Valentine's Cookies

I really enjoy baking and I love making my Grandma's roll out cookies. Each Valentine's I bake and decorate cookies and give them to family, friends, and people the Lord lays on my heart! I like to call it my Love Bake!!! Happy Valentine's Day!

The dough is chilled and ready to be rolled

The flour is down

The rolling pin is ready

A little more rolling

Heart-shaped cookie cutter

Using all the dough I can

So pretty

I make a butter cream frosting and then it's on to the fun part, decorating the cookies

I like being creative and packaging up the cookies with bows and boxes

Ready to be delivered

Complete

God has laid on my heart the idea of being "complete." What does it mean to be complete in life? Is completeness something I can strive for on my own? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that nothing I can do will make me any more complete than I am right now in the presence of my Lord. Each day I am striving to know Him more intimately and follow Him more closely, and in this mutual pursuit I am becoming even more complete than I was the previous day. As I walk closely with my Lord I allow myself to be surprised by His goodness and the joy He brings each day. I have realized that striving for my own measure of completeness far undercuts what God actually had and has in store for me. I cannot comprehend the blessings He will bestow upon me when I place my whole life, my whole significance in Him. I don't have to be a mother or have a job to be anymore complete than I am right now in the Lord!

Grateful

Kurtis and I were spending some time reflecting over the last six months and were not only amazed at how far God has brought us, but also very grateful to everyone dear to us who prayed on our behalf. The love and care shown to us in so many ways has encouraged out hearts through difficult times. It was very humbling to receive gifts from family, friends, and even strangers. Letters and emails with encouraging words and comforting scriptures helped us through the day and pushed us closer to the Lord! Thank you for celebrating with us as God's favor was demonstrated in so many ways!

One awesome way God showed us His glory and the blessing of His community was through our move. To get us from Arizona to here we hired a moving company. They offloaded all of your stuff at mom's house where we stayed for about a month and half. As we were searching for a home of our own, it was made clear that the church moving team would love to help us move from my mom's house to our new home when the time came. Well, the time came and we have never seen such a gloriously efficient crew of workers in our lives. The team showed up at 8am sharp ready to go, forming human chains and working with precision. Quite a few of the men that were helping we had never met. It was very emotional watching all of these people serve us and do it with so much joy. By 10am, all of our worldly belongings had moved from one house to another and all work was finished. Two hours!!! What a miracle. The team stayed and we gathered in a circle and prayed. One of the pastors prayed for our home and specifically prayed over each room in the house! We are so thankful for our new community!

We can say without hesitation that God has blessed our move and our lives here!!!

Signing the papers and getting the keys to our new HOUSE

With our amazing agent...thank you

Some of the moving team loading up the UHaul

We can actually use our sleds here

More boxes

Our Christmas

Christ is born, our Savior our King!!! He is so mighty, triumphant, glorious, and good!
We are praising God for His constant care for us and how He provides. This Christmas was very special because Kurtis and I were able to move into our new house a week before Christmas! Also, my sis and her family were in town...it was Sam's first Christmas! Same was born in mid-August and is growing so fast. He is such a precious baby and his Auntie and Uncle love him so much!

First snow at our new house

Mom with the family

Samma Clause on Christmas morning

Dad with the family

Grandmother

Lynnie's Birthday brunch

Happy Birthday, Lynnie!

I am so very thankful for my sweet sister! It is a joy to have a best friend who is your sister. She loves me well, prays for me, supports me, and encourages me. Thank you! I love you with all of my heart. Happy Birthday!!

Papa Turns 88

We were able to go see my grandparents for Thanksgiving and our time with them was so sweet. My Papa's health has not been good so being with him was very dear to my heart. I have always felt so loved by him! His love for the Lord and others inspires me to love unconditionally. Papa turned 88 the day after Thanksgiving and we were there to celebrate with him. I am so very thankful for him and the way God has made him! I love you, Papa!

WE FOUND A HOUSE

We are getting settled in our new city and feeling more comfortable each day! It has been a hard transition for us, but we are thankful the Lord has brought us here. We have great news to share with you...we have found a HOUSE!!! After an offer and some negotiating it was settled and we could not be more excited! We will be in our new home before Christmas! Yeah! It already feels like such a weight has been taken off of us and makes us feel that more more at home here. The Lord has provided people to come alongside us to help and offer support, so to say the least we are still being amazed each day by the way God is providing.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Goodbye Arizona

God is really moving and making things happen quickly in our lives to get us to the Midwest! We SOLD our house in 10 days! We are a little heartsick as we think about someone else occupying our first home, but we thank God for providing the right buyer. We hope the new owner will love it like we did and care for it well! We pray this move will grow us closer to one another and bring us new and wonderful experiences!

Meeting SAM

I was overjoyed to meet my first nephew last week! Sam is a precious gift from the Lord and it is an honor to be his Auntie! I love the sounds he makes and how he likes to cuddle with me. We had a lot of fun together and it was sweet to sing to him and hold him tightly. What a beautiful picture it was seeing my sister as a MOM! I am so happy for them and thanking the Lord for blessing them with Samuel! I love you guys!

Enjoying the fall weather

My sweet sister and new nephew

Baby Sam in his precious nursery

Auntie Lara love you

Look at that cute smile

Open to New Beginnings

We have been praying diligently and asking for God to reveal a path for us to follow obediently. Through that time we have felt the Lord softening our hearts and making us open to His will, rather than clinging tightly to our own desires. We have experienced what it feels like to truly trust the Living God who is Great and Gracious and desires to meet our every need.

Recently we came to the decision to part ways with Kurtis' current company and pursue other opportunities. This means we will not be relocating to the Chicago area, rather we will be seeking options back in the Midwest where my family is and also here in AZ. There are a few strong leads back in the Midwest and we are praying for the Lord's favor, while keeping a loose grip and allowing Him to lead us with each step. We are feeling more and more comfortable and confident each day in the Lord's care and we are relying on His timing!

We are excited for the new adventure and the many possibilities God will lead us to! Just as David had many giants to face (including one actual giant) we too have our "giants" to overcome. What we have come to realize is our own faith, or lack thereof, is the greatest "giant" in our lives. May we never lose sight of the One who is worthy of our praise and the One from whom all good things come!

He's Here!

We praise the Lord for the arrival of my sweet nephew, Samuel Lincoln!

He was born on August 18th and weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz. He is a true miracle and it is an honor to be his Auntie! We love you Sam and can't wait to meet you!

Choosing to Trust

About 3 weeks ago we learned that Kurtis' job recently acquired another business and that decision has impacted us. His department's work will no longer take place in the AZ office. Kurtis' job is not being eliminated, but moved. This sounds all too familiar...Kurtis lost his job a year ago and we are facing tough decisions once again.

We are still looking at all of our options, but a move may be necessary! We want to be open to what the Lord is showing us, so we are not closing any doors ourselves. It is very hard for me to TRUST Him. I have longed to live closer to my family, but I also enjoy my life here.

I feel overwhelmed and anxious! I want to feel ok in God's care and His provision, but there are so many details that I find myself getting distracted and worried. Pray that the Lord would quiet my heart and remove any anxious thoughts that are not from Him! I want to lean on my Heavenly Father and not try to figure things out on my own.

This verse has been encouraging to me...

"Your word is a lamp to my feel and a light for my path." -Psalm 119:105

May the Lord let His light burn just bright enough for us to see the next step, but not too bright that we forget to lean on Him!