And.....here it is!

We had a chance to take a family picture after church the weekend of Addy and Joe's wedding. The snow sure added a Christmasy touch.

Stockings

Stockings

Here are the stockings I made for Addy's family and for Lindsey's family.

Winter Tree

Taken 12/5/2011

Oh what a beautiful day

We are so happy to be Husband and Wife!

Peter snuggles

We still look nervous! LOL

I am trying not to cry....

Faith and RJ (Joe's sisters Tina son, my new nephew)

Faith was so proud

I love that i am behind in though the door

The Girls before the wedding

SistersWinter is so cute!

The amazing sisters who did so much work and were so helpful when decorating the church! Thank you so much for everything you did. They look so cute all in blue!

Scripture Memorization Challenge - December

Tip #12 Review, review, review. Quote the verses often, asking God for deep understanding and seeking to apply each verse to your life.

December's Scripture theme is Witnessing

Romans 1:16 (NIV) I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentiles.

resource: Topical Memory System by The Navigators

Thankful

We are so thankful for our family!

Happy Thanksgiving from Indiana.

Drumstick Dash Success!

So thankful to have legs and lungs to run!

Drumstick Dash

This year there will be a large number of us running & walking the Drumstick Dash!

The race benefits Wheeler Missions which helps to feed those who are hungry in Indianapolis.

Happy Thanksgiving To Everyone!

Portrait of God

It was a fun day.  I had the opportunity again to lead worship at church again this morning (about once to twice a month).  Here are the songs we led with:  Amazing Grace (grand piano, cello, vocals), Hold Me Now by Jennifer Knapp, Everything by Lifehouse, How He Loves by John McMillan, and 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman.  Our church, (Tim, Sarah, and I all attend the same church) has been making its way through a series called A Portrait of God, which examined some of the main pictures the Bible paints of God.  We studied God who Calls, God who Forgives, God who provides, God who dwells among, God who creates, and God who teaches.  It was a great series and we capped it off with a trip to the DIA today to see the opening day exhibition of the Face of Jesus by Rembrandt.  It was fascinating and I would recommend it to anyone who is in town.   

(Alan, Amanda, & Asher, Tracy, Alicia & David in front of the Diego Rivera Murals)

A star is born!

Here is PJ in his sweater from Aunt Emily. Isn't he a cutie!

Three New Friends at my Door!

I came home today to find a very large box at my door. I opened it up and found three new friends! How wonderful!!!!Carol thank you thank you thank you!!! They are wonderful!!! Carol has made me three cutout mannequins for the store and I LOVE THEM!!!!!! I had to put on the sweaters I made for the Girls right away just to see how they look. I really want to thank you Carol for sharing your talents with me and the store. They will make their debut at the store in the windows for Christmas. I can't wait to bring them. You are very kind to make these for me and what fun I will have dressing them over the years.



I am so thrilled thanks again Carol so very much: Emily

Pass It On: Vocabulary

My Dad passed down to me his love for vocabulary.  When he was in town last month he made sure to tell me about 2 new words he was trying to readily incorporate into his every day vocabulary.  I was excited to hear about them.

On dictionary.com they showed the 5 most obscure words thus far for 2011!

tergiversation verb (used without object), -sat·ed, -sat·ing.

1.     

to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respectto a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.

2.

to turn renegade.

internecine adjective

1.

of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group: aninternecine feud among proxy holders.

2.

mutually destructive.

3.

characterized by great slaughter; deadly.

zugzwang noun Chess.

a situation in which a player is limited to moves that cost piecesor have a damaging positional effect.

Origin: 1900–05; < German, equivalent to Zug move + Zwangconstraint, obligation

quietus noun, plural -tus·es.

1.

a finishing stroke; anything that effectually ends or settles:Having given a quietus to the argument, she left.

2.

discharge or release from life.

3.

a period of retirement or inactivity.

Origin: 1530–40; < Medieval Latin quiētus quit (in quiētus est (he)is quit, a formula of acquittance), Latin: (he) is quiet, at rest (seequiet¹); compare quit¹ (adj.)

oppugnancy adjective

opposing; antagonistic; contrary.

Scripture Memorization Challenge - November

Tip #11 Write the verse in HUGE script on a big piece of paper, on several pieces of paper, with a dry erase marker on you bathroom mirror, on a chalkboard, anywhere it can be big!  It will take you a while to write it out and it will start to stick!

November's Scripture theme is Witnessing

Matthew 4:19 (NIV) "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

resource: Topical Memory System by The Navigators

Good News!

Hello everyone!

We have good news to share! Ryan has been hired for an exciting new job. He'll be starting Monday as Project Coordinator at Security-Luebke Roofing. http://www.ribblegroup.com/ Six weeks ago he lost his job of 13 years due to downsizing. It came as a complete and utter shock but we feel so blessed that Ryan has this new opportunity. In this economy, job market and also heading into winter (typically a slow time in the construction/roofing industry) this is a very short time to be unemployed and to land such a great job is amazing! This company is growing and very progressive -- in fact, they weren't advertising for an opening. Ryan sent his resume to all the area companies he was interested in working for. Security Roofing was planning to hire a new manager at some point in the near future, and when they received his resume, they called him, went through the whole interview process and the rest is history! As difficult as this journey has been, we have felt through this whole ordeal that God has a grand plan and we just need to trust that everything will work out the way it's meant to be. We are looking forward to this new chapter and are so thankful for the love and support of family!

Love, Joy

Autumn Is Here

Pictures for GG

Peter Peter pumpkin eaterWho wouldn't want to pick that pumpkin in the garden?

Faith and Peter

Scripture Memorization Challenge - October

Tip #10 Practice doing what the verse says.  In this particular verse, for instance, you could thing of a way to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

October's Scripture theme is Fellowship

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV) And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

resource: Topical Memory System by The Navigators

Tin Can Trailers

On Saturday I was driving through Milford when I spotted a sign that said "Vintage Trailer Show" and so I just had to stop. The gentleman manning the gate let me through for free since I just wanted to stop for a short time (thank you very much). One day I hope to have a tear drop trailer!

DIY Fair

This past weekend I spent all of my time in this little booth selling my photography for Haiti Has Hope! My friends Alan and Amanda own a print and production company called Unfolding Creative and they rented the booth for the fair and asked me to be their featured artist. Both Alan and I displayed and sold our artwork. It was really a lot of fun and a lot of work! We ended up raising a good amount of money for Haiti Has Hope! I am so grateful. This is a picture of our booth on Saturday night. That evening I sold several of the prints such as the big peacock and the picture of the fern.

Here is our booth on Friday night as we were setting up and still framing photographs! The Red Chevy sold that night! It was really exciting. Below is the sign that Alan made for me to help explain what Haiti Has Hope is. The picture at the bottom is one of my favorite photos of the Delmas 2 neighborhood in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Amanda and Alan had their first baby 2.5 weeks ago. He was with us all weekend and proved himself to be the most valuable market tool. People would come running in just to see Asher and leave with photos in their hands!

Fabulous Falcon Marching Band!

In light of Michigan State's most recent football......troubles, Tim and I thought we could take a minute and bring some attention to the other part of the football experience that is so often overlooked. The band!! :)

This past weekend, Tim and his fabulous Rochester High School Falcon Marching Band took part in a band experience unlike any other. The football teams of Rochester High School and Rochester Adams High School - cross-town rivals - had played each other for decades. But recently, the powers that be reorganized the football schedule. So, last year Tim and his best friend Jim (the trumpeter at our wedding and the band director at Rochester Adams HS) decided to make sure that the students, bands and parents were still able to enjoy a little cross-town competition.

As a result, last Friday night, for the second year in a row, Tim and Jim brought their bands together for a little "battle of the bands." The bands start the night by playing their pre-game shows, then kids from each band play a little touch football. Each band then plays their full half-time show, followed by another bit of touch football. The night ends with both bands playing a few songs together. It's great fun - and this year, a local news publication picked up the story. You can follow the link here to read the article and see a video of the night.

http://rochester.patch.com/articles/in-this-football-game-the-brass-drums-and-woodwinds-were-the-stars#video-7799075