On Saturday after church, Eric, Penelope, and I went over to Eric's cousin John's house in Oronoco for a little card action. Penelope became very acquainted with her "cousin" Ty. They played all night. They played tag. They played keep away with the bone. They also played tug-o-war (not hug-o-war) with each other. They seemed to have a blast. I don't know about Ty, but Penelope did not move until Sunday night!Over MEA weekend (actually Thursday and Friday), 3 out of my soon-to-be 4 brothers came down to Rochester to visit me. Well actually, I was not the sole reason for their visit to Rochester. They were down here for a youth conference. So by day and late night, they were learning about God; and by mid afternoon/early evening, they were spending time with me and even agreed to play Phase 10.
Growing up as an only child until the age of 14, I always wanted to be a part of a big family. Now that I am married and have my own family (a husband, 3 cats, and a dog), I finally get to be a part of one. Over that last 5 years, my parents have adopted 2 kids (Bekka and Tim) and are in the process of adopting 2 more (Leon and Zack).
This is my baby brother Adam. He is now 15 and in 10th grade. I could say that he once used to look up to me, but now the roles have reversed. He's huge! Besides spending time with his big sis, he was a jewel and downloaded music from my computer onto my phone so that now when I am at the gym I can use my phone as an mp3 player. I am so excited! Let's just say Merry Christmas to me! :) 
This fall, I decided to step out of my confort zone and joined a book club. Yes, you heard me right, I said a book club. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a huge reader and here I am in a book club. The purpose of this club is to encourage the modern-day Proverbs 31 woman to live the life of a godly woman. We meet together once a month to fellowship, pray, and discuss with other women. Each month, I am going to try to write up a little ditty on the feature book for that month. If you are a glass-is-half-full kind of gal, this book is for you. The first book we read was called "Cold Tangerines" by Shauna Niequist. When I first heard of this book, I thought it was a very interesting and ambiguous title. I didn't have any expectations either way. When I opened the book and began to read, I discovered story after story the millions of ways God tries to break through our everyday lives and show us glimpses of His hope, peace, and grace. Shauna revealed her truest self to her readers. As a reader, I was able to relate to her imperfections, her struggles with life and God, and her joys and sadness. What I took away from this book is that I always need to be celebrating life and living it to the fullest and finding joy (in God) in the midst of imperfection, struggles, and sadness.
