december first.

Today is the first of December. Can you believe it? It snowed today--quite an appropriate beginning to December, if you ask me. It's starting to actually feel like winter, it's bitter cold, people are walking around town in boots, coats, and gloves, and the air smells of Christmas cookies. Our Christmas tree is up, I think it would be safe to say that our tree is a miss-mash of memories. Every year, our grandparents give us each an ornament on Thanksgiving day. Sometimes the ornaments are just fun, sometimes they represent something that happened that year or something we're looking forward to. I absolutely love pulling out the boxes and boxes of ornaments, each of them bring back a flood of memories. My favorite ornament we have would have to be the little Asian girl holding a lantern with a little Chinese house next to her--we got it while we were waiting to bring Moriah home. There are ornaments from my parents' childhoods, ornaments from trips we've taken, and from school that we've made over the years. I love waking up each morning, looking at it, and remembering different times from the past.

As the snow is falling, I'm sitting in our warm house, on the couch with a bunch of blankets. Today was a good day, I got to spend time with a friend, get a lot of school work accomplished, and now spend time with my family in the evening hours of the day. I'm looking forward to December--with Christmas celebrations, a break from school, seeing family, and my birthday, it's shaping up to be a very good month. I'm excited to see what December will bring.

give thanks.

Sometimes, it's nice to just sit back and relax. Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to do just that. While spending time with family and eating plates full of food it's wonderful to have a day set aside to being thankful for the things we've been given. We're in the mountains this Thanksgiving day, six hours away from home, in the snow filled mountain tops of Colorado. It's cold, there's a bit of snow on the ground and the lights and laughter that fill this mountain are simply marvelous. This morning, after a breakfast of cinnamon rolls we ventured on the gondola that took us to the very top of the mountain where a little town lay. We walked around, took photos, and then came back to the hotel where our grandparents had prepared a lot of wonderful food. Green beans, rolls, turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and of course--pumpkin pie. The afternoon was filled with ice skating and just spending time together as a family. I'm so thankful for what the Lord has given me and what he's doing in my life. 

Giving thanks today for...

-my camera, i carry it almost everywhere  i go.

-tea. herbal goodness in a cup.

-the friends the Lord has given me, they are truly amazing.

-the family i have. there are so many without families, but i have one that is always there for me. 

-hand written letters.

-beautiful sunsets.

-laughter.

-warm fuzzy slippers.

-sweet boys who are waiting for us in china. {just a few more months!}

-curly, messy, wind-blown hair.

-a warm home.

-a roaring fire place.

-a warm bed to climb in at night.

-our lord and savior Jesus Christ.

-music--thoughts put to a tune.

-the life the Lord has given me--I wouldn't trade it for anything.