Happy Thanksgiving

As I lay in bed tonight, I am so thankful for my amazing family. We were able to be together this year and it was so fun and so special. I lay here thanking God for my them and the time we get to spend together.


Although I did miss my other family as the crazy times in Cedar Rapids, I am 100% sure this is where we were supposed to be this year.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving

18. Laughs around the table with family

19. Christmas decorations (even if a strand of lights on the tree are out)

20. A willing husband who will Black Friday shop!

A few more gifts

14. Times spent with little ones

15. The laughs of a special little girl

16. the sunset

17. The company of a lil pup when you are sick

Todays little gifts

Im sitting at my grandmas house today reading more of the book One Thousand Gifts and in the background is my husband yelling. Not at me...at the TV!!

11. My husbands passion for Michigan football

12. Baggy sweatpants

13. A fun handshake with a friend

It's crazy how God show us joy in the little things. Where are you finding your joy today??

1000 Gifts: God is good

Today I'm feeling better...blessed. This book is really showing me how I can find God's grace and gifts in the small things.

7. The warmth of the sunshine on your face

8. Laughter

Every Thursday night I have a small group of college girls. It's a journey group where we tell our testimonies..our stories. Tonight was a great reminder of Gods gifts

9. Gods love no matter where we are in life

10. A safe place to be real

I am excited to see what God reveal to me tomorrow

One Thousand Gifts

My mom recently...well, not so recently, gave me this book called One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Fully Live Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. Its a great book about giving God thanks for the gifts He has given us.

I was reading a friends blog yesterday and she talked about this book and has started to write down the things she is thankful for...her gifts from God. It challenged me to do the same. I have decided that I will keep a journal, one on my blog of my one thousand gifts. Im challenging myself to look for the gifts God has blessed me with. The things that bring joy to my life. Some gifts will have pictures, other wont. Here goes nothing!!!

Iwill start with the most obvious

1. My family-

Where would I be without them!

2. The Lake

3. Brent.

4. Marley.

He is full of unconditional love

5. The smell of rain coming through an open window.


6. The way a rose looks in full bloom

Boys will be boys!

We spent the past week with the Uphaus boys. This is always our favorite week of the summer. They have so much energy and are always going going going!! We spent most of out time out on the water either wakeboarding, tubing or playing in the water. Brent with the boys

Trying to get a picture of all 5 boys on the tube.

After many failed attempts...we got a picture!

Reece loved tubing!

Getting ready to wakeboard. They all killed it this week!

Cole got enough air to grab his board!

Lots of fun hang out times on the boat!

And lots of hang out time in the house playing pool, the Wii and annoying the dogs!

We always have such a great time with the 3 boys. They truly hold a special place in our hearts. I hate so much that we are so far away from them and only get to see them several times a year. They are growing up so fast. Their daddy would be so proud.

Mountains, Love and Laughter

At the end of June, 6 of us piled in a van and made the 9 hour drive to Denver Colorado! We were going out for a friends wedding and decided to make a little vacation out of it! We traveled with our friends Lonnie and Patti and then two MNU students, Gordie and Chris. We packed a lot into 3 days but well worth it. It was a crazy trip with a lot of laughs! Here we go!

First to fall asleep!

We were able to get tickets to a Rockies game. We had great seats and the weather was really nice. The Rockies won in extra innings!

Best nacho's ever

I had to have my picture with this man. His mustache was amazing!

Friday, Jordan took off work to show us around Denver. Our first stop...Red Rocks!

Our sons!

Such a beautiful view

Our next stop was to the fire house where Jordan's dad works. We got a tour of the fire house and a lesson on the fire truck and the equiptment they use. We all tried on Jim's fire suit. Needless to say it was too big!

This is Brent in Jim's fire suit

THis is me in it!

Jim and the other fire men like to pull pranks. This one involves a bar they go to a lot. This sasquatch has Jim's face on it! This is hanging out front of the bar for all of downtown Denver to see!!

When we got back, Jordan took the boys off roading in his jeep around their property.

Then the best part! We went shooting! I had only shot a gun once in my life so I was pretty excited and pretty scared. I loved it and want to own a gun now. Plus, Im not a bad shot!

I am obsessed with the Olympics so on Saturday before the wedding Jordan, Gordie, Brent and I went to the Olympic Training Center.

Me in front of Michael Phelps wing span.

Our reason to go out to Co was to attend the wedding of one of Brent's RA's from last year. This is the beautiful couple Kevin and Ashley. It was a beautiful ceremony and a great reception!

Have to have a "U" picture

The wedding was in Colorado Springs and we were expecting to see a lot of smoke from the fires. We didn't see a whole lot. Here is a picture with a little smoke coming up from behind the mountains.

Fun at the gas station! We made SEVERAL stops!