I did it! I did it!

My women's hiking group went snowshoeing on Saturday. I was so iffy about whether I wanted to try and go or not. I have a hip problem that seizes up in the cold. Plus there have been avalanches in our area. I just wasn't sure if I wanted to try it or not. Friday morning I went to a Yoga class (for the first time...) with the girls. They were both definitely going to go. Then I started getting excited about trying it myself. I ran out and rented the snowshoes and borrowed a pair of snow pants. The kids had an over-nighter with their worship team at the church Friday night. I was chaperoning the event. Read- I got NO SLEEP!!!! The kids were just too excited to sleep. By morning, I was exhausted and a bit grumpy. But I had already arranged transportation and rented the snowshoes so I was going!

It was one of the hardest things I ever done. The weather was beautiful. There was snow blanketing all the trees and everything. A soft snow fell the whole time we were there. It was a pretty dry snow so we didn't get too wet. We started out on the trail, and it was going up hill. My understanding was that we would be going on a flat trail around a lake. However, this trail kept going up and up and up! Out of the seven women, I was definitely the slowest. My lungs were screaming, my legs were screeching, but I kept plodding along. My snowshoes were an older style, and seemed to be real long on me. I felt like I was dragging the mountain up the mountain with me. Fortunately, the guy at the store showed me how to take the back end part off. So I did that. It was a bit better, but still, I was having troubles. About halfway up, one of the ladies suggested I take the snowshoes off completely. So, I did. Victory! I could almost keep up with the ladies then!

After going up the mountain for an hour, we finally asked some snowshoe-ers who were coming down the mountain how far the lake was. It turns out we were on the wrong trail! So I put my snowshoes back on (It started snowing harder, so I was starting to need them) and we came back down the mountain. We stopped for a quick lunch and went out looking for the trail to the lake.

We found the trail and found the lake. The hike wasn't very hard at all. Not nearly as hard as going up the mountain! We hiked for about another hour and built a snowman too. It was a lot of fun.


My legs are still pretty sore. (I did Body Step at the gym this morning and about died!) It was a beautiful trip, a challenging trip. I'm glad I did it!

More beautiful Music and Verses..

I went back to You tube to listen to the song I posted last month. I found another beautiful song that I wanted to share with you all. I hope you enjoy it.



It is always good to remember to Praise Him no matter what.

Sometimes He Calms the Storm

I was going through my computer looking for a certain picture and I found this poem. I don't know who wrote it, but it has a timely message. I hope it comforts you too.



Sometimes He Calms the Storm

All who sail the sea of faith
Find out before too long
How quickly blue skies can grow dark
And gentle winds grow strong
Suddenly fear is like white water
Pounding on the soul
Still we sail on knowing
That our Lord is in control.

Sometimes He calms the storm
With a whispered “Peace be still”
He can settle any sea
But it doesn’t mean He will
Sometimes He holds us close
And lets the wind and waves go wild
Sometimes He calms the storm
And other times He calms His child.

He has a reason for each trial
That we pass through in life
And though we’re shaken
We cannot be pulled apart from Christ
No matter how the driving rain beats down
On those who hold to faith
A heart of trust will always
Be a quiet peaceful place.

How sweet is that?

I haven't been feeling that great lately. A lot of aches and pains due to fibromyalgia and dysmenorrea (sp?).

I was sitting in my office and I guess I moaned. Joseph heard me and asked what was wrong. I told him I hurt. He said, "Let's pray about it!" Then he said the sweetest prayer asking God to heal my hurts.

Awww... out of the mouth of babes... I don't know why I didn't think to pray about it myself! Thank you Lord for a gentle reminder.

Happy New Year!

We're going to be playing games tonite to ring in the New Year. We'll see if we make it or not! We will be reading our blessing jar and writing in our resolution book too.

Here are some of the blessings we are thankful for this past year:

(In no particular order)

Our library
our beds
our apple tree
our couches
our books
Starlight Starbright Foundation
dad's job at the YMCA
a playground
that God help me coach (jmc)
play days with friends
I don't have to stay in the hospital (jmc)
dad being saved from the tree
the white truck
a job for dad
being able to go to family camp
Boyscouts paying to fix the van
Bible
Church
house
car
God
my mom
my dad
my bongo drum
family
friends
Food & Water miracle in Mexico
water
food
toys
baseball
money
God gave us a good church
God gave us a good President
God gave us free icecream and a cheap camp site
God helped me get through my operation (jmc)
God helped me get my bandages off (jmc)
family camping in Centralia
Our trip To Georgia!


My FIAR friends have been thinking about a word for 2008. My word is Anticipation.
I want to look at each and every thing that comes in to my life and anticipate how it can bring glory to God. I want to be open to God working through my life and be excited about it, even if it seems to be a negative aspect.

How is God going to use my family and me to bring glory to Him? That's anticipation!

Just looking through all the words listed was an eye opener for me. I anticipate using many of the words throughout the year!:)
Awareness, Trust, Beauty, Loveliness, Consistency, Gratitude, Contentment, Stewardship, Legacy, Relationships, Compassion, Joy, Refocus, Simplicity, Love, Steadfast, Peace, Perseverance, Brokenness, Grace, Tranquility, Hope, Gentleness, Patience, Strength, Commitment, Great, Courage, Deserve, Excellence, More, Gracious, Purposeful, Fellowship, Discipline, Simplify, Self-Control, Enough, Me, Be Still, Cultivate, Emmanuel, Fight, Motivation, Diligence, Intimacy, Gentle, Compassion,
Kindness, Surrender, Priorities, Repentance, Yes, Unity, Brotherly Love, Listen, Boundaries, Restoration, Giving, Flexibility, Time, Investment, Delight, Genuine, Contentment, Studious, Anticipation, Transform.

Merry Christmas!

I'll be home for Christmas...

What a blessing to be home for Christmas! The kids did great at the hospital. We schooled in the morning and rested in the afternoons and watched tv and played games in the evenings. It went pretty well. Josiah is feeling a bit better. Christalin is getting a cough now. Hopefully she'll pull through without having to be hospitalized. We were blessed with letters and cards from our FIAR ladies and friends from Scouts and church. That was fun to have mail in the hospital!



Right after we got out of the hospital, we were on our way to Georgia! Last August Josiah was the spokesperson for a fundraiser for Children's hospital. While sitting at the table a gentleman tapped Josiah on the shoulder and asked him if he liked hunting. We had never been hunting, but in Scouts they were working on their Hunter education badge. Long story short, this generous gentleman offered to send us all (yes, all 6 of us!) down to Georgia to hunt! What an adventure! We were gone for about 5 days. The boys went hunting and Christalin and I hung out in the beautiful lodge and got to go horseback riding. It is hard to put in words what this trip meant. It sure let us see true Southern Hospitality. Everyone was so nice! Genuinely nice and kind people. We feel we found lifelong friends. We were sad to leave at the end of our stay. What a memory to cherish for the rest of our lives. This whole trip was like a Make A Wish trip!

Now we're home for Christmas. Wow. We're so thankful for wonderful friends new and old and our families. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May this new year bring memories to cherish for the rest of your lives too!