thankful and less covetous (i know big word…but they got it), being more content and less critical…waiting…a time to silence yourself. a time to think about everything and nothing at the same time. i loved it all.  happy advent.

Light the First PURPLE Candle which symbolizes hope. For many years the faithful looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. We look forward with the eyes of faith. 

As we begin Advent, we light one candle in the midst of all the darkness in our lives and in the world.  It symbolizes our longing, our desire, our hope. 

In this season of Advent,
as we gather to wait
in the darkness of winter nights
for Jesus our Light to come,
may our hearts be filled
with your joy and promise.

we had quite the dinner. turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberries…all the favorites and then some.

Thanksgiving is today, and I find myself more thankful this year than years prior. As i sit here and remember all the things we have done this year i feel pretty full…and not because we ate so much food today that we could all use a good run into town…literally. Full in a sense that i couldn’t want anything more in my life at this time. Maybe it is the bible study I did this fall {change my attitude} that is still so fresh in my mind, maybe it’s the new study I just started on contentment that is keeping me focused on daily gratitude. Maybe it’s my appreciation for family that has grown insurmountably over the year. Or maybe just how God has a way of moving in our lives..so subtly at times…one breath at a time… whether we want him to or not….always at his pace and not mine….teaching me to trust Him more and more.  Maybe it’s learning to remember that God has it all covered….even when…I do not and for that alone I can be thankful. I’m so thankful for my husband. His enduring love he shares with me daily. His hard work never going unnoticed in my eyes. His job that supplies our every need….allowing me to stay home…allowing me to take the kids and the neighbor kids to school…when bus 15 doesn’t show up because it broke down.  I’m so thankful for my kids and how they bless me with so much love at times i feel like i will burst. Their hugs, their stories their individual beings that are so unique and so different yet you just appreciate who they are becoming because it’s who they are.  I am so thankfully blessed I get goose bumps. Content. Happy. Blessed. It’s a good place to be.

I got this article on Thanksgiving from Walk in the Word :: The Weekly Walk by James MacDonald.I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. 

Thanksgiving

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south… He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” – Psalm 107:1-9

Psalm 107 is all about thankfulness. Very specifically Psalm 107 repeats one verse four different times.

“O, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His wonderful works to the children of men.”

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Praise and gratitude are inseparable. Praise starts from the soles of our feet and comes up through the muscles and sinews and joints and organs of our bodies and it bursts from our throat. It’s with all our hearts that we give God thanks. It is not something shallow or frivolous, flippant or superficial. Gratitude is the deepest expression of the soul in love with God. And he says, “With all my heart I give You thanks.”

The original meaning of praise was “to give public acknowledgement.” It’s the thought of telling others about something that means much to us. Not the normal term for giving thanks.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not negative on gratitude. What really bugs me, though, is when people express their gratitude today, late in November and then return to their self-centered, dissatisfied, hopeless and pathetic outlook on life the other 364 days.

Gratitude is more than an annual ritual performed hastily before diving into the Thanksgiving meal. It’s more than a holiday decoration, more than a snappy word that rhymes with “attitude.” Of all the human emotions, gratitude is the most powerful. So powerful is gratitude, it can obliterate fear, hopelessness and doubt. Gratitude can heal a broken heart, slow the aging process and restore broken relationships. Gratitude creates hope and hope brings joy. It is in joy, not fear, that we find strength.

on so many levels i’ve been enjoying his growing up.

the day finally came and our little peanut lost her first big tooth. one more and she’ll be singing all i want for christmas is…

Today’s Daily Word – I thank God for those who dedicate their lives to service.

Through the ages, people have stepped forward and served to make their communities, their homelands and the world a better, safer place. I am in awe of the courage and dedication they have shown. Their sacrifices bless us all.

I deeply appreciate the contribution of those who serve humanity. As part of our world family, I also do my part to promote a better life for all.

My prayers are one way to contribute to the betterment of humankind. Today I take time to honor and bless those who have committed their lives to courageous sacrifice and service to others. I give thanks for them and the significant difference they make in our world.

Serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.–Deuteronomy 10:12

shadows dancing in the sun’s light…across our living room wall.