Evening School

Guilty

Merry Christmas

Dearest Family and Friends,

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light...

Isaiah 9:2

We are thankful this season for a God who is a great light to us who seek him.

Early this spring Shane made the transition from high school ministry to young adults.  He carried the load of high school, college, and young singles for several months.  There was no one more grateful than us when our new high school minister joined the staff this summer.

In April our baby Blaise turned 2.  He is outgoing, sweet, and full of fun.  He carries sleepy dog everywhere he goes, loves trains, and is quickly becoming an expert builder right alongside his brothers.

In June we moved for what we hope will be the last time for a while.  The Lord opened the door for us to buy a house that has been a very good fit for our family.  We are making our mark on it and it feels good to settle in.

Also in June, Simeon and Lieren turned 4.  Simeon is passionate and full of activity.  He began 4-year-old preschool this fall with Lieren and has been growing in many ways through the experience.  He is our outdoor boy, creative, and super fun.

                           

Lieren is darling and silly all wrapped into one.  She has loved the preschool experience and is no less girly than ever before.  You will most often find her running through the house in a princess dress, tutu, or fancy outfit of her own creation.

July brought a birthday for our firstborn.  Silas is 6 now.  In August he and I embarked into homeschooling together.  We have truly loved it.  It is a joy to watch him learn and grow and we both are thankful for the community and camaraderie that Classical Conversations gives us once a week.  Silas accepted Christ as his Savior in February on Valentines Day.  There is no greater joy than to see your children walking in Truth.

These pictures were all taken in our backyard.  We have already had lots of adventures through the woods and down to the creek in the few months we've lived here.  The children love watching the deer who come through daily.  And they can't wait to make a trek through the snow to see the creek when it is frozen over.

There have been many good and joy-filled days this year.  We have seen God's hand at work.  We do not question His sovereignty.  We know He loves us and trust that His grace is sufficient.

But some days are hard and we feel like we are walking in darkness.  Shane has been sick this fall.  We know he has mono and are trusting that God will bring to light if there is anything else going on.  Next week he and I will take a trip to Mayo Clinic to meet with physicians there.  However, we know that healing will only come by the hand of the Great Physician.

We have been blessed and cared for by our friends and family.  We are thankful to have people in our lives who have served us and come alongside us.  They, each one, have been the hands of God reaching in to remind me that He never leaves us.  I honestly could not count the blessings.

I started a list of things I am thankful for about 3 weeks ago.  With over 7 pages filled, it reminds me that even today, we are seeing the great Light.

We love you dearly,

Shane, Brittany, Silas, Simeon, Lieren, and Blaise

I always love the quiet captivating moments during the holidays. Moments that remind me that God's love is never to be questioned, that His hand is on us, and that He pursues relationship with us unrelentingly. 

Psalm 25

I have been soaking in Psalm 25 this week. Thankful for God's Word. Thankful for mercy. Thankful that His hope anchors my soul. 

Thankful for the joy of family. And thankful for laughter. 

I took only a couple pictures at our thanksgiving feast yesterday. We had our parents and siblings together. It was delicious food and a full table. Then Grandpa brought in the sled for us to take home for our hill.  Silas was anxious to try it out...

Then last night Papa's silliness had the kids begging for more!

And some kids made their own silly...

My sister and I shopped some last night. Thankful for time together. And thankful for rest. 

Who is the man who fears The Lord?

...his soul shall abide in well-being...

Sometimes...

...Elsa has a Thanksgiving feast with her brothers after school :)

Cheesy-Boy...

...and a little sneak-peek at the painting going on in our dining room. Love!

First Flurries!

Fire Pit

We had a random fire in the fire pit yesterday afternoon. Just because. 

When Did He Get This Big?

It's funny...

...the difference between a boy and a girl!

We Were Frozen

It was one of my most favorite Halloweens ever today. We had school this morning, carved a pumpkin (I had grander plans but one proved to be enough) around noon, then headed out to trick or treat at 3. 

Silas was General Grievous from Star Wars (I admit I didn't quite realize how scary looking it was!), Blaise recycled Red the Angry Bird, Simeon was Captain America, and Lieren joined in with the majority of girls across the world as Elsa...

We have had the sweet tradition of spending Halloween with the Friends the past several years. But this year we decided to keep our tradition in a bit of a different way since we now live in a neighborhood where we want to be part of special days like this. 

Our kids just couldn't seem to understand a Halloween without their friends. So we met downtown this afternoon to trick or treat the businesses. We've never done this before and it was a lot of fun! A bit chaotic, as always with our gang, but still fun. 

Some of the places had little games for the kids to play...

It was very sunny and pretty out...

But it was very very cold. Thus, Elsa looked like this by the middle of the afternoon activity...

I sent my mom a text with her picture and she wrote back with a comment about "so much for the cold never bothered me anyway". I laughed so hard!

We got home and promptly got ready for little trick-or-treaters to come visit us. Our kids were super excited as they have never been on this side, handing out candy before!

Shane went to get us pizza for dinner then he took Silas and Simeon out for more trick-or-treating. Elsa was done with the cold and our Angry Bird wanted to stay home too. I was more than thankful to stay home out of the crazy wind. So we we sang and danced to the Frozen soundtrack and gave out candy to those who stopped by our door. It was a fun, fun night. 

Now we have more candy than we'll ever eat. And some really good memories. 

We Have Some Leaves