Long time, Haven't Seen Me

Yes, it has been very long since you have seen me here. The months from October to the present have been a whirl. In October I was gone for two and a half weeks in Florida for prison ministry.

This is true prison ministry for you! Florida sun!

For November, Dad declared it "house renovation and organizing month". We did some great work in and around the house including lots of painting, installing some new light fixtures, redecorating some areas in the living room, getting a new couch (!), and cleaning all our carpets, to name a few of the big accomplishments. =) It was a busy month, but crowned off by hosting Thanksgiving for my mom's family which was a lot of fun.

Relaying flooring in our laundry room.  

"Date night" with my two youngest siblings.

Due to construction in our laundry room, our washer had to be moved out into our garage.
With a family of our size, laundry accumulates quickly and so my creative brother hooked up the washer to the garden hose and I was good to go! My brother is awesome!

December is always a full month preparing for Christmas and everything that goes along with that celebration. A dear friend of mine from the Amish community got married on December 15th and I had the joy of attending! We always celebrate Christmas Day with my mom's family. I had the joy of traveling up to my grandparents a few days early to help prepare before the whole clan of us arrived. =)

January 1st my mom got sick...and we continued to pass the "love" around for the next many weeks.
It was a rough season, but as I texted a friend, it was a good time of bonding together and for practicing gracious behavior. =)

Now, we are moving into spring! Every farming family's answer to prayer every year. Ha!

I love capturing sunsets! The Lord must have such fun painting them every night.

And, yes, I do hope that I will be on here more regularly. =)