Another one bites the dust!

Well another year has past and a new one awaits us with new sunrises and new days to bring us new opportunities for change in the best kind of way. This winter I've felt the change of a new year more than any other time. I've felt it in the change of seasons with the trees shedding the old dead leaves and taking the time to rest before creating new blooms, leaves, and fruit in the coming seasons. There is this time to be retrospective and look at the years joys, accomplishments, and struggles. Then the desire to see the coming year be a better one. May your new year be a fruitful and joy filled year.

New York

This is just a picture post because I haven't time to write much but the pictures are stories in and of themselves. Use your imagination and if you want to see more from my trip to New York then check out my Flickr.

Pops....

While this picture was not taken today it's one that I wanted to share earlier but didn't. On Christmas Day my dad asked me to help him out for a minute with something. I'm not always the most willing person to leave family time (my mom's family was over and we were getting ready to play games). I went though and helped him work on a broken pipe for one of our tenants. It had frozen and broke a couple of days before and the weather had been too cold to get to it properly so the first good opportunity had been after Christmas dinner.

Whenever Dad asks me to help him out with something I will more than likely be standing around watching him doing whatever needs to be done for most of the time and feeling as if I'm not being of much assistance. Growing up this was extremely frustrating and tried my patience a lot, but I've gotta say that it's taught me a lot too. Sometimes people just need you to be there to be an encouragement to them, and other times they need you to be able to help them figure something out with fresh eyes. Although I don't feel like a very patient person sometimes, I've had people tell me before that they're amazed at how patient I can be (mostly my students parents when they see me in the classroom with twenty 4yr. olds). I have my Dad to thank for that. Not to mention a God who helps me be patient even when I don't want to be. If I couldn't give Him my frustrations and troubles I'd be the most impatient, irritated person you could meet.

in the light!

So I got to have lunch today with two of the coolest girls I am blessed to know. We went to Panera Bread and hung out for like 2hrs. catching up. It is a really good time to be able to hang out with people that you really like and just talk about anything. I didn't do too much of the talking either, which is kind of nice. This picture is fun because Karla looks like she's thinking "whoa did you know you had a light coming out of your head?"

the fun...............

Two of my favorite people in the world just chillin' until dinner is ready!

My daddy fixing one of our renters water pipe.

The Wilson girls Christmas photo op.

The robo-boogie!

Grandpa's word game.

Going for a joy ride!

Merry Christmas!

You've gotta love the looks that she gives.

So yea, Christmas has been really low key this year but wonderful all the same. My favorite part so far is being able to spend so much time with my family and listening to them play such beautiful music. We've had two family concerts and today when they all come over we're going to be playing and singing together again (more pics of that later).

I have to share that I'm really excited about getting a new camera this year! I can't wait to take a million pictures with it. This coming year I want to try and take a picture a day and post it on here as a kind of journal of what I see, do and appreciate throughout the year.

So here's the first picture. It's showing the remnants of the last bonfire we had this fall (the wind knocked all of the chairs over that way).

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!