99

I will praise the LORD all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Psalm 146:2

For the last 12 years, she has been a constant in my life as a Hodges.  Every holiday, every baby, every gathering, every birthday, every event... she is there. 

  Her sweet smile, her quiet disposition, her witty words have become precious to me.

But twelve years is nothing compared to the imprint God has allowed her to make in her family and on this earth over the last 99 years. 

Ninety nine years. 

Last weekend Tim's Grandma Vanderford turned 99 years old.

It's crazy how the word ninety nine rolls off the tongue so easily.  But I found myself in amazed and in awe as we celebrated her birthday, praising God for her life and the simple number of 99.  Ninety nine years of a life well lived!

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:6 

Isn't that what we all long for?  A life well lived?  Whether we have one year or ninety nine years on this earth, God has placed in our hearts a longing to live life to the fullest, to be in relationship with Him and others around us, and to experience His blessings day after day.  He longs for us to slow down, see Him in our  moments, and use the life He has given to us to bring glory and honor to Him.

To be able to watch a life well lived played out has been a blessing to me.  She is an example of a gentle and quiet spirit that is of great worth to God.  She has faithfully served God for years at her church and ministered to others around her.  She has been determined to be wise with her money and never use credit to pay for anything.  It has been so special to see her build special bonds with each of her great grandchildren. (She has taught Liam to have a love for cranberry juice!)  She also plays a mean hand of Phase 10 and will defeat you any time at the game of Rummikub.  
She has loved well and lived well, and I feel honored to be able to call her Grandma. 

   

I will praise you as long as I live, a
nd in your name I will lift up my hands. 

Psalm 63:4 

So we celebrated her!  She really didn't want a party and all the "hoopla" that a party brings, but we did it anyway.  She would have rather sat in the corner and avoided all the attention (a women after my own heart), but in the end, I think she really enjoyed seeing all the people, and we really enjoyed the chance to show her how much we love her. 

There were so many favorite moments of the day, but one of my favorite moments was when I looked over and caught Tim and his Grandma chatting and giggling about something.

Simply precious. 

And there's nothing more precious than seeing your husband and your son sharing some special moments with a very special woman. 

We will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
Psalm 78:4

What a precious day it was... to celebrate, to reflect, to make memories. 
I praise God for this day, for giving me this grandma, and for having such a wonderful reason to have a party. 

Grandma Vanderford... you are loved!  

      

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

Psalm 86:12

Snack Time

This girl got to bring snacks to her preschool class today.

We had a fun time "assembling" them together.  She loves a good pattern just like her mama!

I think I will be thinking "red, green, red, green, strawberry, red, green, red, green" in my head for quite awhile!

Aren't they just so pretty?

At least we got them finished before this little "grape-swipper" got into them!

Yeah... he could eat a whole bowl!

Finding Joy

Thanking HIM for witnessing happiness today...

Waking up to little, red feathers

Sunshine making diamonds on the snow

A strawberry picnic for two

Eating dessert

2 Trains, 1 Blankie, 2 Dimples, 1 pair of footie Jammies

Folding laundry with him

Baby beds on my steps

Learning all about the LEGO ship he made

Cooking Bristle Blocks

He wanting me to watch "his moves"

Seeing Rainbows

Thank you Father for the gifts.

Inflation

Liam lost his 5th tooth this week.  He actually lost it in the middle of the night while he was sleeping which was quite weird!  At our house, the tooth fairy leaves one dollar in exchange for the new lost tooth. I'm not quite sure what the going rate is for teeth these days, but I'm sure my teeth were worth more like a quarter!

After this recent visit Liam comes downstairs that morning and exclaims...

"Someday... my kids are going to get $10 for their teeth... 

because you know, prices have been rising for teeth."

*smile*

Yes they have my son... yes they have!  And your smile to me is priceless!

The Joy Dare

When I was younger, I always picked to tell the truth instead of risking a dare when playing the game "Truth or Dare" at slumber parties.  It felt safer... more secure.  But as I've gotten older, I find myself a little more intrigued by a dare.  Could I really do it?  Is it worth trying?

I'm a perfectionist.  An all or nothing kind of girl.  If I'm going to do something, I want to do it all the way, do it right, do a good job, and not fail.  Sometimes (many times) the fear of failure is enough to keep me from trying something new. 

But a few years ago a sweet friend of mine dared me to start reading through the One Year Bible... I must say it was a dare that has changed my time in the Word and my relationship with God in so many ways for the better.

Now this time it's a new type of dare... a dare to find JOY.

One of my favorite blog writers wrote a book last year that I know can be truly life changing if one grabbed onto the simple principal and let God work through it.  How do I know?  Because I experienced it... I felt it work on my heart... producing a simple joy and different perspective that only comes from Him.  I tried it and did it for awhile, but... new habits are hard to keep and my flesh is strong and it's so easy to slip into old patterns of behavior and thinking.

But with a new year, I'm ready to try again with this new dare.

A dare to simply give thanks... to record blessings from Him... to see God in my moments...  
I want to do this because I don't want to fail to not see Him... in a sunset... in the way my little boy smiles... in the way chocolate tastes so yummy...   :)

Her dare is to count 1,000 gifts from Him in 2012... record three gifts a day... and I'm determined to do it.

As she says on her blog...

A habit of not complaining, but the habit of giving thanks; the habit of not worrying, but a habit worshipping. The habit of repeatedly giving God praise that our lives might become a prayer. Small is always the leverage of large. It’s one moment after the other, the small moments that turn a life. It’s the small actions that can change a life.  It’s habits that can imprison you and it’s habits that can free you and when thanks to God becomes a habit, so joy in God becomes your life.
-Ann Voskamp

I'm taking the joy dare... and if you want to join me, you can find it here.

Finding Joy in 2012...

A gift in my hand... a cup of hot tea to sooth a very nasty cold I have.

A gift I walked by...  the warmth and heat I feel walking by my kitchen window.

A gift I sat with... I sit with this boy for a good three hours every day.  There are smiles and laughs, there are frustrations and discouragement.  Wanting to see this season sitting with him as a gift.

Simply reminded today to take each day moment by moment. 

Depending on Him. 

Seeing Him. 

Taking a breath and enjoying the journey.

Christmas Memories

It's been busy at our house.  So many thoughts and words I'd love to write down, but it's hard to find the time.  Before I jump into the new year, I wanted to record some of the Christmas memories that I just don't want to forget!  What a wonderful time we had celebrating Christmas with our families.  Even though the 5 days we celebrated and traveled around were full and overwhelming at times, at the same time I'm so grateful to have family to celebrate with and to be able to spend time with the people I love! 

Moments from those days that I want to remember....

My husband making and frosting sugar cookies for me on Christmas Eve

because I hadn't gotten to it yet but really wanted to... 

My three, little precious ones in their Christmas outfits... Oh, be still my heart!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus with all their might...

Getting something she really wanted...

 My Choo-choo boy who always has at least

one train in his hand at all times...

 Giving him the gift that he wanted so much...

seeing his joy, and making him cry...

Celebrating Christmas with Great Grandma Vanderford

It felt extra special this year...

She will be 99 next weekend...

All the boy cousins getting remote control cars...

And being able to play with them outside on Christmas day!

 It's been quite a few years since all my girl "Gloystein Cousins" were together...

as we all get older, I'm realizing what a blessing it was to celebrate Christmas with them.

 Sweet boy cousins playing the piano together at Grandma's house...

 Cousins dancing together with Grandma while Grandpa plays the accordion...

 Getting to spend time with our favorite friend from California...

Making our traditional Christmas lights run... seeing our favorite house...

Being in awe of my Savior as a baby...

Always remembering Him at Christmas.