She's 8 Months Old!

Cora is 8 months old! This occured while we were away, and I'm just now getting a post done about it! What a crazy month! She has been learning so much it's hard to keep up! She is on the brink of crawling and has also been trying to pull herself up on things!!!!! Might she be walking by Christmas????? She is eating several fruits and veggies, as well as rice cereal and oatmeal was started today! She is learning what "no" means, has graduated to a new/bigger car seat and has learned that EVERYTHING tastes good! :) WE are learning to keep the floors clean and Molly is learning to keep her toys put away! :) She is saying "da-da" and "ma-ma" a lot, though we're not too sure she is associating them with David and I yet. She continues to bring us much joy and we love watching her learn and grow!

Cora's First Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving week in Huntington, WV visiting with David's side of the family. We had a good time, ate way too much food, and had fun celebrating Cora's first big holiday!

Kisses from Mammaw

Cora with Great-Mammaw

Reading with Granddad


Cora's new favorite toy--Tupperware!

Bring on the turkey!

Playing on the floor with Great-Ma-ma

Hello Aunt J!

Why don't I get any turkey? Where's the turkey?

Molly happy with her belly full of turkey

Cora with Great Uncle D and his wife M

Attitude of Gratitude

This is what my husband preached on today. He was a guest preacher at a church near us, filling in for the pastor who was on vacation. David preached about being thankful in ALL circumstances as we're told to in 1 Thessalonians. This is certainly speaks very clearly to David and I. We have failed many times being thankful in our current situation. I mean, does God really expect us to be thankful when things are this hard? Does he really expect us to be thankful when your husband doesn't have a job, you have to apply for WIC so you can afford to feed your baby, you have to do without to make ends meet, barely? Yes, yes he does. He expects us to be thankful in all circumstances, no matter what. What a hard thing to do, huh? With Thanksgiving quickly coming, like in 4 days, I thought maybe it would be fun to write a list of the many blessings God has given me/us this year--this year of extreme difficulty. I was going to title this something different as it was a year ago today that we left the church David was serving and began this long season we find ourselves in. However, after hearing David's sermon this morning I decided to title this differently. And, I'd rather focus on the things we have to be thankful for. So, here's a bit of my list. I'd love to hear about the things you're thankful for from this year!

1. Health--we have been healthy. Cora hasn't been sick at all; David's only had a minor virus; I have not gotten sick; we have been healthy this year.

2. Though we experienced 2 car accidents (one in Dec that involved me and 1 a few months ago involving our parked vehicles) in less then a year from each other we have been able to replace those vehicles with ones that better-serve our family. And, we own them free and clear! Praise the Lord for that!

3. Cora is a wonderful addition to our family and we have so much fun with her! She is learning more and more every day, loves to laugh, loves to smile and is just a joy!

4. In Dec. we were given the meat from a deer that a man we knew literally asked the Lord to bring into his path so he could shoot it for us. We were provided just about a year's worth of meat from that deer. We used the last of it about a month ago. Early last week this same man called to say his granddaughter had shot 2 deer and they wanted to give us the biggest one! All we had to do was pay $50 for processing. That's right, another year's worth of meat for $50! The Lord provides.

5. I am so thankful for my parents and parents-in-law. They have encouraged us, helped us financially and provided clothes, diapers and formula for Cora. They have gone above and beyond what they need to do for us. We are so fortunate to have parents who love us so much.

6. We're thankful for my job. Through this job we've been able to live and we also have health insurance. This has obviously been a good thing!

7. We have a dog, Molly, who brings us so much joy as well. She's had to adjust to Cora and has done a great job doing so! She brings us much laughter and well, we just love her!

8. We have a roof over our head. When we left Bankers we weren't too sure where we were going to go. God was already working behind us and provided us with a home this year. We are living in the empty parsonage of a church just outside of Hillsdale. Our rent has been very low and though we said we wanted to pay the utilities with the rent, we have yet to see a utility bill.

9. We're thankful for my sister and brother-in-law. They, too, have offered much love and encouragement during this time. They have provided us with clothes to borrow for Cora and lots of parenting advice. We are so thankful for such a wonderful sister and brother-in-law.

10. We are thankful for our friends, and prayer partners. You who have stood beside us and have uplifted us with prayers. Thank you.

I hope you will take the time to write down some of the things you are thankful for this year. You'll be surprised that once you get started you just might run out of room! And, you also might realize the year wasn't as bad as you might've thought.

Praise the Lord for his numerous blessings this year!

Mercies...

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning.

New every morning.

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Today is my "baby" sister's 29th birthday! As you can see by the photo, though we are grown adults, we are obviously still kids at heart! :) I love my sister for many reasons. I'm going to attempt to be creative in this blog and see if I can't come up with a way to express some of those reasons. We shall see...

Ravishing--I have always thought my sister was one of the most beautiful girls/young ladies/

women I've ever known. She is ravishing on the outside and even more so on the

inside.

Unswerving love--If my sister loves you, she loves you! There's not a whole lot you can do to

make her NOT love you. I have not always been the greatest sister in the

world and yet, she has always loved me. She loves unconditionally and

fiercely.

Trustworthy--I don't know if you can find a more trustworthy woman in this world. And

because she is so trustworthy she expects the same out of those she knows. She

will trust you unless/until you give her reason not to. She does what she says

she'll do and does it with flare!

Hospitable--Ruthie is great at making those who come into her home feel at home. You become

a part of the family, and you are treated with love and respect. You will also, more

than likely be given a very yummy meal! :)

I don't know--Ok, here's where my creativity is waning...I wish this was the letter "c" as then I

would use the word "creative" which describes my sister to a T. She is so darn

creative that I shutter to think what she'll be thinking when she reads this! :)

She has a knack for coming up with great ideas for running a house, playing with

kids, making a meal more healthy and still tasting good. You don't have to be

around her long to know she is so darn creative!

Excitable--It doesn't take much for my sister to get excited! Whether it's the thought of some

good, gourmet chocolate, or the telling of a good book, or a new accomplishment

of her child, my sister knows how to be excited about the right things! She is

full of joy and lets her joy overflow to those around her. It's hard to not be excited

when you're around Ruthie.

And so, there you have it. Just a glimpse into the things that make my sister who she is. I love her so much. She's more than a sister, she's my friend, my best female friend. Apart from my husband, she knows me the best. I love you, dear Ruthie and am so excited to be able to celebrate you today!!!

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

A Week of Family Fun

My sister, brother-in-law and niece and nephew came to visit us for several days. We had a great time, though I was disappointed to have to be at work for most of their visit. However, they were all kind enough to take photos for me while I was away so I could be a part of the day! Enjoy! :)

Because She's so darn cute...

...and because I can! :) Enjoy!