Lately

hi all,

sorry to have neglected the blog for a while. i don't really have an excuse except for just being LIFE! like i said last post, jacob and i really had an awesome christmas and are still trying to get geared up for this new year. we are really enjoying our new church (hopefully to join after completing a membership class), and have just joined a homegroup with about 6 other couples/families. we are the one of the few that do not have any kids, yet!!! but i know we will in God's timing.

we are planning a trip in march, i say for his birthday, to San Antonio to see the Spurs and Cavaliers play!!!! we are so excited! we haven't really done anything like this since we've been married, so i'm so glad that this is something we can do together and both enjoy! we plan also on hanging out with the McFarland's in Branson at the end of July, and then hopefully either before or after, taking a trip to Pennsylvania and Massachusettes! these are 2 places i've never been, and jacob is really excited to take me and get to see his grandmother and aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

jacob is working really hard and enjoying his job!(sometimes)! i am so blessed to have a husband who is such a hard worker and provider for our family. he is going to make such a wonderful dad someday because he really does put everyone else before himself. i can't wait for that next stage in our lives...but i need to be patient and know that God has big plans for us in His time.

duke is still growing and maturing, but will always be just a fun-loving puppy. we have been debating on whether or not to get him a boxer brother or sister, but have not been brave enough to get another dog. i think he could use the company since we are gone to work so much, but then i think of all the chaos that 2 boxer babies could cause! if we decide to, we would like to RESCUE a boxer to give a better home to and avoid that "puppy" stage that can be a nightmare. we'll keep you updated on that discussion.

anyway...that's about it for now. sorry, no new photos. but LIFE IS GOOD and ours is SUPER BLESSED!

love you all,

christmastime

i sure do love this time of year! it definitely went by too fast like always, but we were blessed to be able to spend time with both jacob's side and my side of the family! i won't write too much and get on to the pictures, but God has blessed us once again this year and i'm sure He has lots of great things planned for us in 2010!

We start off with a picture from my birthday dinner with mom & dad!

 

 

The next weekend we took our nephews Thomas & Elijah to the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Texan!

 

BRRR it was sooooo COLD!!!!

Uncle Jacob took Thomas golfing at the golf course in our neighborhood!

Then we got to spend almost an entire week in Brownfield with the McFarland side!!

Then after a 9 hour drive in the snow and ice, we made it to Fort Worth to have Christmas with my family!

And I can't help but put a picture of the cutest boxer boy you will ever see! He's even become such a good dog over the past few months! Casey and Aric even like him, hahaha!

I wish I could put every picture we took up, but that might take me days! We had such an amazing Christmas and we hope God blesses each of you in the New Year!

Lots of love,

SNOW!!!!!

I just can't go on without saying what a pleasant surprise it was to wake up this morning with some of the biggest snowflakes falling, not to mention it was on my BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!! I don't ever remember getting snow on my birthday. It was a beautiful sight though! Knowing I can stay home today on my day off and enjoy the scenery. This was Duke's first snow, and he wasn't too sure what it was, but he knew he liked to eat it! This quote is from one of my new friends on facebook: 

Snow is my own personal reminder of the Lord's faithfulness - to remind me that God is faithful to make all things good and that He alone is the original creator and initiator of all things beautiful. Let it snow!

Here are some pics of the snow and of Abby Kate, who had her birthday 4 days ago. I will update with more pics after Ellary and Abby's breakfast birthday party in a few weeks!
Love you all!

*Lynds

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Such

purpose

We had an amazing morning at church this morning. I really felt that God has shown me that our church is right where He wants us to be! It's truly an amazing feeling, but now I feel like I need a purpose in His will. He has given Jacob and I this new church home, but we need to step up and create relationships with people and find out how He wants us to serve. This morning we made a decision to give what we feel like is a substantial gift in the form of money for the Give Your Life Away Campaign at Providence Church. This campaign was started to raise money for the completion of our new church building. It is an amazing feeling to be able to give, but I feel like we should not only give money, but ourselves.
As I pray about it, I would like for you all to as well, that God would place the act of serving on our hearts.
I pray that God will provide what we need in order for us to give our lives away for Him. And I have FAITH that He will. I feel like this has been a growing experience for me, but I also want to really become part of this church home and be surrounded by new friends in Christ. We have yet to really let that happen, and I need God to open up our hearts and minds to give us comfort to open up and really get to know new people.

A verse from one of the songs we sang today:
"Take my life and let it be all for YOU and for your GLORY, take my life and let it be YOURS..."

I want to have the right PURPOSE in this life...for HIM!

Love,