My Girls

As we head into this week of thankfullness I am especially blessed. God has granted me friendships that I treasure. Sure half of the people in that picture are related but really we all five feel like family. You know the ones you can be totally crazy with and they still claim you. The laughter I have shared with these women will last me a lifetime. Thanks for all the smiles ladies. I pray we have a lifetime of memories together.

Old Friendships, New Generation

I love it when you run into people you knew from the "younger" days. Corey Rutelonis (sorry if the spelling is wrong) and I just reconnected after about 13 years. We were in the same youth group in high school. It turns out we both live in Puyallup now and our sons are on the same soccer team this winter. I didn't even know it until Jessica, his sister, came up to me at the fourth game. I was one of her Youth Group leaders and she is married now. YIKES!! Although most of the kids that I was a leader to are married now and have children too. For those of you who knew Corey he is doing great. He is married to Amy (who is so nice) and they have three beautiful children. His older two are about the same ages as my younger two. Jayce, seen below with Jordan, is full of energy and got two goals today at their game. Way to go Jayce.

Those days seem so far away. I wouldn't go back for anything. But I do appreciate the friendships and acquaintances that sometimes find their way back into my life. I hope that Amy and I get to plan that playdate soon.




As far as soccer goes, today was the last game and awards ceremony. Jordan had a blast again this fall. He got two goals over the season and today they won their last game 6 to 0!! Great way to end the season.

Got Joy??

It was a success. For those of you who don't know the Lord has really placed women's ministry on my heart for the last year. I had gone to our church leadership last May and asked them to support starting up some "front porch" kind of activities for women. Well, it wasn't God's timing yet and I had to accept the answer No. I prayed and asked God to give me patience and acceptance to his answer no. Four months later I received a phone call out of the blue from our women's ministry lead asking me to consider helping lead an events team to do just that. It was a yes on my end and the excitement of helping women connect to each other took on a life of its own.

So, with that, we just had our first event which was a brunch last saturday. Now although the week leading up to it was filled with attempts to ruin everything from so many different angles, God is so faithful. It couldn't have been better. Jillian Douglas, pictured below with her two daughters, did an amazing job of sharing her story. She was an inspiration to all of us. Her daughter has Neuroblastoma and the story of their last 27 months is a true testament to God's ability to carry us when we cannot function. He is there holding us even though at times we can't find him. Our lives are a testament to God's power and His strength and His love for all of us. I am challenged again to live each day trying to remember that it's about more than me. It's about more than what I see or feel or go through.

Anyway, Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Even the hidden ones!! Thankyou Jillian for giving us a glimpse of what it means to have true joy. What it means to trust in the face of the unknown. What it means to cling to our Savior.

Love It!

Well, amidst the craziness, Mikayla and I found time to get our hair cut today. We both had really been needing them so we went for it. The other two didn't necessarily enjoy sitting through it and my new neighbor (who cut our hair) thinks we are insane but we look darn cute!