Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks
are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten
that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and
that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate
My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival.
Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be
most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed
with children of your own.

I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate
My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the
town in which you live doesn't allow a scene de picting My
birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santa's and snowmen
and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If
all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such
a scene on the town square because there would be many of them
all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree
a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made
all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree.
Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that
one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and
what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one,
look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth
here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My
birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope
to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and
lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know
them personally. They just need to know that someone cares
about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on
the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write
and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family
this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you
again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't
afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them
the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down
here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love
them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him
or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take
their own life this season because they feel so alone and
hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving
everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town
calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there.
Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't
allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you
from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday.
If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd
close and let their employees spend the day at home with their
families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a
missionary - especially one who takes My love and Good News to
those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole
families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas"
tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or
receive. ; If you don't know them, buy some food and a few
gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other
charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery
for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief
in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do
things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let
people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love
Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all
the rest.

Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll
help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a
most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and
remember:
I LOVE YOU!
- JESUS

[author unknown]

Why I'm in so much pain...

I've added a routine to my workout... ouch!! It's the Alphabet Workout. Try it... it works!!

It's definitely Christmas time!!

Last weekend some of the ladies in my family headed downtown Chicago to spend the weekend shopping and eating. We had a blast!! We spent all of Friday at Macy's on State Street. We visited Santa, we shopped and we ate at the Walnut Room. Then it was off to our hotel. We had an awesome view of the Hancock building and Michigan Avenue! We had a two bedroom, three bathroom suite, loved it! We spent Friday night *eating* and chatting until 2:00 a.m. [Chicago time... it was a very long day]. We woke Saturday morning and sat around drinking coffee and chatting. We got ready around noon and headed out onto Michigan avenue and spent the day shopping. Then it was back to the room to eat some more. After that we headed out to Navy Pier to ride the ferris wheel and to visit the Winter Wonderfest. It was so beautiful!! We headed back to 900 North for our dinner reservations at Tucci Benucch. After dinner we went back to our room and played Taboo... we definitely created some memories. We spent Saturday night at our hotel, woke up Sunday morning and headed home. What an amazing weekend!!

Hanging out at Macy'sHanging out in our room
The view from our hotelGetting ready to ride the ferris wheelThe wheel
Winter Wonderfest
Betsy and a Russian Santa

I was sad I missed the Food Drop at church. Tim went and had an awesome time... I will definitely make it out there next year!

After last weekend things never slowed down!! I went to my first official cooking class with my mom. It was a lot of fun and very interesting!! I'm going to go again to several of the classes in January. Wednesday night I had dinner with Lisa and Thursday night with Beth... it was great to catch up with these girls!! Friday night Dan & Erin took Tim and I out to dinner then to the Point of Grace concert which was amazing. Tim was very impressed!! If you ever have an opportunity to see them live, go!! They'll be back in our area next month. Then we headed to Baker's Square for pie... yum!!
Saturday we met with the florist and we picked out our flowers... it's really starting to feel more and more real!! I can't wait to marry Tim! Then it was off to Target... what a zoo, both the parking lot & the store. We visited with Hannah, drank coffee and shopped for our "adopted family" from the salvation army this year. Let's just say Tim and I have a lot to learn about children's toys. Then we went to church... the little ones sang, it was so cute! After church we went to Ann & Andrews for our double date plus one :) We ate at the new Texas Roadhouse [after several wrong turns in the blizzard] and we saw Fred Clause [check out Jan 9th]. It was a cute & clean Christmas movie. I love vince. Sunday morning we headed to Chicago with Mark & Lauren to celebrate her birthday and their engagement [congrats!!]. Two words: black ice. It was a scary ride for sure!! There were several semi's turned over and that had me totally freaked... which brings me to some more news... Tim passed his CDL class and he now has a Class A CDL license... yay!!! He starts with Werner January 2nd. God is good!!
Well, there you have it... a brief update of the last few weeks of my life.

LOVE

It's official...

She's off the market!! YAY!!
Congratulations Bethany!!
I love you and miss you so much!!

Six more months....

Can't wait!!!

It's that time of year... YAY!!

Life Never Slows Down.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... life never slows down, and around here it's been crazy! I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone! My brother came home from Bloomington and so did my sister and brother-in-law... that made for a crazy household! We celebrated Adam's birthday at the Burkeys on Wednesday night. I woke up on Thanksgiving and followed a personal tradition of mine: got the paper, a cup of coffee and turned on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Good times. After the parade we were off to my cousins house for some turkey time!! We had a blast... I forgot how much fun cranium can be!! Tim stayed out all night/morning shopping for his brother so he slept all day Friday while I shopped, cleaned and did some wedding planning :) We discovered that the chair covers I've ordered fit our chairs... what a relief!! Then we met up with Kate and ordered our engagement pictures... yay!! Can't wait for those to get here!! Friday night we went out to coffee [my first caramel macchiato in almost one month] and then to Adam's second birthday party... happy birthday Adam! Saturday my entire family on my moms side got together for a second Thanksgiving dinner. That's pretty much where we spent our entire day... it was a lot of fun!! Then of course we did more shopping and Aaron made dinner for us... it was actually really delicious! Sunday we woke up and went to GMC at 10:00 and then to GCC at 12:00. Afterwards we went on a hunt for our program paper... I'm sure Tim enjoyed that! It's not my fault that it's right on the way home from church!! Then we watched the Bears game. What a great weekend!! I'll post some pictures soon!!

Amy's Wedding

I scanned some pictures from my sisters wedding. Obviously I need to clean my scanner :) These are a little old, I just found them while I was cleaning. Enjoy!

One less decision...

Last weekend my mom and I headed up to Holland, Michigan on a search for our unity candle. I can't wait for it to get here. It feels really nice to have one more detail figured out... ahhh!! It's kind of like the tall one... well sort of.

Got It!!
Last weekend Beth, Ann, Amy, my mom and I drove down to Indianapolis on a mission. Wedding dress or bust!! I loved Jen's dress and she recommended Sophia's just south of Indy. This shop is amazing. They treat you like a bride and not cattle like a certain nationwide chain might... cough cough. If you're in the market for a gown check out Sophia's. Five Stars!!

Over the next three months my gown will be made by hand in Australia... I can't wait for it to get here!! ahhhhh!!!
[it's couture... yay!]

Busy Busy Busy

October was a very busy month around here! One weekend we went down to Indianapolis to see my little brother compete at state for marching band. A week later we went down to Purdue for the homecoming game.
We ate, we froze... we stayed for the entire game.
That's a record for me, I usually don't stay past halftime.
Here's some pictures of our adventures...

Some of the family tailgating.... what a bunch of weirdos.

Purdue warming up before the game.

I just found out that our friend Bri was at the same game and sat directly across from us in the opposite end zone. Small world.

Staying warm.

Amy in action.

...and now we come to where Graig sat, up there with the heat.
Not fair.

This is the biggest P ever!!

You can kind of see the P on the scoreboard. It was an exciting moment in Boilermaker football folks.

I was not able to watch The Office last Thursday...

We had a crazy night last week. For those of you that didn't hear, check this out.

"As Chicago As It Gets"

So we've set the dates for our big Chicago weekend... yay!! December 7th -9th all of the ladies of my family will be spending the weekend downtown, eating, shopping and visiting Santa.

Here's a picture of the tree in the Walnut Room. This is where we always eat lunch after waiting in line for 2-3 hours.

I think this was my third year seeing Santa at Marshall Field's... poor Amy.

This picture was taken two years ago... right before Macy's took over. :(
I just found this site... kind of crazy. I love Marshall Fields, but really??

Fall is here...
Yesterday Tim & I went up to Edwardsburg with Larry, Brandi and Jace for a hayride and we had a ton of fun!! After the hayride we headed to church & coffee and then then we hit up IHOP for dinner. What an perfect fall day. We were even able to go on a beautiful fall ride through Michigan [Tim took the LONG way to church, minor detail :) ] I was able to have all of my fall fav's in one day. Here's some pictures from our afternoon:

That's a big chair.

Larry and Jace feeding the goats.

The goats fighting over food:

This was one of our stops along our hayride: