Not only have I been blessed with an amazing immediate family but to top it off I married into a great family as well.  From day one my in-laws have welcomed me with loving arms and I have treasured the time spent with them. We recently got together for some family photos and I am glad the weather held out so that we could make use of the last few traces of fall color 

‘Papa’ & ‘Nana’…

The Taylors with their newest addition to the family…

The Blivens…

Me and my hubby

I am particularly fond of this man and am soooooo thankful to be married to him.  I never knew I could respect and admire someone this much … he truly is a blessing in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My beautiful sister and her family who I love dearly …

Holly needed a new headshot for her Scentsy website. If you haven’t heard of Scentsy before you have to check it out … the products make your house smell delicious and they are much more safe than a candle.

While visiting some family in Colville I snapped a few photos of Alyssa and Elana around their grandparents old red barn. The hay bale elevator brought back memories of running up and down the one we had on our old farm. Seeing all the jagged pieces made me wonder what we were doing playing on such a thing as children … along with the other farm ‘toys’ we spent our time on.  Ahhhhh the memories

Days like today make me forget about stressing over work that needs to be done and makes each breath I take a reminder of how good life is.  I never thought I would enjoy visiting someone  in the hospital but for some reason each time I leave my grandma’s side I gain a sense of peace and joy that is hard to describe.  She has been fighting various health issues and is now recovering from a fall that resulted in a broken hip and shoulder. My mom and her sisters have been rotating shifts at the hospital so that Grandma always has someone at her side. The grandkids have also been pitching in and also making sure that Grandpa is taken care of. I’ve always loved my family but in times like this I just can’t stop thinking about how thankful I am. The real kicker tonight was watching my mom at her mother’s bedside… stroking her hair, squeezing her hand and telling her everything was going to be alright. Witnessing such a moment makes me analyze what I’m investing my time in …. and in which order of priority. I want more of my life spent looking into the eyes of those who I love, putting everything else aside and focusing in that moment on what matters most. Last week I was stressing over all of the jobs I am STILL behind on and wondering when I would get everything done. Funny that I don’t seem to have that worry on my mind today. Each day is a gift that deserves to be enjoyed.

My beautiful Grandma…

… go love someone today 

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:3-5

My husband’s extended family recently got together out at Birch Bay for a picnic and we had fun watching the kids enjoy themselves on the beach. I had to share a few snapshots from the evening.

Our beautiful neice Anna:

I have a feeling that Paula is going to treasure this photo of her 4 kiddos