Busy, Busy, Busy

With 4 Christmas parties, 2 weddings, a children's ministry CD, holidays spent with lots of family, and all the other festivities, we have been busy, busy, busy.  It feels like we haven't stopped since, uh, I don't even remember when!  The month of December especially has thrown me for a loop!  Thus, why I haven't been blogging!  It may take me a while to catch up!  
As for some quick notes of interest:
Amish Friendship Bread- Summer, a friend from church, gave me a starter mix for Amish Friendship Bread at the end of November.  You mush the bag for 5 days, add ingredients on the 5th day, mush it some more for 5 more days and bake on Day 10.  Before you bake it, you make 4 starter mixes with one-cup of batter to give out to friends.  Hence, "friendship bread." Well, the bread was GREAT!  So I decided to keep all four starter mixes and make them for Christmas gifts!  After my Amish Bread craze, I had made 20 loaves of bread, eaten more than I should, and gave out 14 Christmas gifts complete with a loaf of bread, a starter mix, and directions.  It was fun, but I just had to stop the insanity!  So, I disposed of all of the starter mixes I had left.  I sure hope it comes my way again sometime!
Weddings!: We had the pleasure of attending two very special weddings this month. Congratulations to Nate and Danielle Hernandez and Jeff and Ruth McFadden!  Nate and Danielle are basically adopted family.  When Nate was in high school, he needed a place to live and my sister and her husband took him in.  He came to know the Lord soon after and has been such a joy to have in the family!  We were so thrilled to see him marry a beautiful and godly girl and can't wait to see all that the Lord has for you two!  As for Jeff, Jason was actually his junior high leader at a church here in the valley!  After a long courtship, he too has married a beautiful and godly woman, and we have the pleasure of having them join our small group at church.  We pray that God would bless both of your marriages and use them to further His kingdom!

With Heavy Hearts We Say Goodbye to Joneen

Proverbs 31
verses 10 -12: An excellent wife, who can find?  For her worth is far above jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.  
verses 25 -31: Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.  She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her, saying: "Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all."  Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.  Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

The mother of some good friends of ours passed away on Thursday December 20th.  She certainly was a wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and bondservant of Christ that feared the Lord and smiled at the future.  As I read over this well-known proverb, I am struck by her life and how much she resembles this Proverbs 31 woman.  As I watch my friends grieve, I am amazed and refreshed at their eternal hope in Christ and their rock solid faith that their mom has truly gone home.  Through her labor, the gospel truly has been handed down from generation to generation.  Hundreds of people attended her memorial service at our church.  I was so aware of a marvelous woman living a simple life at home, serving her husband, her children, her church, and her neighbors, all for the glory of her Savior.  And this simple life affected the lives of so many.  What a legacy!  O great God, I desire to live my life for You and for Your glory, just like Joneen.  I too want the glorious gospel to be handed down to our children and for them to have saving faith in Jesus Christ!

Psalm 116:15- Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His godly ones.  
Joneen has truly gone home to be with her Savior!

As an added side note, our pastor Rich Richardson, preached an amazing message last Sunday on death and heaven.  It was so helpful!  It is available for free download: The Birth of a Savior and the Death of a Saint.

Check out us elves!

After seeing Tara's little elves, we had to join the fun! Check us out!

Welcome Baby Miah!

Well, it has been a busy busy Christmas season and there is much to blog about, but only time for one post. So, the most important one is the new arrival of our niece Naamiah Ellasae Michaud. This is Jason's younger sister Jenna's fourth baby. She is absolutely precious! Considering the fact that we still haven't met their third child, Toben, we miss them very much and wish we were there to love on all of them. Welcome little miss Miah! God has given you a wonderful and God-fearing family and we can't wait to meet you!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

My niece, Gracie, turned 1 this week! My how time flies! Happy Birthday Gracie! I missed taking pictures at her party, but I will get some and post them soon.

Late Night Appetizers with Good Friends!

Last Saturday we had a wonderful evening at our Care Group Leaders Christmas party at church! I am so thankful for our church and the way they care for our souls and envision us for the work of Christ! Afterwards, Jason and I joined our good friends Jon and Lory and Chris and Tara at Chili's for some late night food and laughs. We had a great time! Here is a picture of us girls. I don't even think we stopped laughing for the picture! Also, we had two Christmas parties last week and I wanted to say thanks to the Pettits, and Danae and Ruth for offering to watch our girls. We were blessed by your willingness to serve!

The Christmas Spectacular!

Last Friday, my in-laws took John, Jessica, their three girls, Jason, myself, Abby, and my niece Madison, to the Dodge Theater to see the Christmas Spectacular. It was a great production! The real Rockettes performed, their was a lot of great music, costumes, and very imaginative sets and dances. The best part was that they devoted a significant portion of time at the end to do a full-blown Nativity scene and told the real Christmas story. They even said that it was the true meaning of Christmas and quoted Scripture and everything! Abby loved it! It held her attention for the whole 2 hours and when it was over she said, "Again!" She melted my heart that evening in her adorable dress, with really curly hair (it was humid and raining outside), and clapping after every scene. Hooray for a daughter who enjoys the theater! Thanks Gary and Dee for a beautiful evening!