Proud Mom

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Brendan completed his first art project a few day's ago at Stacey's House (his spot for daycare). Of course it is already displayed on our fridge! We are very thankful for Stacey. She has made working much easier for me. I have told her how blessed we have been by her. She has made it possible for me to continue to do what I feel called to do (teach middle school) by doing what she is so gifted at (helping little ones grow). She is amazing at what she does. She is a gift and a blessing to Brendan, and us.

Village Multiplication

We are so blessed to be part of a wonderful community of people that go to Resonate Church. Resonate has been a true answer to prayer for both Josh and I. Josh has led our home-group or "village" for the past 4 years. This past year we have had the blessing of our village growing significantly. This last week Josh and I have had some very hard conversations and some good prayer time trying to figure out what to do about our large village. Decisions are so easy when you feel called to something. We have not felt passionately called to anything. In these moments sometimes it is important to be obedient. We have been trying to figure out how God wants us to best serve Resonate and our community. We came to the hard conclusion that we needed to start another village on a different night. This is a really neat opportunity, and an exciting thing to think about the growth of our church and the chance to allow more options of villages for those who are married, in committed relationships, or have families. On the other hand, there has been some sadness this past week as we realize that we will no longer be in village with some people who have had great influence on our lives the past few years. It is a little sad to think that we won't get the pleasure of seeing them once a week. All that to say, I am thankful this week is over, so appreciative of all the wonderful conversations that took place during this time of hard decision making, and so utterly grateful that I can trust in God to lead us down the right path and that the path he leads us down will be one that will bring my heart peace. So I write this with a joyful and peaceful heart that is thankful for multiplication of our amazing community.

Cleaning Crew

I don't know if this makes me a good or bad Mom, but I already have Brendan helping me with chores :) He loves to help me vacuum. I put him in the backpack and away we go all over the house! It makes cleaning very fun and enjoyable to get to do it with someone!


I really like a clean house. I don't do messes very well and like things to be organized. I also am a big fan of efficiency. Several years ago I read a suggestion in a magazine that has really helped make cleaning our house a much easier, more enjoyable thing. The suggestion was to only clean one room in the house each day. I decided to alter this a little and do one cleaning chore each day. I love it!! I spend somewhere between 15-30min every day completing one cleaning chore. One day I vaccum, one day I clean the kitchen, one day I sweep and mop, one day I clean the bathrooms, etc... The best part is my house almost always feels clean. Cleaning no longer feels like a huge chore. I encourage you to try it!

Snow Shoeing

My Aunt Sherrie gave Josh and I a pair of snow shoes for Christmas. What a perfect gift. We have been wanting to buy some for the past five or six years. While up at Priest Lake for Christmas we used the snow shoes almost every day. It was so beautiful to get out and explore. So refreshing to be outside! The first day we went was a picture perfect winter day, the kind you dream about. There was fresh powder on the ground, the sun was out, the sky was blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The snow looked like it was made out of a bunch of shining crystals.

Here are my parents trying out their new snow shoes.



Brendan loved coming along in his backpack. He loves to be outside and looked forward to his walk everyday.



Brendan also enjoyed his time with his Grandpa and MiMi


We celebrated New Years with our dear friends Zach and Kim and their adorable 5 week old son Graham. We always look forward to our time with them and are so thankful for their amazing friendship. It will be fun to raise our kids together. We were able to take them out snow shoeing while their little guy was sleeping. So great to have such neat people to spend time with.




It is fun to think of all the adventures we will have using these snow shoes. Thank you Auntie Sherrie for giving us something that will help to make so many great memories. We are already looking forward to our next outing!!