I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas!

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We are anxious for an upcoming visit to see our family.
It’s a blessing being born into a loving family and to have married into a family that I love so much.

I was chatting with one of my best friends last night and I told her it would be interesting to see how this next year turns out.
There are a few scenarios that may play out with my husband’s job.
I know it will unfold in true military fashion as a, ‘hurry up and wait’.
: )

What seems to be the surest thing is the deployment.  That my husband will be away all but a few months this year.  I can’t wrap my heart and mind around this yet.  But this is a loss for our family.  Taking away such a vital part of our family means it functions differently.  I really do want to be an example of a girl who takes joy this coming year.  For you, other military wives, my family, and myself.
I will feel the loss but God will fill that void for our family.
He blessed me with an incredible family and group of friends that will step in like they did the last deployment.
He will usher us into the perfect places, with the right people, while using those moments to hold us together.

 I want to take joy this year.
I hope that reflects in this blog as we journey together this year. You working through your own set of circumstances and me working through mine.
I hope we can gather here and learn together just how to exactly embrace this life.
I love how much you’ve taught me this last year through the messages you sent, comments left, and fun conversations on the Facebook page.
Thank you for always being a blessing!

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Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve.
I made sure to squeeze in time for sugar cookies!

I loved using my gooseberry patch cookie cutters!

We opened our gifts that evening since Darren worked Christmas day.
After seeing his Thomas ride-on toy he wasn’t interested in opening anything else.
Eventually he figured out fun new toys were behind all those wrapped gifts.

: )

Having fun!

Alright one more..

These pancakes turned out very festive!
{Do everything you would with normal pancakes but pour batter into cookie cutters}
My only tip is not to fill them too full and don’t touch the cookie cutters with bare hands.

Tomorrow i’ll try to post some pictures from Christmas day.

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Laura