I have seen this game of Tagged on a couple of other sites and I have decided to play it!

RULE ONE: Grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.
RULE TWO: Pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

"When artists have more confidence in their giftedness than in the Lord, they leave the stage more worried about how they looked or sounded than about whether God used them. They're more concerned with technique than with substance. Jesus of course is the ultimate example of servanthood."

The Heart of The Artist: A Character-Building Guide for You & Your Ministry Team by Rory Noland

AMEN!

I tag: Bekki Simpson
Katie Booker
Erica Rose Marxer (who is coming home soon!!!)
Jacque Chance
Theresa Lozano

Thanksgiving Joys

As I sit here in the den of my sister's home, I hear my children playing with their cousins, my mom and sister talking in the front room along with my uncle, Tom. My brother is sitting there nearby as well while my father sits next to me, on the sofa, gently (and this is rare, the gentle part that is...LOL) snoring with his head buried in his chest. Just now I heard the shower start upstairs and know that my husband is getting ready for bed. He is going to get up around 5 am tomorrow and help his parents move from Fresno to San Jose.
We have had a wonderful day full of family, food, and fun. My in-laws had lunch at 2 at my sister-in-laws home here in San Jose. After eating too much food, everyone dispersed to different parts of the house. My brother-in-law went to his office to watch the Cowboys win their game, my mother-in-law and Mark took a nap in the den, some of the kids went into different bedrooms to play dress-up or video games, while others joined Sharon and I at the table to play Disney Uno. We played for over an hour and a half and I think I won!!!
Later, we left Sharon's and with Mom and Dad in law, we drove over to cousin Cindy's home. At this house, we saw her brothers, Lonnie, David, Gary, her sister Karen and her husband Steve along with their 3 boys. We saw her husband David and two of their boys; Nathan and Matthew (whose son, Ryan was running around somewhere) We also saw Cindy's mom Aunt Mary, and David's (the brother, not the husband)daughter Cristina and her new hubby and baby. There were other cousins there that left just as we arrived. What a houseful!!! We haven't seen most of them in over a year and it was nice to reconnect for a few moments.

I pray your day was just as full of family joys as was mine.

God has been so good to us and I look forward to another year of blessings from above.

Family Picture Joys

Aren't they gorgeous??

We had our Christmas/Family pictures taken last Saturday. I can't wait to see the proofs! This is one of my favorites (which I borrowed from the photographer's blog, LOL) and yes, my son is character and cute to boot!

Thanks to Laura B from B. Artistic Photography for a fun photoshoot. She was a VERY patient and sweet lady when Justin got tired of cooperating and had a moment or 10, LOL, where he couldn't sit still. And Anabelle, our Dachshund, was a trial, especially in the first photo attempt where she decided she needed to go potty while we attempted to set up the shot. HAHAHAHAHA

I will post more pictures when I see the proofs and make my selections for printing! If you want to see a few more of our pictures, visit bartisticphotography.blogspot.com. If you live in the Inland Empire or Southern California, Laura is the lady to book for your family photos, weddings, etc. You won't regret your choice!!!

This is one time I simply can not wait to spend some money!!! It will be well worth it, I believe.