our tree planter

 she's home!  and she did it!  so proud of you Lay~ this was a true test of your grit and strength~ and you nailed it!  i love your sense of adventure and ability to roll with lots of uncomfortable things.  to name a few?  insane bugs, extreme hot and cold, water in your tent, a deflated air mattress, cold showers, primitive bathrooms, drinking water that looked like tea, and extra long shifts....what an accomplishment!  

i loved it most when Layla would send pictures to help me imagine her life there in Northern Ontario.  so here are a few photos to best capture her tree-planting adventures of 2022.  she thinks she'd like to go again next year! either way, i'm so happy for her that this happened.  stories for a lifetime, i'm sure.  

love you, kid ❤

49

 somehow the last year of my forties is upon me.  a month ago i turned 49.  surreal for sure.  thankful for so many things, and i'm not sure today i can capture all the thoughts i have about middle age and the journey i've been on.  

to summarize....God has been with me undeniably~ every single day.  He has been good, and faithful.  He has met my needs, i've been shown immeasurable divine grace.  

check out these beautiful flowers from my dad, he nailed it! and my really nice birthday ended with my dear friend, Trish!  she wins the title for being my longest friendship.  we met in kindergarten.  the older i get, the more i appreciate friendships and relationships that feel like "home", no matter how long you've been away.  she is that to me...

so here's to the coming year! trying to live each day more aware of how fast the time goes.  more grace-filled.  more dependent on God to strengthen me to fulfill my purpose.  more open-handed and generous and free.  more grateful still.

this song sums up my 49 years so well...enjoy!

 Goodness of God

next stop~ the BIG 5-0...

puppy love

 this one is little late, but worth the wait.  nothing like some sweet puppy love, is there?  

my dear mom and her dog-loving heart has brought such added excitement to our whole family over the years with her dog and puppy adventures, and here mr. C. and AJ are soaking up a little puppy scrumptiousness while they can.  nothing like it~ purely adorable!

chips and baseball

 bonding of the simplest, purest kind.  a game of baseball and a bowl of chips.  

bonding between an amazing man who is somewhere between "Jeff" and "Daddy" these days, and a boy whose heart is tender and sometimes fragile and super receptive to learning and experiencing whatever Jeff exposes him to.  

i'm in awe of both of them.  totally am.