4. Do devotions every day for a month - Check!

Theoretically I know the importance of spending time with God each day…. but I haven't been putting my knowledge into practice. 

I have a tendency to put God lower on my priority list then He should be. 

My tendency is to spend my free time scrapbooking, or baking, or chatting with my husband, or blogging… I'm not prioritizing God. 

That's why I was excited about making one of my 14 of 14 goals to complete devotions regularly. 

Something about putting these goals down on this little blog, makes me feel accountable to everyone on the world wide web. I feel compelled to complete all my goals or my 5 faithful followers will know that I didn't! (that includes you Mom!)

Truth be told, I started trying to complete this goal in February and failed. 

But I put this down as a goal, and I had to keep trying!

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When [I feel like] My Baby Hates Me

^^ That is one unhappy baby ^^

She looks sooo sad in this picture. 

What kind of mom goes to get a camera while her baby is wailing?! This one! lol. 

But I want to catch the good moments on camera as well as the sad ones. 

Even if the sad ones do make me feel like my baby hates me.

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Thanksgiving Weekend

This was a beautiful weekend for a Thanksgiving Day celebration!
This soon-to-be-mama thoroughly enjoyed hosting a dinner celebration with family for the first time.
 Sooo much to be thankful for, including my graceful and almighty Lord and Saviour who has blessed me with a handsome husband, wonderful friends and supports in Grande Prairie and across Canada, amazing family (both near and far), cute puppies, and many, many more blessings :)

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever."
Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

{xoxo}

He Restores My Soul

This week we celebrate. 

We celebrate the life of my father-in-law. 

Husband. Father. Brother. Friend. Mechanic. 

Ray lived a life worthy of celebration. 

On March 3rd we celebrated the 74th birthday of this amazing man. He sat with us, ate with us, laughed with us, prayed with us, and played games with us. Only one month later we grieve because he has left us on Earth, but we have comfort in the knowledge that he loved the Lord with all his heart, and demonstrated the peace he felt in his salvation and his freedom in heaven. I am grateful for the opportunities that I had to get to know him. Grateful for the times he teased me and told me Russel spoiled me too much. Grateful for the confidence in Jesus that he shared with us. Grateful that he raised his son to be honest, loyal, and hard-working. Grateful for the intimate moment we shared the day he passed when I told him I loved him and he said, "You know I love you too". 

Ray, I promise I will look after your baby boy. 

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Rest in Peace Dad

March 3, 1939 - April 7, 2013

{xoxo}

He Has Risen Indeed!

What a blessed day! 

Today I joyfully celebrate the day that my Saviour, Jesus, rose from the dead 

and washed away my sins. 

Feeling grateful for my freedom today.

It's been a beautiful day to spend with my family and church and reflect on the 

many blessings in my life. 

God is good. 

Hallelujah! 

An Easter treat my friend made for me

Beautiful Idea! 

 I pray that you found some time to stop and reflect with God today. 

Happy Easter! 

{JOY}

Tears of Joy

Those of you who know me and my family, probably know that we are going through some tough times right now. My father-in-law is battling a cancer, and there doesn't appear to be any treatment options.

It's so difficult to watch the people you love suffer through pain and discomfort. I've been extremely fortunate in my life. I have not had to see or witness the death of anyone close to my before. I've hardly even had to witness people I love in pain. This is breaking my heart.

My father-in-law is a rock though. He's so strong for the whole family. Cancer is a cruel disease that brings pain, and discomfort, and tiredness. But you wouldn't know that from the temperment of my father-in-law. I believe his faith plays a huge part in this comfort. It's clear from any conversation with him, that he is confident in his love of God, and has faith that he will be joining Jesus in heaven when he leaves this world. His faith inspires me. None of us know how long we have on this earth - but all of us have the opportunity to love and accept God into our hearts and lives. Dad is at peace.

Perhaps the most diffficult part of this process thus far has been the fact that we learned about this presence of the cancer only two weeks before the wedding of my brother-in-law. The thought of Dad not being able to attend the wedding of his son still brings me to tears. We did everything we could to prepare for this day. Booking wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, disability transportation, etc. But in the end, Dad was not healthy enough to attend. Fortunately, with the help of some amazing hospital staff, we were able to set-up an internet connection for him as a back-up plan.

This was the first virtual wedding I have ever witnessed. I was honoured to be the one to hold onto our iPad as the ceremony began so that Dad could watch the entire event live along with us through FaceTime. It was a very emotional day for everyone. Not just because we were watching our brother marry the woman he loves, but also because we all wished Dad could have been there in person. Still, I praise God for his health and happiness on that day.  It was an honour to see the joy on his face throughout the wedding ceremony. Many tears of joy were wept that day.

{love}

God, Tea, Sandwiches, and a Baby

Mr. A and I went to visit with some friends on our the other day, and had a wonderful visit! We haven't gotten together with them in a while so it was great to catch up. We were started up a new bible study (hosted by our friends). There were suppose to be a few couple coming, but plans changed at the last minute. More people would have been nice too, but this way we got to have a good chat and a good catch-up. 

First off... look at their cute little man! 

We sat, and enjoyed tea, coffee, veggies, sandwiches, and snacks. What more could you ask for on a lazy Sunday afternoon?! Nothing. Nothing at all. It was wonderful. We visited for a while and then jumped into the study with just the four of us. I strongly appreciated the honestly of my friends. We were using a good study that provided lots of thought provoking questions. In my experience, bible studies like this can go in one of two ways. Our conversation only scratches the surface - as in we all know the right answers, and we share them, and no one questions anyone else's sincerity, and everyone leaves smiling, but no one really learns anything - correction, I often don't learn anything. Or there's the other way, a way in which people are super honest, and real about their struggles, and transparent about their relationships with God. These friends evoke that kind of conversation. These are the conversations that I leave and keep thinking and praying about for days. These are the conversations that leave me questioning decisions I'm making, and going back to God. Good conversation happened that day. 

And here are some happy pics to show off their cute little guy, and our visiting... 

Deep in discussion

Man time. 

Who is this guy?

I was having fun!

Lots of laughing

Sort of crawling... lol

With daddy :) 

Growing Families

More Christmas fun was had at our house a couple of weeks ago. This lovely group of people all belong to our Life Group at McLaurin Baptist Church in Grande Prairie. My husband was attending the  church before we met, and then I joined at some point during our relationship. 

It's been a great opportunity to grow in our relationships with God, meet some new people, and build friendships. 

Here's a pic from our Christmas get-together :) Obviously all of the families are growing! All three other ladies in our small group are currently pregnant. They left and Mr. A looked at me and asked, "You're not pregnant are you?!" lol. But our family grew this year too because we got married! It's fun to see these families growing, and to watch the kids grow up over time. We've really been enjoying hanging out with this group. So important for growth in the church to build relationships like this! 

Here's to another great year! Hopefully we'll continue even with all the new babies next year :)