Feeling Better...

Thank you for your prayers...we are feeling much better!!  I'm so grateful that our latest health setback just seemed to be a 24hour bug!  The next day we were still a little worn down but feeling well enough to go out, get some fresh air, and finally enjoy some SNOW!!!

 

 We only got a couple of inches but it was enough for Joe to use the snow blower and it was absolutely perfect packing snow.  Snow angels were made...

Eli didn't quite get the hang of if right away- he just sort of laid there not moving. After watching another demonstration from Lily he did figure out how to move his arms (maybe he'll figure out the legs next time)!:)

And swinging is fun in any weather with a little help from Sis.

And because the snow was just perfect for it we HAD to make our first snowman of the year...

But our snowman actually turned out to be a girl! Lily named her Jewel (because of her tiara) and here's Lily giving Jewel a little hug! And even though we were a little wiped out we managed to really enjoy the snow we've been waiting for for so long- so we kept going and even started building a snow fort- but we didn't quite finish it yet so you'll have to wait for those pictures! Nothing like a little snow and fresh air to whisk those germs away (hopefully for good this season)!

Forgotten Photos

While looking for the picture of Eli on the tire swing the other day I found these pictures that I had totally forgotten about.  They were taken the same day as the tire swing pictures- just a little earlier in the day.  We were down visiting Joe's family and had some time in the morning so we decided to go out and explore Fort Edgecomb which wasn't too far away.  Looking back on these pictures reminds me just how much I love Maine- the coast, the water, the changing of the seasons, the history- it's just an incredible place to explore!

I'm an optimist, but...

I'm an optimist and I generally look at things from a positive point of view.  But this is becoming ridiculous even for me.  I've been sick for well over a month now and I was just starting to feel mostly better (with just a few, small lingering symptoms).  And then yesterday Joe had a migraine all day and was feeling a bit sick to his stomach (not uncommon when he gets migraines).  At 11p.m. though Lily started throwing up (poor thing threw up in her bed)- and that continued a few times throughout the night.  And then at 4a.m. I started feeling it too.  At first I wondered if I was just imagining it- I had, after all, been watching Lily, rubbing her back and holding her hair while she was sick a few times.  But no, it seems that the stomach bug has hit our house.  Joe is actually feeling somewhat better today and Eli, thankfully, seems fine.  Lily and I are not doing nearly as well and the two of us have spent pretty much the whole day in bed or laying in the living room watching cartoons, drinking ginger ale, and eating Saltines.  It just seems so ridiculous to me that I almost have to laugh- except I sort of want to cry too.  Clearly our immune systems are just down for the count and can't seem to recover enough from one virus before being exposed to another.  Kinda makes me want to just huddle up in our house for a few weeks and not be exposed to anyone or anything else...but that's really not our style- we are a family that needs to get out!  So instead could you pray for us that we would get healthy and stay that way for a bit and also that Eli wouldn't get this crud we have. 

Because it's so hard for me to post without sharing pictures I'll leave you with my final editing assignment (which I finished thankfully before the stomach bug hit).  Some of you might remember this picture I shot of Eli in October as Joe's sister's house.  It was a fun challenge!  Enjoy.  I'm going to eat some crackers for dinner.

Before:

After:

I'm Exhausted...

I know it's been a bit since I posted and that's simply because I'm exhausted.  I've been sick for over a month now, we've been traveling for family get-togethers, and there has been major things happening with the ministry and major decisions being made which has left me feeling rather physically and emotionally drained.  AND I'm wrapping up my photography editing class.  Usually this time of year is pretty low key for us so I though it would be a good time to take this class...ha, I couldn't have been more wrong- but you just can't plan for these things!:)

So, since I'm behind on everything else I thought I could at least share the pictures from my assignment last week.  Here they are...

Before:  Eli kicking back and watching Curious George

The Edit: In color and black & white:

Before: A little cowboy and a little cowgirl

After: The edits in color and black & white

Today

"I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.  You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy."

- John 16:20

What Our Future Holds

Tomorrow (Valentines Day) would have been the due date of our daughter Joy.  When we first lost her it seemed so hard to believe, almost impossible, that I wouldn't be holding her in my arms on Valentines Day.  And now, oddly, it seems almost as hard to believe that I could have been having a baby tomorrow.  And either way my life is not what I would have expected if you asked me a year ago.  I was thinking about that this evening and remembering once again that I don't know what my future holds.  As much as I love to plan and hope and dream I am a fool to think that I am ultimately in control of my future.  Sure, God has given us much freedom and I have much influence and responsibility over my life but I am not the one who controls it or guides it's course.  I am grateful that a year ago I didn't know what the year would bring.  And now, as much as I would love some direction and to know the course of our future I have to trust that still to the Lord.  I can, and should, make plans and prepare so long as I hold those plans loosely with an open hand.  This could be a big, eventful year for us- but truth be told I don't really know.  But I know the One who does.

One Fish, Two Fish, 3,4,5...and Six

Last weekend we went ice fishing with friends of ours- the same ones that we went ice fishing with last year (I think we must make it a tradition)!  It was so much fun.  Eli was excited from the moment he and Joe brought home the bait the night before- he just loved watching the fish swim around in the bucket.  The morning we went though got off to a rough start when we discovered that Joe's ice auger was at a friend's house- which meant a lot of extra driving.  The road leading to the pond was horrible and icy and took twice as long to drive as it should have- so long that Eli fell asleep on the way there.  And once we got there is was windy and brisk.  When the family fishing next to us said they hadn't caught much I sure had my doubts about how well our ice fishing trip with the kids would go.  But we did have our portable ice shanty with a heater (a must, I think, when doing stuff like this with little ones), and our box of munchkin doughnuts (also a must)!  And despite our initial doubts this turned out to be our best ice fishing trip yet!  All of the kids were really excited about every step in the process from watching the holes be drilled, to scooping the ice from the holes, to helping pull the lines.  The cold didn't really bother them at all and they happily came running whenever an orange flap popped up!  Of course they also enjoyed running around the pond, being pulled in the sled, climbing up the hill, warming up in the shanty, and eating doughnuts- but I really think they loved the excitement of catching the fish the best.  Lily reeled in the first fish and it didn't take much convincing to get her to hold her fish this year (Eli, on the other hand was interested but also a little scared of the fish flopping around on the ice)!  And each of the kids (Eli included) got a chance to reel in a fish!  After a couple of hours out on the ice (yes, they made it that long) we caught 6 beautiful brook trout and I think we easily could have kept catching more!  And in the end Eli did touch one of the fish!  Our trip ended with a little sledding down the hill and fish in the freezer for dinner another night!