Christmas - We are the reason

Well, it was a great day. My parents were here, the girls received some awesome gifts, the weather was cool...just a great day. The only thing missing was my sister's family & Mr. A's family...but you can't have everything.

I have to remember the real reason for the season was Christ sending His son, Jesus for us. As our pastor says, we are the reason for the seaon. Jesus came to save us...we were His reason.

Thank you God that I was your reason for sending your son. You sent Him for me! There are no other words...thank you!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

I tried to get Christmas cards out this year...obviously for those of you who didn't receive cards, I didn't do such a great job at it. I only had 8 stamps so I mailed the first 8, but then didn't have any time to go to the post office. By the time I made it to the post office, I couldn't remember who the 8 were that I sent cards to so I just gave up.

To those who know us, we are truly sorry for not getting cards out this year. I feel awful. Christmas cards are one of my most favorite things during the season. I love hearing what is going on in peoples lives and I love...love....love...seeing pictures. Can I say it again ....LOVE IT!

Again, our deepest apologies if you were missed. Know that in our hearts we had the best of intentions.

Grandparent's arrive...must be close to Christmas

My parents arrived today from California. They are here until Jan. 3rd. Don't know what we are going to be doing while they are here but we are glad to have them. We don't get to see them very often so we are glad when they get to come out.

Holidays just aren't the same without extended family. Maybe that is because almost all of my holidays growing up had some family member around. My extended family for the most part live within driving distance from each other with most in San Diego or Orange County. My grandma lived 10 minutes away so we always had her over at Christmas at some part of the day unless she was visiting someone else.

From the time of KA's 2nd Christmas, we made a decision to celebrate with everyone together. It was too hard on KA and us to go from house to house and alternate Christmas day/Christmas eve. Someone was always going to get jipped. Luckily for us our families agreed and worked together. No one wanted to miss the kids' at Christmas and it was fun to have everyone in one house. My mother-in-law brought her family traditions and my parents did their family traditions and we made new ones. We knew at some point it would change once our siblings got married but until then, one loud extended family Christmas it was! We also did it for Thanksgiving and Easter too!

I just love having all the families together for the holidays. I thought for awhile that I would love it to be just the four of us, but there is something that is missing. I just feel like it is just another day without all the craziness, loud, family times. Not that the 4 of us can't do it, it just isn't the same. Thanksgiving and Christmas - holidays in general - just aren't the same without the family.

Well, at least I will enjoy my parent's while they are here.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

My baby turned 10 today. I can't believe she is 10 today. I doesn't seem that long ago that I was pregnant with her. I remember walking around Fashion Valley Mall trying to keep labor going so the hospital wouldn' t send me home (which they did anyway).

She was a happy baby, very calm and always smiling! She had and still has, bright blue eyes. Her hair was blonde and curly which as you can see from the picture from this summer, no curls and no blonde anymore.

Currently, we are getting into the attitude...the one where is isn't quite a teenager, but wants to be. That comes with the terriority. Other than that, she is a great kid. Doing well in school and loves life.

Her birthday was pretty low key this year. Family dinner at a chinese restaurant (which was gross) and bowling (however the bowling won't happen until the weekend). We have really tried to make sure she has a birthday and it doesn't get lumped into Christmas. We usually don't put up Christmas decorations until after her birthday, but this season has snuck up on us.

She is the sweetest, most loving kid I know. She will doing anything for you. She is an encourager and wears her heart on her sleeve. I love this kid!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Girls' Trees

their first ornaments on the tree

We decided two years ago to let the girls have their own trees in their rooms which they can decorate. The tree downstairs is basically my tree. It has family ornaments on it but they really need to decorate it the way I want it. The ones in their rooms would be their trees.They could decorate it however they liked. The bonus is they could take the decorations they acquire through the years and take them with them when they leave whether for college or life.

We bought these small trees that were actually meant for outside originally. We couldn't pass them up. They were at Target after Christmas sales for like 10 bucks and there were three of them. We just needed to build a stand for the stake that was at the bottom of the tree. We went round and round about what needed to happen to make these stands. Mr. A decided let's spend a little more money and get them bigger trees (6ft) that came with stands and call it done. Works for me! her finished tree

My mom had sent the girls some ornaments last year - some new and some older. Some were ornaments from my parents tree that my mom had made when my parents married. The girls each had a specific way to put the lights on and the ornaments. It was fun to let them be in charge of their trees. her finished tree

I can't wait to see what other ornaments that will be added to the tree in the next few years.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We put up our Christmas tree and decorated the inside of the house this weekend. Normally we try and wait to put up decorations until after AJ's birthday which is on the 11th, but it takes so much time and effort to put up the decorations I decided to do it a little earlier. It was fun to get out all the ornaments. We have the colored balls that my husband & I bought when we first got married which are jewel tones of purple, teal, gold and white. Then there is the box with all the ornaments the girls have made through the years - the ones with their fingerprints, handprints, pictures, drawings, etc. Those are the ornaments that seem to take a while to put up as we look at each one and remember when they were made.

We also have a memory wreath. My parents gave it to us after AJ was born. It is just a green wreath with lights on it, but the ornaments go on it are memories from our lives. We have an ornament for each girls' birth, our marriage, special times in our lives and vacations. We have the Green Bay Packers ornament from our trip back to Wisconsin to Mr. A's extended family. We have the Hawaiian surf board from when we spent Christmas in Hawaii with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. We have the silver ball with the Mickey Mouse heads to remember our times at Disneyland when we had annual passes. The Veggie Tale ornaments are reminders of when the girls could not get enough of Veggie Tales. Those videos seemed to play non stop in our house for about 4 years.

I realized as I was putting these up why I love Christmas so much. It isn't the colors, decorations, parties and craziness that I love. It is the memories we stop and savor. The times we slow down and remember those crazy vacations, the family who aren't with us anymore, the joys of times in the past and times to come. I cherish each and every one of those memories.

That is why I love this time of year so much!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was pretty low key at our house this year. It was the four of us...we invited some people from work, but they were unable to make it. We decided to go see a movie in the morning, August Rush, which was really good. Not a comedy, very serious, but the music was amazing! Definitely want the sound track when it comes out.

We came home and began making dinner. We deep fried our turkey which was absolutely out of this world! We did the typical sides...mash potatoes, green bean casserole (our favorite), cornbread stuffing and rolls. As we were getting ready to dish up, the sun was setting and it caught my attention. The sky was lit up with pinks, blues, purples. I ran and grabbed my camera and headed outside.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year...
God's plan for us is starting to take place (not like it hasn't before, but we are really seeing it unfold, which is awesome!)
Our health
Our family both near and far -
my sister and her family came home safely from Europe after 4 months away
Mr. A's sister and husband are having a baby in June
We re-connected with Mr. A's dad who will hopefully be moving out here in the spring
My mom has remained cancer free after her bone marrow transplant ( 2 years ago this Thanksgiving)
New friends
Nature - God is always showing me how faithful He is with nature. The sunrise, the sunset, the autumn colors, the breeze, the flowers.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is found in Matthew 6:25-34. I tend to be a worry-wart. I can worry about things when there is nothing to worry about. God has really helped me overcome a lot of this, but it is still something I deal with when problems come and I don't know how to handle it. This passage has helped me tremendously to know that if God cares about the birds, flowers, how much more does He care about me, who was created in His image.

Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Autumn is AWE-SOME

One of the things I have loved living in the south is the change of seasons. In California we really didn't have seasons unless you count the Santa Ana's in the fall and May gray/June gloom in the spring/summer. Out here you can feel the change in the wind, the colors on the trees... it seems to happen overnight.



This fall has been completely awe-mazing (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose). Everywhere you looked the colors on the trees were just popping like fireworks. I was completely in awe. In the morning as I drove to work, the colors on the trees as the morning light hit took my breath away. It was just so beautiful.

This wasn't suppose to happen. We are in a severe drought and with the lack of water, the trees were suppose to go from green to brown. However, the colors came and stayed for at least a week if not longer. The colors are gone now and the trees are dropping there leaves, but I will always remember this fall.

Happy Holidays...

I about hurt myself laughing so hard!

Check this out:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9566343548

Wednesday posts?

I just noticed that every post I have done so far have been done on Wednesdays. I don't know why I do that, but it is amusing!

The Nelson's

On Sunday at church we had our first missionary come and visit. This family is a local NC family who is heading out to language school in December and from there to Venezuela for 2 years. As a church we are supporting them financially, but we are also supporting them physically and emotionally. They are basically an extension of Adventure Life's family.

Chris and Angela are amazing! They are so down to earth and have such a passion for the people of Venezuela. They have the most adorable boys - Ian, Isaiah and Imanuel. Art & I were able to just hang out and talk with them for awhile which was great! They were youth leaders for awhile before deciding to become missionaries so it was fun to share stories about youth ministry.

If you have a chance, go check out their website: www.nelson5missions.com.

Thanksgiving is next week - did you know that?

I came to a realization yesterday...Thanksgiving is next Thursday! Next Thursday....8 days from today. Where has the year gone! We don't even have a turkey yet.

Thanksgiving is pretty small for us now. It's usually just the 4 of us at home hanging out. We might go catch a movie while the turkey is cooking, but other than that it is just us. My uncle and aunt who live 3 hours away have invited us down again this year, but it is just too much. My husband & I both have to work on Friday and traffic is just a nightmare to get down there and back for the day. While I appreciate the invite, we will just do "our" thing.

Introduction

This is my first time posting using a blog spot! I love reading people's blog spots and had fun for the last few months following my sister and her husband on their trip through Europe on their blog spot. I helped set up our church's blog spot, so I thought I would give it a try for our family to help keep family member's in other areas up to date with what's happening.

Why adventurous? Well our family seems to have an adventurous life style. No we aren't jumping off cliffs (like my sister) or hiking some great mountain. We are "adventurous" in the fact that we left our "home" and everything/everyone we knew in California three years ago and moved to North Carolina. Why...because God called us. To do what, we didn't know. We had no jobs, no friends, no family (with the exception of an uncle and aunt who lives 3 hours away) but we obeyed and moved. That first Christmas in NC our Christmas letter was all about our "adventures" driving cross country, buying our first home, getting settled, culture shock, and just our day to day adventures as we started this new time in our lives.

Here we are 3 years later with jobs, house (that we are trying to sell) and we have finally found out what we were called to do. We are helping plant a church in the Garner/Clayton area of NC (which is why we are selling our house - to move closer to the church area). The church's name is Adventure Life Church. No we didn't help pick it out, but it does seem to fit us very well. It is a small congregation (6 families so far), but I can't tell you how excited we are. We are tired - I had no idea how much work goes in to starting a church, but happy! Yes, there are frustrating times, but all in all, I am excited to see where this "adventure" is leading us.

For friends and family, I am going to post pictures occasionally, but this will be a place that you can come and check in on us and see what is going on with our lives. I haven't been great about writing letters or emailing so I figure this might be the next best thing.

Thanks for taking this "adventure" with us!