Changing of Seasons & Seasons of Change

Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be grateful for, but my mind is continually drawn back to privilege of being known by God because of Jesus Christ. What great reason to be thankful and rejoice! We also have MANY other things to be thankful for including...

We are thankful for a new home! A week ago we moved across town. Some dear friends of ours had a job transfer to Phoenix, so we will be renting their home during their absence. We already have fallen in love with it, and are thankful for the ability enjoy this change from apartment living. :) We will put up pictures soon once we get more settled! For now, here is a little picture from our Christmas tree that we put up yesterday!

We are thankful that Thanksgiving break brings some college students home! Here is Joel spending some fun time with DK. :)

We are thankful for family to celebrate with! We spent the afternoon at my parent's home celebrating Thanksgiving with the Hougham side of the family, as well as grandparents. We are so thankful for the family that God has given to both Justin and me. Joel enjoyed the appetizers and dinner of his first Thanksgiving too. :)

We are thankful for healthy bodies! Our little family participated in a local charity event called the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. We did the 5K and had a blast! (the pictures were AFTER the event:)

We are thankful for our precious baby boy! Actually, our baby boy is growing up and turning into a little boy. We thank the Lord for his life and that God spared it even amidst medical difficulty and an uncertain future. He is such a gift.

Hanging out with Grandpa and being carried around in a duffle bag. What fun! :)

Enjoying a little "Joel sized apple" at Apple Hill

We are thankful for dear friends! God has blessed us with special friends to encourage and strengthen us. These are our friends that have just moved to Arizona, and we miss tons already!

The Many Faces of Joel

Family, Friends, and the Family of God

We were thankful to enjoy a visit this weekend from Justin's cousin, James Davis. He is stationed down in Oxnard, CA for a couple months for training as a part of the Air National Guard. He drove up and stayed with us and we had such a great time of catching up (it had been many years!), as well as encouraging one another in Christ. We were grateful for the time he took to drive up and are excited for him to return home to PA in a little over a week to his new bride, Mel!

Last weekend I was able to drive down to SoCal for a quick visit with some very special girl friends. It was a blast, and such an encouraging time. We packed the time as full as possible. Thankfully Joel did absolutely amazing during the car ride, making it an even better experience. :)

I was able to stay with my dear friend Hannah. We had lots of catching up to do as it had been almost a year since we had really talked last. We made the most of our time, talking into the wee hours of the morning. I was also able to connect with some of our girls down at Masters College & San Diego Christian College. What an encouragement and blessing to see them where God has placed them during this time in their lives. I'm so excited for them!

On Saturday, we drove down to San Diego to see Andrea. We made a couple quick stops at various places in this beautiful beach city, one of which was the Del. That was one adventure filled day, which included a $7.69 coffee drink, giving away our lunch, and driving for many hours. We will always remember this day though!

A visit with Hannah is not complete going out for coffee. On Friday night, she took me to Aroma Cafe in Studio City which was abosolutely DELICIOUS. Beautiful ambience, rich coffee, delectable chocolate cheesecake and a dear friend...that makes a special night! (Joel feel asleep in his carseat under the blanket on the left...he hasn't done that in a long time!)

Friday for lunch I picked up Laurie and Brooke and we headed over to Stone Fire Grill to eat some yummy salad. Joel and I enjoyed catching up with them. :)

When I was about 3 months pregnant with Joel we began looking on Craigslist for some baby furniture. We found a set we really liked, borrowed a truck and headed up to their home to check it out. We ended up meeting an amazing family, the Simulas, who also know and love Christ. They were such a blessing to us, and actually ended up giving us the entire set for free! So a couple weeks ago, we finally had this sweet family over to see the nursery in use and meet thelittle man that uses it! Dave, Jill and their two boys Jordan and Noah were adorable with Joel, and we thorough enjoyed our time with them. Thanks again Dave and Jill!