The BIG 30

Kurtis really pampered me on my 30th Birthday! The weekend before my Birthday he took me shopping to Anthropologie, my favorite store. I got to pick out a cute top for my Birthday night, but had no clue where or what we were doing. I also got some very fun new shoes!!! A few days before my 30th I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Kurtis and the note was so sweet and there was a P.S. included and it said to pack an overnight bag for Friday night. He knows I like surprises, but he also knows I am not a last minute packer! He got off early on Birthday and I was all ready to go. We ended up at this amazing Sushi Bistro which was delicious! I felt so celebrated and loved! We left dinner and had to drive a little bit, but arrived at a newer hotel which was very hip and cool. It was located in a charming shopping, dining, and entertainment district! The modern design and creative decor makes this hotel very unique. We had a wonderful evening together and I will never forget my 30th Birthday!

I love gerber daisies

Birthday lunch & shopping with Mom

Ready for Kurtis to surprise me

My new shoes

Sushi

Kurtis had this delicious cupcake (best thing I have ever tasted) waiting in our room! He got it from a local Cupcake Bar

Drinks & more dessert from the Hotel's Restaurant & Bar

Breakfast the next morning

Surf & Turf at my Dad's

Kurtis, Me, Christy, & Dad

Playing shuffle board...so fun

The day after my Birthday my good friend Lyndsay organized a lunch & mani/pedi day! She had these fun plates made for the party :)

Sweet Lyndsay

Jen, Allie, Lyndsay, Me, Carolyn, Avril, Debbie, & Evelyn

Adorable!

Lyndsay, Carolyn, Me, Avril, & Debbie

White cake with raspberry filling & a cream cheese frosting! It was the best cake I have ever had!!!

Make a wish

What a wonderful 30th Birthday! Thanks for making my day so special and fun!

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!