Giving thanks in 2015

So as I always seem to end up doing, I've left quite a large gap of time that I would try to fill in, but I just don't want to bother. I do kind of like telling the story of what has happened with a little bit of distance between when it happened and the telling... I can more accurately figure out how I feel about it in retrospect, but at a certain point, I just give up with trying to record it at all.

Therefore. This will be a lot of pictures I want to share. And a couple bits of thoughts I have had.

On my drive to Fairview for Thanksgiving, I was post-drome migraine. I put One Direction and Justin Bieber (new albums) on repeat and tried to learn words. It just reminded me a lot of driving up north last January as Grandma was passing away. I had been listening to a new One Direction album then, and there was a similar cold feeling in the air. This, being my first wintry drive since then, had a reminiscent quality. Nearly every time I made that drive last January, I would see an owl in the same spot between Luzerne and Mio. So on this drive, I asked God if I could please see one.
I asked for an owl, and He gave me two hawks and the most unexpected, gorgeous sunset. What we want and what we need or are given don't always line up. But you know, I was really thankful for those beautiful blessings; reminders of our Creator.


Not knowing if I would be able to be with the family for Thanksgiving for the couple of days leading up to the holiday was awful. I was in pain with migraine. I was under stress from work. I was hurting emotionally. And I was not dealing with it very well. BUT GOD knew where I needed to be. And when I needed to be there.
In the right timing, I arrived home and spent wonderful days with the people I love so very much. Such a full heart. An aching heart, yes. But full because I am grateful that I have had so many dear things and people in my life. (I'm thinking of Grandma Druber and Germaine right now.) This trip was full of blessings and rich moments for me. I just recognize God knowing me so intimately and knowing what is going on in His world so well, and I want to give Him glory for knowing perfectly.
I'd also like to shoutout my sister. Courtney is one of my very favourite people in the world, and I am so insanely thankful that she is in my life. I feel SO lucky that I get to be her sister and friend. She is just such a beautiful person, and I love that she is a becoming person. The older we get, the closer we get; I just feel so privileged to be growing up with such a lovely, grace-filled person like Court.






We all know one of my big challenges of life is learning how to deal with/express my emotions. Thanksgiving was a giant emotion supercharged time which I am probably still working out. The holidays, I know, can be a very sad time. But I refuse to indulge in sadness. I am a JOY-bringer, and this season is the ultimate reminder celebration of HOPE. And Christians are the HOPE-filled, JOY-givers who are going into all corners of the world sharing the Gospel of PEACE. So that's what I am going to do. Wherever I am, I will be a representative of a life changed by JOY.

"Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory." -- 1 Timothy 3:16

homemade bibimbap

In the span of a couple of weeks, my life has dramatically changed. My health has soared to new heights which I had almost begun to think was impossible. I feel like each day I make a gain. As things continue to change, I will have more to say on the matter. But for right now, praise the Lord that we have hit on the medicine that is going to carry me into winter in the best possible health.
Last week I worked more than I have since August. One fun thing I did at the church was to set up harvest decor in the narthex, sanctuary and do a new chalk drawing on the Cafe sign.

 For dinner tonight, I had a huge craving to make Korean bibimbap. So Kelsey and I headed to World Market to seek out the one ingredient I didn't have which is most necessary for bibimbap: gochujang. Gochujang is like a spicy chile paste, and it is delish. I mixed it with some honey and sesame seed oil and folded it into my rice. In another pan, I sautéed shredded carrots and baby spinach in sesame seed oil and then added ground beef that Kelsey had pre-cooked. You fold this into the rice as well and fry up an egg sunny side up so that it is still runny and eat this over the rice. You can add in other things, like I added onion flakes and some cheese, but you could also add mushrooms or whatever veg or kimchi or anything you have laying around. I just think it is so easy, and I love the flavoring.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to sprucing up the house a bit and getting my ideas more clearly developed for our upcoming Advent Labyrinth. I've gotten quite a bit figured out today, but I hope to have all the details hashed out tomorrow. In the evening, I'm going to an online 'training' of sorts for IF leaders called IF:Visioncast, and I'm pretty pumped about that. We are hosting our next Table dinner on Sunday, so I also want to figure out how I'm setting the table and exactly what the menu will be, as well. PLUS. I scheduled a phone date with Aunt Jane. Should be a good Tuesday. :)

football & photos

I am super multi-tasking right now: blogging, watching the State game, waiting for a load of laundry to finish in the dryer, and baking a cake for snack tomorrow. The house has begun to warm up a bit, and Michigan State is in the lead. I'm really hoping this cake comes out well. The oven is tricky for me sometimes so I'm monitoring it pretty closely. It is a lemon poke cake, and I might add raspberries and whipped cream on top when I serve. Depends on how much time and energy I have in the morning. Side note. I miss Michigan State defense that we used to have. Also,  a healthy team.
Well, my cake is out now, and I think it's okay. I have to wait for it to cool a bit before I put the holes in it and drizzle the glaze. Kelsey is gone to a costume dodgeball game so I have the house to myself. I'm nearly ready for bed. I'll stay up until the end of the game, but then I think I'm going straight to sleep.
And now for some photos from my trip home. :)

questions about halloween

Thought to follow is probably not politically correct, but I have no where to express it. So I express it here:

How do you even celebrate Halloween? What is it that you are even celebrating? I legitimately do not understand this for the vast majority of humankind. What is it you think you are doing and why?

End scene.

Petoskey in the Fall

Last night Kelsey, Karol & I drove up to Petoskey and stayed overnight so I could go to my neurologist appointment this morning. After I got finished at the appointment, we headed downtown for a bit of shopping. One of my favourite stores in the downtown area is a kitchen supply called Cutler's. We started there, went to Symon's General Store & then went to American Spoon for lunch. I had always wanted to try it, but last time we were there it wasn't open for the season. They use locally sourced farm produce to create a menu. It was delicious!

 We took our time driving home leisurely through Charlevoix and Traverse City. Saw some beautiful sights along the way. It was almost like we had a pre-weekend, weekend!

shadows & light

Well, all in all, today felt very successful. I was able to teach Sunday School and stayed through all of church. I was so exhausted, and barely heard the message, but I made it. And when I got home (in an effort not to fall asleep) I made myself spaghetti for lunch, watched a movie, talked to Grandma, played some games, made bread, and did pretty much anything else to keep my eyes open. It was a battle, but I won. Here's a couple of photos from the beautiful afternoon. Hoping for a great day tomorrow, too!

kung fu par-tay

Just wanted to show off a couple of photos from our Kung Fu Panda movie night last night. The kids seemed to really enjoy the candy bar and were pretty much glued to the movie. I think they felt special and had fun being at my house.

Today was a pretty good day. It took me a little bit to get going. I can definitely feel the past couple of days in my muscles, but I got everything put away and our house all cleaned up. I also did a very grown up thing and applied for a credit card. So yeah. Basically a productive Saturday. Tomorrow will come early (praying I sleep!) so I better hit it now.

photos photos photos

Prepare for a photo heavy post! I always love spending time at Dad and Mom's house; it is refreshing, and I so appreciate my family. Realized I haven't posted the photos from my time spent up north so here we go!

 Boardwalk at Wolf Creek Trail with Courtney

 Court did my makeup :)

 Precious sister :)

 If this isn't autumn glory, I don't know what is!

 Grandma and I had a good afternoon looking through All Recipes & Food Network magazines for recipes to include in my new recipe binder. She thought I should try to make Bacon Brownies ha.

 Ready for Melissa's baby shower!

Saying goodbye at the end of my time is always really hard. It takes me hours, and I am never ready. I think that is a beautiful thing about home. I can never get enough of it. I would never want to lose that feeling. I am thankful for a home full of people I love so much that I always want more time there. Going home always reignites a determination within my core to be my best self... constantly pursuing more full relationships and peace/joy-filled interactions and attitudes.
I love where I come from, and I love where I am, and I love where I am going.

House tour

Not sure if you have seen this yet, so I thought I would pop it in here. :)

Also. This is my face recently. In case you have forgotten? Oh, I am a strange one.

when oblivion calls

Blogtrack: Oblivion by Bastille
I'm sitting in a cozy clean house with only one load of laundry left to do tomorrow before I declare my decluttering officially finished for this round! Feeling quite accomplished tonight. My favourite fall candle (Autumn Hayride) is lit, but I actually earlier carried incense through the house like Grandma used to do. I found some that had such a strong scent memory for me that I had to try it out. Such a pleasant scent that is lingering. So I'm sitting by candle light and by white Christmas lights listening to some quiet music and the dishwasher running. It was quite brisk today, but Kelsey tells me that it is supposed to be warm next week again. Oh, Michigan.
This weekend I have the house to myself as Kelsey is at a coaching clinic. I'm not quite sure what I will do with my time. I'm hoping to update the bulletin boards in the kids area at church tomorrow, but I pretty much don't have anything else planned. Maybe I'll make some rolls or a coffee cake or something. One thing I'm going to do tomorrow is not watch any "screens." No TV, Youtube, etc. I will listen to music and use my computer, but not to watch videos. Just want to take a bit of a tech break. I need to figure out what we are doing for a dinner that we are hosting in a couple of weeks so maybe I'll plan that. Who knows? But right now, I'm off to bed.

soul care