On The Horizon.....

We all have things coming up in our lives

no matter what the season of life we are presently living in.

Some things that are on "the horizon" may be prominent,

and others may be little decisions concerning daily life.

 

Just thought I would share our family

and what we have on "the horizon."

 

Getting ready for winter!

Which means; making sure the snow blower is working, 

finding all of the snow clothes for the kids, getting the sleds out of the barn, keeping a good wood stash for the beloved wood burner that helps keep us cozy.

 

Christmas!

Well, decorations are hung and our tree is up...so pretty. There are several missing bulbs...I'm not naming any names though...{coughLauren}

We celebrate our Christmas here on the 11th....the kids are excited to celebrate Jesus's birthday. 

 

Travel!

We will heading back to PA and will be spending 2 wks!!

Of course we all love love love spending time with family over this special holiday. Noah and Nate have been "counting down" the days for quite a while.

The Hub!

Thankfully Jared has some potential job opportunities in the near future. His funding has been extended where he is at right now. Also, a possible "permanent" position at a college in the mid-west ....great interview....so we will see what comes of this. 

The Kids!

Noah has some upcoming projects for school on his horizon. He is looking forward to making a book for our study on the Ocean and God' s amazing creatures in it.

Nathan is on the horizon of reading independently. I am presently looking into setting up special services for this little guy in the area of speech and language development.

Lauren is on the horizon of being potty trained....Yippee!

And Luke is on the horizon of growing too fast. He is almost able to sit up on his own.....sniff.

 

And Me....

I am doing some homeschool planning for the upcoming months...trying to be organized. And...keeping up with the housework, laundry, etc.. By God's grace trying to be a good wife and mama. Oh and soon-to-be starting up a weight loss something or other .....blah. But it's time....sigh.

 

In the midst of all of our things "on the horizon", I hope as a family that we stay God centered and seek His guidance daily. As often as we fail at this...it is by His grace that we live to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

There's a Little Girl.......

...who loves her Daddy

 And there's a Daddy...

...who adores his little girl

How I describe my lovies.......

My first born is Strong and Sensitive

 

 

My second is Beautiful and Unique

 

My third is Sweet and Sassy

 

My fourth is Happy with Chubby Cheeks

Future Photographer Perhaps.......

 

Noah has shown a growing interest in photography the past couple of years. He makes me smile when I see him dashing out the door with 'his' camera to capture something cool. Could be a deer in the field, or a chipmunk on the stone wall.

On this particular morning, we woke to a beautiful display of ice all around. I love to see him passionate about something at such a young age and I hope to only encourage him through the years. 

I would love to start a blog with solely Noah's photography on it. I am amazed when I upload his camera card to our computer and see all of the beautiful photographs he has taken.  There is something special about seeing life from a 

7 year old's point of view.  

This little man is growing and maturing right before my very eyes....so I am enjoying capturing my little photographer and will treasure these memories always.

 (This is one of my photos from this morning.....keep looking for a post with Noah's blog address to view his photos)

AThankful Nate

 This evening Jared and I were talking to the kids about what we are thankful for. Because "being thankful" is an abstract thought, and Nate doesn't do well with the abstract, he wasn't able to tell us what he was thankful for. And being his Mama, I know my sweet boy quite well and I took some pretty good guesses at what Nate would say had he understood the question. 

Nate is thankful for:

Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch

The Moon

Puzzles

M&Ms

Legos

Graham crackers 

Movies

(Dreamworks, Pixar and Disney)

 

His magnadoodle

(he takes it everywhere)

Splash Lagoon

Puzzles
Dirt

Rocks

When Noah chases him

Riding on Daddy's back

Annie's White Mac-n-Cheese

 

Hills he can roll down

Grandma

Puzzles
Books

Balloons

Granola bars

Snuggling with Luke

His tractor from Pap Pap

 When Lauren plays with his hair

Lincoln Logs 

Puzzles  

Music

Leaf Piles 

Playdough

Big kisses from His Mama

Jesus

Wordless Wednesday

To be Inspired......

 

 Inspiration is all around us.......

  

Just ask Lauren.....

Her big brother inspires her.......

Numbers

The Number of.........

......hours I slept last night

7

 but not all in a row {grin}

......cups of coffee I had today

only 2....sigh

......hours we spent doing school today

2

......gallons of milk we go through in a week

5

......times I said "No" to my toddler today

countless

......cheerios on my kitchen floor at this moment

7

(I'll sweep tomorrow)

......diapers I changed today

12 or so

......times I got into the Word last week

not nearly enough

..bulbs that were broken while decorating our Christmas tree

1

......Christmas presents I have already bought

0

......loads of laundry that I need to do

4

......PBJ's I made last week

10

......granny sweaters (as my hub calls them) that I own

8 

......kisses I have either given or received today

hundreds

......times I have had my hair cut in the past 5 years

0

......pieces of dark chocolate that I have eaten today

2 

{cough}

0k 5....but who's counting anyway?!

Blessings

This is one of my all time favorite photos of my family. On this particular day I was breathing in the Fall air praising God for making me a wife and a mother. I never want to get desensitized by being ho hum about daily life. I want to be grateful and excited every morning for where God has me.....and that means whether I am sweeping cheerios up off of the floor after breakfast, changing a diaper, reading a book to my lovies or stealing a hug from my hub. There is no blessing that is too small and I want to acknowledge them all. As undeserving as I am, God's grace is real and is present every day...every moment, and I hope to never lose sight of that.