LIFE has happened!

WOW! It's been a while since I've blogged and it's because LIFE has happened... in such great ways!

I don't have the pics 'on hand' right now so I'll just give the sneak preview here and post some pics sometime this week.

1. We took a 7 Day Cruise for our 1 Year Anniversary! ONE YEAR as of Nov 10. Can you even believe it?! Man! I don't even know what to say about this year, except that God really can and DOES and HAS done this past year exceedingly abundantly more than all we could have asked or imagined!

2. We're all moved into to our abode (well, not FULLY decorated, but close) and loving the heck out of it!! We had MUCH debate about the color the accent wall would be in our living room and went with a deep blue. I only mention it because it has FINALLY, in the third week of November, gotten cold enough to light a fire and it is breathtaking against this color!!! I got a little tear in my eye the first time we fired it up. (shocking that I would tear up, I know). So, we are LOVING the blue and LOVE LOVING a gas fireplace with no prep or clean up.

3. Ryan finished his 2nd semester of his Masters last week and is KICKING BUTT! He would be embarrassed that I put that, but he just IS and I have to give him public accolades for it :O) I am SO proud of him. If he stays on this track, he will graduate Nov 2009. WOW!

4. We are leading a small group and LOVE IT!! This is our first chance to lead together and it is great... also, our small group is just so good! The people God has brought together, well, we just have a really tender spot in our heart for them :O) It started as an 8 week commitment, but we're going to keep going. There is NOTHING like doing life with other people!!

5. Being that it is still CRAZY hot here, I didn't really put two and two together that Thanksgiving was this week. When I did, and realized I had time this Sat but none after this, I decorated for Christmas this weekend!! YAY!! So now we have our tree up and Christmas Decor... it is almost all I can even STAND! I have ALWAYS wanted outside lights (and never had them) so this week they're going up. ALSO, since we're in a house, I realized I can GET MORE CHRISTMAS STUFF!!! WEEEEEEE!! :O)

6. As of Saturday we have a DOG! She is TOO precious and we named her Sadie. I have already come to call her, "Sadie Lady" and I'm pretty sure she likes it :O) She is a 2 year old golden retriever mix and is so docile and gentle, which is exactly what we wanted. For those of you who knew my sweet Caedmon, she is an exact personality match :O)

Like I said, I'll post pics sometime this week. Let me just sum it up by telling you that yesterday around 4:30 it had started getting dark, and I walked in the living room to find football on TV, our windows opening to the greenbelt behind our house with the Christmas tree in front of it, my dog sleeping on the living room floor, and my husband sleeping on the couch. Is this really my life?! This SWEETNESS?! We walked our dog for the first time together last night around 9:30 and I got a little emotional because it was the fulfilling of a YEARS long girl's dream. To walk at night with my husband and our dog.

Oh man, God is GOOD. He is SO sweet. There really aren't words to give Him enough glory and thanks for all He has done and continues to do. What am I THANKFUL for this Thanksgiving??? Where do I start?

Love to you,
Anna