Reason for the Season

As Christmas time draws near it's hard not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, baking, wrapping gifts, and holiday parties that we sometimes forget to think about the true meaning of Christmas, the greatest gift of all was the gift of our Savior, Jesus. He was sent to live as one of us on this earth and be a perfect sacrifice for our sins in order for us to have salvation. Our prayer this year and every year is to remember this great sacrifice and let the joy overflow every day of our lives. May you have a very Merry Christmas and a joyful, prosperous New Year!

Pitt State vs. Northwest

My sister is a freshmen at Northwest and is playing in the marching band. She is having a blast and loving the band like I always did.

Here we are at the game, cheering the Bearcats on to victory!

The band performing at Pregame.

September....Birthdays, Football and much more!!

Nick celebrated his 30th birthday on Sept. 3rd and I surprised him with a party on Saturday, Sept. 5th with a few of our friends. I put all "30" candles on his cake and luckily the smoke alarm didn't go off!

Playing some Wii games with friends and my sister

Sunday night we decided to go camping at Indian Cave State Park as more fun for his birthday

since we didn't have to work Labor Day. It was a lot of fun and beautiful weather!

Here is Nick standing at the cave entrance.

Fishing Fun!

Deanna, Nick and I went fishing on the 4th of July and caught a couple huge bass.

Nick and I with the fish.

Deanna's fish was a little bigger. Hers was 21 inches long and weighed around 5 lbs and mine was 20 inches long and also around 5 lbs. We had a blast! Also notice the jewelry on Deanna's finger that she received on her birthday that everyone was excited about too!

2 years ago today, we got engaged!!

He proposed to me right before we went on a hot air balloon ride over Columbia. The couple that went with us took pictures of us. I was totally surprised!

It was amazing!!

Our 1st Anniversary!!

One year ago today, Nick and I became husband and wife! We thank God for blessing us in bringing us together, and we ask for his continued guidance and blessings in the years to come!

"But if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
1 John 4:12b

May Flowers and much more!

I planted a flower box this year to put on our deck to give it some color. Spring is one of the most beautiful times of year.

Spring also means track meets. This is my sister in the sectional track meet where she qualified for state in 3 of 4 events. Look at her form:)

.....and the landing......We are proud of her! Good luck at state!

Posing for the camera:)

With all the nice spring weather, we've been doing a lot of grilling too! I love kabobs!

Spring is finally here!

With spring finally here, that means it's turkey hunting time. Hunting was something I had never done before, but Nick got me involved in it and I'm hooked. So now it's something that we do together and now I've got my sister hooked as well. We had a blast on opening day even though we didn't have any luck.

Nick and I had our first turkeys mounted (the fan, beard, and spurs) that we shot together 2 years ago.

Spring also means garden work. We planted 5 rows of potatoes at Nick's mom's house last weekend before the rain.

Valentine's Surprise

The annual farm show at Kemper Arena was last weekend so we had to go check out the newest things since we both have farming in our blood. :) Then, Nick surprised me with a trip to Build-a-Bear as part of my Valentine's present since I've always wanted to go there. This is the bear that we made together. His name is Smokie. :)

These are the beautiful roses that Nick gave to me for Valentines Day. I have a wonderful husband! God has surely blessed us!

More Honeymoon Pictures

I never get tired of the great beauty that we were able to see in Hawaii. What a beautiful world that God has created. So many breathtaking views and beautiful natural landscapes. This picture above was taken at the Waimea Canyon in Kauii, Hawaii. It is often called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific".

This was taken along the north shore of Kauii. Very rugged and lots of volcanic rock!

This of course is the memorial at Pearl Harbor. What an amazing and emotional site thinking back on the horrible tragedy and moment in our nations history on December 7, 1941 where so many brave men lost their lives.

This is the northwest corner of Kauii where the valley opens up into the ocean. The Na Pali coast(west coast) is not accessible except by air. It is too rugged and mountainous for roads.

This is a beautiful lighthouse we saw in Kauii on one of our scenic drives.