Hello from Snowy Michigan!

It had all melted two days before Christmas and we were afraid we would not have a white Christmas...what were we thinking! Of course we were not disappointed (I mean the girls were not disappointed) when we got eight inches on Christmas Eve. It was fun teaching them how to make snow angels for the first time. Hope you all had a beautiful Christmas!

Kenzie's New Do!

Okay, so I bit the bullet today and got Kenzie's hair chopped off! We had gone to the cheap place for Jon and Sydney, but when we got there, I thought, what the heck! Kenzie hates to have her hair brushed anyway, so why not get something cute and easy. She sat in the chair with an angry face the whole time, but afterwards she loved it (and so did mommy and daddy). It was really hard to watch her beautiful curls fall to the ground, and even harder to see how much older the cut makes her look. We were like, where is our baby?

We had an enjoyable morning going to our neighbors' house for waffles this morning. Our neighbors on the left invited us and another family over for breakfast and we had such a wonderful time. We feel so blessed that God has put us in an area where we can get to know and witness to our neighbors. I even got to go out last Sunday night with the ladies for a girls' night out and I felt like everone was welcoming and open to deeper relationship. We pray for our neighbors often and wait for an opportunity to share with them about Christ. We feel like God is opening many doors for us!

This year Christmas seems extra special with the girls starting to really understand the story of the birth of Christ. It's amazing to see the season through their wonderment and joy. Sydney told us the other day that Mary and Joseph were coming to Caledonia to have baby Jesus! That opened the door for us to talk about Jesus being with us everywhere, but it got a little too theological for their simple understanding. Their simple faith is a joy for us to see and also a good reminder of the faith that God calls us to. We pray for simple faith for you all this Christmas!

Remember When...

Yes, this actually IS Sydney and Makenzie at 3 days old! Some days I

forget how small they were and how much they looked alike.

Most of all, I just needed the reminder that they were all worth the weight. I had a great week, lost 2.6 pounds (on my own too), but through your comments and encouragement, I realized that I not only could do it on my own, but that I had TWO babies and I need to be happy with where I'm at, weight and everything. I've come a long way since gaining 70 pounds

during my pregnancy (yeah, you read it right) and having babies changes your

whole body structure, so I can't expect to look like I did before the girls came along.

I'm going to try my hardest to get as close as possible, but my mental expectations have needed a change. Thanks to you guys for reminding me of that. Also thought you all would enjoy an

adorable picture of the girls, back when they actually looked like twins are

supposed to-alike!

Trimming the Tree

The girls LOVE helping with the tree decorating. It is really cute how they always put their ornaments in the same area and usually multiple ones on each branch. Jon wanted to leave it the way they decorated it, but I just can't!! Maybe I'm a horible mother, but with my perfectionism, I can't stand having the ornaments not evenly dispersed. Maybe someday we will have a tree in the family room that they can decorate completely on their own, but for now, they can help and then I will move them around later! They didn't seem too offended when they saw it the next day! We are teaching them not to hold a grudge! Ha!

I've been thinking about letting my hair go back to natural color. What do you all think? Can I pull off being a brunette? They say blondes have more fun...wouldn't want my life to get boring or anything! I'm also thinking about quiting WW and trying to do this weight loss thing on my own. Since our move from Roanoke, I have not been able to lose consistently and I feel as though I'm wasting my money. I lost weight on my own before (and kept it off for four years), I can do it again, right? I'm facing some tough life decisions right now...yeah, whatever!!! The weight loss needs to happen and I need to get more serious about it, but my hair color?! Please!

On a more serious note, I've been so proud of my hubby lately. Not only has he taken a huge leap of faith by leaving Parkway and church-planting, but he has done it so well. He was concerned about preaching every week and he hits it out of the park each Sunday. Whenever I'm in the service (which is not often, since kid's ministry always needs more workers), I'm challenged by his sermons. Last week he talked about being neutral and as Christians, we cannot be...Jesus said we are either for him or against him. He had a creative way for people to respond at the end and quite a few did, which I know was a relief to Jon. I see him everyday making decisions for Journey Church and he constantly has God's wisdom and maturity in what he does and says. He truly is anointed by God. I feel blessed and undeserving to have a husband such as him. These are not things that I'm just now realizing about Jon, but in his new role as lead pastor, his attributes are shining through more completely. Jon, if you read this blog, I'm so proud of you, honey.