Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas 2010

This Christmas (December 2010):
  • Isaiah was 10 months old.
  • My parents came to visit from Ft. Benning, GA.
  • My brother Matthew and his wife Cari have been married a year.
  • Cari is expecting her first baby in May.
  • Luke has finished his first semester of college.
  • It snowed.
And now for some pictures:


Christmas Dinner

Isaiah walking

messy boy


loving on my uncle matthew



i think this happens like every year...



reading the Christmas story with papa



new bath toys


has it really been?

Has it really been...

A week ago that I read my cousin's birthday blog? 
Ten months ago since Isaiah was born?
A year and 2 days since Christmas?
A week since the Christmas choir program?
A month ago since Thanksgiving?
Two months since my trip to North Carolina?
6.5 years since I bought my second car (which I recently traded for this)?

Has it really been an entire year since I graduated from WKU?
Has it really been 6 years since I moved back to Kentucky from Alaska?
Have my brother and his wife been married for a year already?

And the list could go on and on and on and on... God has done such wonderful things in my life.  I don't really think about these things while they happen, but looking back on this year and previous years, I see how God has worked in my life.  I see how even small things are important in God's plan.  Thing is, God cares about me.  About me!  And, the awesome thing is, He cares about you too! 

It is ultimately about love.  God has taught me to love through sacrifice.  He taught me through His sacrifice, and through having to sacrifice so much for a new baby.  I've given up sleep, eating, time alone, reading, watching t.v., taking hours to get ready... And all because I love my baby so much.  God gave up so much more.  He gave up His entire life.  We think, "oh He died for us. That's great..."  But Christ did so much more! First, He came to this Earth!  How humble is that?!  Then, He had to live as a human.  That's not easy!  He had to be the perfect sacrifice.  And He was tempted.  He loves us with a love so deep and wide, that we cannot even fathom that love.  We cannot even begin to understand that kind of love.  And He teaches us how to love.  Its not easy.  Love covers all things!  Its amazing what a love that is selfless and sacrificial can do.  That love saved me.  That love can save you.

Has it really been almost 20 years since I learned of God's love?

I love to remember the day that I learned of God's love.  It seems so long ago, but I remember that day as if it was yesterday.  And the years have gone by so fast.  So, as I look forward to the New Year, I want to take a moment to remember things of this year and years past.  We are always so anxious to set a resolution (which is usually pointless).  We are so eager to celebrate and watch the ball drop as we countdown the minutes and seconds to midnight.  But, we often fail at looking back on our past year/s.  I never thought of it this way before, but I think we should take a moment to remember.  God gave us memories.  Memories bring back so many different emotions.  Sometimes memories enable us to do better in the future.  The way I see it, they are important.  So, this year, I will take some time to remember.  And... maybe... just maybe... I'll post my memories. 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

my year on facebook.

So I found this great facebook application in which you can basically summarize your year with facebook posts... thought it was neat, so I did it!  You can also pick posts to share in the summary, but I just let the application put it together for me. Thought I'd share. Its pretty interesting to look back on the year through my facebook posts!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

the last time...

The last time I made any of this...


was when I was barely a kid!  My mom bought a kit (it seems like it was for Christmas), and we melted candy, put it in the molds, and let it set.  Then we devoured every piece of chocolate.  Well, I'm pretty sure my madre melted and poured the candy into the molds, then I added the plastic stick (look at picture)... Candy on a stick.  What's cooler than that?!  Well, I had a great coupon for a kit at Michael's. So, I bought one! And, let's just say, it was a huge mess.  And the results look nothing like the pictures on the box...  So, here you go:

the mess... and it only got worse.

chocolate snowflake.


apparently, you're supposed to be able to use the little blue
paintbrush in the picture to "paint" colors of chocolate
on each candy so that it looks something like the Santa Clause
wearing a red hat in the picture above.  (Yeah right!)

i'm certain that the chocolate is supposed to be in the mold,
not all around the outside! but i couldn't smooth the chocolate without
extra, and then it got all over the mold...


So, there you go. I DO NOT recommend doing this!  Just buy candy. Although with another person, this could ultimately be fun.  Making this with kids would also be entertaining. Just be prepared to clean up a huge mess... and I mean a HUGE mess.  Other than that, if you do have the patience, go for it.  Otherwise, steer clear of this little project.  I started this an hour ago, and so far I only have 6 chocolates done.  Yay.