Christmas 2009

Jason and I had a great Christmas at his grandma's this year! It was wonderful being with each other and enjoying some time off. We spent a lot of time outside too which was very nice!



This is my favorite pic I took out at the farm. It's actually upside down right now, but it really plays with your mind when you have it this way! I just love my new camera and feel I'm learning more every month (or season!).


Jason went dove hunting over the break (I didn't b/c it was way too cold and the warm bed sounded much more fun to me). One morning when he got back he decided to jump the tank next to the house and got two ducks as well! Now that's my kind of duck hunting; anything to avoid sitting in the dark and cold all morning long!

On Wednesday night, we had a huge wind storm here in Houston. We ended up having to drive in it on Thursday as we headed out to the farm (Christmas Eve). We loaded down the truck with our bunny, the two dogs and then two puppies (plus suitcases and Christmas presents, etc). We met a family picking up one of the pups in Taylor and about blew away as we got out of the truck! Then we headed out to his grandma's. We had been at the house for a couple of hours and then we heard loud crashes outside. Outside the window all I could see was gray swirling and trees falling... I thought a tornado was heading our way and was about to hit the living room with us in it. Luckily it was not a tornado, but rather one of the 61 year old pecan trees crashing down towards the house. We were so very blessed... it looked as though God caught the very heavy branches and placed them ever so perfectly against the house w/o damaging anything. Even the electricity to the house was still working! What a blessing.

The wind storm lasted the rest of the night and it was getting dark, so we stayed in side for safety. The next morning Jason and I woke up, cooked his mom and grandma breakfast and then headed outside to figure out a way to get the branches off the house without causing damage. Physics was fun that morning! We finally got everything off the house w/o causing any damage. Below is what it looked like and also of the 'bonfire' we had from burning all the twigs.

On Saturday Jason, his uncle and cousin helped take down the rest of the tree. It was such a challenge not to hit the house, hit the wires or kill each other. They did a great job and created many laughs throughout the day. It was an eventful Christmas to say the least!

Off and on throughout our time out there, I got to play with my camera and take some pics of the farm, pastures and in the woods. Here are some of my shots I took as well as those from my previous post.

Jason's mom bought me an awesome telephoto lens for my camera. I just love it. This picture was taken from a pretty good distance and look how crisp it looks! (It looks better w/o the size reduction though...) I know it's a pile of trash, but it's the best looking picture of a trash pile around I think!

Saturday evening after the majority of the tree was taken down and we had supper, we put on our own GREAT fireworks show! Here is a small glimpse at the awesome show!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas 2009 - for Basset Blog

**So this post should not have been entered here... I was in our other blog and updating it because all of the puppies are in their new homes and then it automatically switched me to this blog instead! So instead of deleting it, I thought I'd keep it here and reenter it on our basset blog some other time... **

Here are some pics of Lady snuggling with mama and papa at the farm over Christmas break before she went to her new home!

Back at home and still comfortable!

All Pups at their New Homes

**So this post should not have been entered here... I was in our other blog and updating it because all of the puppies are in their new homes and then it automatically switched me to this blog instead! So instead of deleting it, I thought I'd keep it here and reenter it on our basset blog some other time... **

Well, all puppies are with their new families! Santa even talked to me and had quiet a few puppies in mind for sweet little boys and girls!! We ended up keeping Lady with us over Christmas break and her new family picked her up on Sunday. The next post will show some great pics of her with Pickles and Noodles! She was great; slept all night and was doing great with potty training... it was hard to see her go as it was with all the other sweet babies. Enjoy the pics below!

The Reality of Christmas

Well, as I've posted before, these past couple of months have been, well, different. I have loved them, but different is the best way to describe them at this time! And so I have a confession to make: I just sent my Christmas cards out today... ugh, yes, just today. You see, I made them and so this was all done in stages around a very eventful and different month... first I designed them, then had to get them printed at Kinko's. Then I had to order envelopes. Then the envelopes were too dark so I had to run and find pins that would show up on them! Then Jason helped me cut them as I addressed them all. Then I realized my labels weren't working well, so I had to buy different types of labels and try to get my printer to work (after months of just just sitting there 'broken'). Ah... then they were done! So I mailed them today. I am so sorry for the delay in your cards, but they will be on their way shortly :) I'm determined not to stress about the silly things and enjoy Christmas and all it entails!

We had my office Christmas party at our house on Friday and we just had a wonderful time! Both Jason and I so enjoyed having everyone over! There was much yummy Cajun food and laughter going on! Things didn't 'go as planned' for that either, but like I said, I'm determined not to stress about the silly things and enjoy Christmas and all it entails!

Which finally brings me to what I wanted to write about! Since November, I decided I wanted to focus on the Reality of Christmas. Not just a 'story', but to let the depth of what God did sink in! I've mentioned this a little in previous posts this past month. I try to imagine what Mary was going through as she was 8 months pregnant and traveling on a donkey. I try to imagine Christ in the womb, all the intricacies of child development. I try to imagine His first words, His first tooth, His first steps, etc, etc, etc. As I mentioned in my previous post, I imagine God stepping off His throne and coming into the world He created; arriving in the most humble of ways. God is amazing and this Christmas I am thankful for the awesome awareness of what God has done and who He is!

May you all be filled with His peace and joy in this upcoming year!!

'Waiting For the Seeds To Grow'

From one of my devotions today:

Waiting For The Seeds To Grow

He ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.
~Acts 1:3~

"All the figures appearing on the first pages of Luke's Gospel are waiting. Zechariah and Elizabeth are waiting. Mary is waiting. Simeon and Anna, who were there at the Temple, are waiting. Those who were waiting had each received a promise that gave them courage and allowed them to wait. They received something that was at work in them, a seed that had started to grow.

We too can wait only if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. Waiting is never a movement from nothing to something, but a movement from something to something more. Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, and Anna were living with a promise. It was a promise that nurtured them, fed them, and enabled them to stay where they were. By their waiting, the promise could gradually unfold and realize itself within them and through them.

O God, you have planted many seeds of faith, hope and love in our hearts. May we learn this Advent to nurture them patiently and courageously."

I thought his went perfectly with my last post as well as my previous few posts this past month. I have so enjoyed relating my waiting period with those from long ago. I realize that I too need to wait anxiously and expectantly on and for the Lord as they did...not waiting on my circumstances!

While You Were Sleeping

I first heard this song at the Casting Crowns Christmas Concert last year. Jason and I both had a really good time. I have been listening to it a lot and every time I do, I get so pumped up and full of joy. Let me let you read the lyrics and then I'll share my thoughts:


"While You Were Sleeping"
~Casting Crowns~

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping
Will we be sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night



"For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today"

I get so excited when I sing this verse above!! I feel like I'm at a football game and my team just made the most amazing play and is running for a much needed touchdown! The King has left His throne. Where did He go? He stepped into OUR world, He became a man, like us and is sleeping in a manager. Why did God do this? It is so hard for my mind to comprehend His Love; how deep and how wide. I am left in awe as I sit and ponder about this thought.

Last Sunday at church, we were asked in our Bible study class what we can do to make Christmas more real for us. I thought I'd share what I have been trying to do. I try to imagine Mary right now carrying the Christ. What must she have been feeling as she was traveling and 9 months pregnant? I try to focus on Christ in the womb. Then I listen to this song and can imagine God stepping down from His throne, opening His heart and arms and lavishing us with His presence and giving us the most precious gift of all. Oh my heart aches just thinking of this.

'What you have missed while you were sleeping'... Oh, I can only imagine what I have missed while I was sleeping. I pray God continues to wake me up so I am forever alert and ready to hear Him, see Him and serve Him!

So this Christmas, I am not getting into the 'hustle and bustle' of the 'Christmas Season'. No. This year is a year for me to lavish my thoughts and energy on my King. My God who loved us all so much He stepped into our world to save us. This Christmas I want to focus on the reality of Christ, not just the story. This Christmas I feel called to give God the gift of myself. Anything and everything in my life I want to hand him. My family, my friends, my job, my health, my dreams, my fears, my joys, my anxieties, my time, my thoughts, etc, etc, etc... Will I hold anything back from my King who has given me everything? I know I will, but I long to try to give Him everything. I may have to daily give (and re-give) Him 'my gifts', but that is okay. God can move our hearts and will change our lives.

My God, My King, My Savior,
I give you my life; present, past and future. I give you my all. Forgive me for when I anxiously take back some aspect of my life. May you speak to me through Your Holy Spirit so that I may return to you and rest in your Holy Arms. Thank you for this Christmas Season!

My last thoughts I leave you with today:
'For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay'

As we look back through the Old Testament, we see God's people anxiously awaiting the days their Savior would come to save them. I look around us today. Why do we not anxiously await the day our Savior will come back for us? Why have we lost our zeal and excitement for the day we will meet our King? How can we live life each day anxiously awaiting Christ's return? If we did, I think our days would be grander and the lives we touch would far out number the lives we touch today. May we not be left 'slumbering where we lay'...

Snow In Houston 2009

Last Friday the 4th Houston got a little snow! It didn't stick much in Cypress where we live, but it was still fun to watch the flurries come down! This was the second year in a row that Houston received snow. Jason actually went out hunting Friday morning. He said it snowed up in Huntsville and was real pretty. Here are some pics to enjoy. (For all you who live where it snows... just let us dance around in our flurries...it's not snowman worthy, but it's still cool!)


(You have to look close and blow the picture up to see the snow... but it's there. You can kind of see it in our flower beds, ha!)

Fearful?

Today it seems that almost all of my devotionals, scriptures and readings have centered around two interlinking subjects; waiting and fear... these are not 'linked readings', so I am certain God is trying to tell me something.

"Waiting is even more difficult because we are so fearful... Fear explains why it is so hard to wait and how tempting it is to act... The more afraid we are, the harder waiting becomes."

"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome..." ~Nehemiah 4:14~

"Confess any tendency to live by fear and not faith... He (Nehemiah) began by reminding a demoralized people, not of who they were, but of who God is... We need to remember whose servant we are... Do whatever it takes for however long it takes, knowing the Lord is with you."

All of this speaks numerous volumes to my soul, and my heart rejoices because deep down I know God is feeding my soul what it needs. I am still uncertain of what it is, but I rejoice because God knows and is with me!

So I ask myself today, am I fearful? If so, of what and why, and what can I do to develop faith that is much strong than this unknown fear?

I am constantly reminded to keep my focus on God; may my desires be God and God alone, and may He direct my every step. Again, I need to learn to not focus on my desires, but focus on God and let Him take control of my desires and lead me where He will be most glorified.

Anywho, these are my thoughts for the day. Thankful I am able to learn more about my Savior this wonderful Advent season!

By the way, it's snowing in Houston (2nd year in a row)!!! Not sticking yet, but it's great seeing flakes flutter down around us!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

As I mentioned, here is a little post about our Thanksgiving weekend here at home. Since it was just the two of us, we made a simple but tasty dinner! We had turkey (19 lbs believe it or not in which we ate for Thanksgiving and left overs the next day but then froze the rest. I sense some yummy stew in our future!), corn casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls and cranberry salad. Then we had some key lime pie for dessert. It was perfect for the two of us.

Here is my handsome groom! I'm such a lucky girl!

And here I am... decked out in maroon... You see, this brings me to our next events. After dinner we relaxed and played some Guitar Hero until the Aggie vs UT game started, and what a game it was. Aggies looked pretty good but couldn't pull it off. Our team is just too young... man, I hope next year is a better season!

We were up pretty late so we slept in a little Friday (until 7!). I went shopping for a little while at Kohl's and got some pretty good deals. Later that night we enjoyed a fire out on our new patio; we roasted marshmallows and had some great apple cider. The dogs enjoyed being out there with us too. Man, I just love 'burnt marshmallows'!! Nothing better than letting it catch on fire, blowing it out and enjoying the great carbon flavor!

Jason went hunting on Saturday and I worked on the house. Then on Sunday we relaxed and started to put up Christmas. The house is looking good and just about done!

So while the Thanksgiving was 'different', it was wonderful and I am so thankful for the relaxed pace and the wonderful time I got to spend with my husband.

Embracing the Emptiness

As I talked with my friend yesterday, she mentioned how she does not want to fill her days with more activity while waiting on God. She knows while this may help keep her mind busy, eventually her focus will be pulled from God and His timing to her desires and her timing instead. I too have struggled with this this past year. I too have realized that it is so important to learn to embrace the time we wait on God’s will instead of busying ourselves so we don’t have to look at our emptiness and grow. Growing is such a beautiful gift, but in the midst of stretching, growing can be very painful.

Just today I read an Advent meditation in which was titled ‘Do We Fill Empty Places To Avoid God?’ It said, “We seem to have a fear of empty spaces. We want to fill up what is empty. Perhaps our fear is that an empty space means that something may happen to us that we cannot predict, that is new, that leads us to a place we might not want to go. I might not want to hear what God has to say.”

Um… do I want to hear what God has to say? Yes, most defiantly! But then I look at this past year, at this past month really… While I ultimately desire nothing but His will, sometimes the waiting can be so painful. Sometimes we don’t want to stretch any more. Sometimes we wish God would just ‘grant us our wishes’ since we’ve already grown some! But that is not how God works and THANK GOD FOR THAT!!! God is not some magic genie in a bottle just waiting for us to rub the lamp so He can grant us our wishes. While He places the desires of our heart in us, these desires are to be used to ultimately glorify Him. He should be my focus instead of my focus being on my desires! As I talked to my friend last night, it reminded me that too often I start to shift my focus on my desires (b/c I know they are from God) instead of Him and His will and timing.

Which brings me back to this emptiness question. In our time of ‘waiting’ we are forced to either stare at our emptiness and let God dance around and perfect our souls, or fill this emptiness with activity and tell God ‘thanks but no thanks’... Aw, I love the image of God dancing around the emptiness of my soul, knowing what needs work and what needs A LOT of work!!! I can see His beautiful smile and hear His sweet song. So while waiting is hard, while looking at my emptiness stretches me more than I want sometimes, my beautiful Savior ushers me forward to embrace more… more of Him and more from this life He has given me. So I sit here looking at my beautiful life, at my wholeness and then looking at my emptiness. I will choose to embrace them all; for I know God is in each one!

A month of trust, waiting and well, different...

It's been a while since I last posted. November was a very very 'different' month for me. Honestly too full of lessons and 'opportunities for growth' for my liking. But looking back I am so thankful for such a beautiful month! My short description won't do this month justice or touch on everything, but it's a good start:

The first week (I posted about this briefly before):

• I anxiously awaited the arrival of our sweet dogs 2nd litter. I always get so nervous; I just want her and her puppies to be healthy. The fear of something going wrong and me not being able to do anything about can drive me batty.
• I anxiously awaited my grandmother's surgery on the 9th. This was a very complicated surgery with many uncertainties.

November 9th:

• Nov 9th brought so many emotions I caught myself crying off and on throughout the day (lack of sleep didn't help). Our dog gave birth to 8 healthy puppies starting at 5am and ending about 8ish. (Labor started the day before though, so we were up all night.) While all are healthy and everything went well, it was still 'stressful' being the 'mid-wife'. My grandmother was also heading to the hospital at the same time. She too went through surgery very well. I was so thankful about 3pm I just let myself cry in appreciation for God seeing everyone through so well.

• The rest of that week was emotional as my grandmother struggled with many heart problems and remained in ICU. Playing with puppies was wonderful. I also spent a large portion of the week preparing presentations for work in which I knew God was leading me. A while back God told me it was time to begin to work on this 'project'. While very exciting, it was also very nerve wracking. It required much trust and faith that God was leading and will forever be with me. I am so thankful for my amazing husband and his support throughout all this!

Week of Nov. 16th:

• The following week was the big week for work. I am so thankful for His guidance every step of the way. It went extremely well and I know He is still leading. I'll report more on this at a later date.

Thanksgiving week:

• Jason and I stayed in Houston this Thanksgiving and celebrated just the two of us and our 'farm'. My grandma had just gotten back home and was trying to recover and didn't think she'd be up for company, plus we had 10 dogs (8 puppies) we were going to have to take with us to El Paso (12 hr drive each way); it just wasn't going to work this year. We had a wonderful week; great dinner and perfect company, but it was different and brought challenges non the less. I'll have to report on our Thanksgiving weekend soon though, b/c we did have a good time and I am so thankful for our time.

So now it's December 1st already... November really flew by. While it was so 'different', I am so thankful for every opportunity to grow and for God leading me EVERY step of the way! We're getting ready to feed the puppies 'puppy soup' for the first time tonight, they are growing so fast and are so wonderful! What a blessing. Work is going well and at a very exciting point for me. I have such a wonderful husband and love him dearly. Christmas is approaching which is wonderful in itself! And it's my 26th birthday this month too. We have to let the puppies go to their new homes right before Christmas which will be hard, but so exciting knowing all the beautiful families getting presents from 'Santa'!! Another month with some uncertainty, but hopefully not as many lessons and opportunities for growth as last month!

I am sure it was hard to make heads or tails from this post, but all in all, I can only smile and feel blessed looking back! To God be the glory!

Some Cute Puppy Pics

Thought I'd share some cute puppy pics. You can see more on our other blog, but these were great fun I thought!

Happy Birthday Puppies - 11/09/09

The puppies are here! The puppies are here! Read all about it:

Pickles had 8 beautiful and healthy puppies this morning. She is doing really well herself! You can visit our other blog to see pics and a small video. Hope you enjoy! I'll be keeping that post updated with all the puppy updates!

http://www.frenchesbassets.blogspot.com/

My Peace

Right now I sit in my kitchen watching my precious dog go through the beginnings of the first stage of labor. We expect her to have her puppies anytime from now until mid-week. I sit here and watch her take a mini-nap and worry about the pain she will go through.

I sit here and think about my precious grandmother who will go through extensive surgery tomorrow morning. My heart is worried and troubled for her, I pray for a beautiful recovery and for her pain to be very minimal.

While I sit here full of 'worry', I feel such peace; God's Peace. I know He is here with me, He is with my little puppy dog and all her babies, and He is with my beautiful grandmother tomorrow and each day she heals. There is no better place I would want any of my loved ones other than in God's perfect and Holy hands.

If you are reading this tonight, please keep my grandmother in your prayers, and even my doggie do.

'My peace I leave with you, My peace I give you.'