Tender Tennessee Christmas...

I HAD to use that title for my blog! That song didn't mean all that much to me when I was younger, but boy, does it now! It definitely expresses my sentiments about Christmas! We enjoyed a nice visit with both our families during Christmas, and Livy had a wonderful time with her little cousins...and they were quite taken by her as well!! We enjoyed our traditional gingerbread day at Grandmother's...Livy's first experience and she made her first gingerbread...a handprint! And one of my favorite memories is how Livy wanted to love and hug on every one of her little cousins, and all the little boys at Bebo's house were so enthralled by Livy, following her around...her every move, hoping they would be the next one she gave a hug to!

Christmas time is here!

Christmas is truly my favorite holiday, the traditions and family time it brings about warm my heart in unique and special ways. It was fun to enjoy our family Christmas together before we began the holiday travels. Livy was old enough this year to interact and enjoy the experience more. We enjoyed our traditional evening of Christmas decorating as a family, Christmas movies, making Christmas decorations with dear friends, and our traditional family Christmas breakfast and gift exchange.
I also enjoyed my first venture with gluten-free gingerbread with a friend, that turned out successful. We enjoyed sharing some decorated gingerbread with our neighbors!

1 YEAR!

This is truly a life to be celebrated! Livy has enriched our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Certainly life has its struggles and battles, but reflecting on the last year of our lives as a family with the addition of sweet Livy is definitely one of the brightest spots of life. It is so fulfilling to spend every day with her, watching her grow and learn. I often feel that I learn much more from her than she does me. Before Livy was born, I prayed that the Lord would place joy in her heart that only he can and that it would radiate and overflow into the lives of others she is around. One very clear thing noticed by anyone around Livy for any amount of time is her loving demeanor. She wants to give and show love to any small person she is around. She has no lens to judge, and she accepts anyone, no matter what. What a beautiful example of how Jesus loves and the joy he imparts to those he encounters.

Although I don't always feel that I know what I'm doing as a Mom, there is at the same time such a natural sense that this is exactly what I was made to do, so much satisfaction and fulfillment in it, even when I get it wrong...knowing that I do get it wrong and that I will fail. But as I was reminded by my hubby this morning in his sermon, Jesus has already passed every test for me. He has already given me an 'A' because of his merit, not mine. Only He can truly empower me as a Mommy every day and provide the strength and wisdom and love that I need. Only He can cause His love to overflow from my life into hers.
Crayons, stained shirts, sleepless nights, giggles, endless diapers, sticky fingers, and sweet hugs and kisses have filled a place in my heart I never knew existed.
Our continued prayer for Livy is what we pray with her every day, that she would never know a day that she doesn't love and know Jesus.

Cades Cove Camping

After our Juice Plus conference, we enjoyed a week of visiting family and friends before Damein met up with us to go camping the follow weekend for our annual Cades Cove camping trip. This was an especially special trip because I have been going to CC with my family for years now and have always dreamed of getting to bring my little one along and this was the first year I could do that! It is such a unique opportunity to spend time with family, away from modern distractions, enjoying one another's company. Camping to me is about conversations, food, and creation. I love getting out in the fresh air, away from distractions so I can hear myself think and enjoy talking with others. Food is always a highlight. Pancake breakfasts, sandwhich lunches, chili, and fire roasted baked potatoes. YUM! And of course, being immersed in creation is always refreshing and perspective giving for me.
I love my grandfather's, Grandan, passion for camping. He is 93 and still going strong with the camping trips, always wishing we were there another day. He and Grandmother have set the pace in the camping tradition, taking my dad, aunt, and uncle all around the U.S. camping in different states when they were growing up.
Livy was a trooper. Everyone bragged on what a great camper she was, and it's true! We enjoyed hiking and driving around the cove, an 11 mile loop through a historic area in the park where horses, deer, bears, owls, and other wildlife are often spotted. Livy enjoyed doing her little girly scream back and forth with her cousin Lucas who she is crazy about. It is funny to see how he can bring out a part of her no one else can!

Thanks Grandmother and Grandan for a great trip and a wonderful tradition. Our entire family was in attendance this year. Something that hasn't happened in probably over a decade!

Inspiring Healthy Living Around the World

Livy and I went on our longest excursion ever without Damein recently when we had a nice long visit in TN. We spent our first weekend at the International Juice Plus conference in Nashville. Livy did awesome, taking nice long naps in the ergo during the main sessions while I took notes, and we had a great time with our team learning about ways our company is expanding our ability to inspire healthy living around the world. I love getting to see people from all over the world and hear how they are educating people on the importance of eating more fruits and veggies, as we are in over 20 countries now. It is such a blessing to be associated with a company with such high integrity and vision for such a worthy cause.
It was held at the Opryland Hotel, so Mom, Livy and I enjoyed some evening walks to see the lights and water features, which Livy loved!
Here are some pics from my 8th conference, and Livy's 2nd! There are also pics of: Livy with a new friend we met on the airplane with whom she enjoyed playing, as well as a pic with her 'lunchbox' which she did not want to let go of the entire time we were there! You will also see a pic of Livy with her great, great aunt Bet, who we ran into as soon as we walked off our airplane! Small world, right?! Made me feel immediately like I was at home!

Pear Picking

In October, Livy and I joined some other moms from our church for a trip up into the mountains to Julian, for apple picking! However, it happened to rain a lot that day (very unusual to rain much here), so the apple orchards were closed, but we did get to pick pears! It was actually very cold, so I had to dig out my coat and gloves! Crazy, right?! And poor Livy didn't have any winter type clothes yet, but had one pants outfit with a jacket Mema had previously given her, thankfully! We bundled up and had a great time! The scenery on the way there was unbelievable, so I included some of those pics also! You will also see a cute pic of Katelyn waving from her stroller, which is one of Livy's best friends from church. Kade, a sweet boy from our church adores Livy and you can see him entertaining her at a restaurant we ate lunch at after picking pears.
Julian is a historic town with a picturesque main street, lined with mom and pop shops that make homemade apple pies, apple cider, and other yummy homemade jams and treats. It was fun getting to peruse the shops and drink some warm apple cider with good friends on a cold day!
I haven't done anything special with my pears yet, since I went out of town shortly after this trip. We have been snacking on them (they are in the fridge of course), and I am hoping to make a pear tart or something yummy with them soon!

Family Day in Point Loma

Damein and I enjoyed celebrating 5 awesome years together on September 9th. It is a beautiful thing to be able to reflect on the goodness of God in our lives in the last 5 years. So much has happened! It's funny to think that when Damein and I married, I was fully convinced that is who God intended for me to be with; however, we still had a lot of getting to know each other to do! (and we still do :)
Here we are, 5 years later, in our 4th home, our 2nd state, completed our Masters, enjoying our first little baby, and more in love than ever :) I'm so thankful God knows me better than I know myself and saw fit to put me with such a wonderful man, perfect for me! I loved the tidepools at Point Loma so much, that I took Damein during our anniversary weekend. We went in the late afternoon during low tide and hiked around the cliffs a bit, spending time on some rocks that provided a breathtaking view of the ocean.
We spent some time just taking it all in. It is truly life-giving to be able to experience moments when you can allow the vastness and beauty of God's creation to wash over you. One of my favorite scenes in creation are mountains jutting into the ocean, and Point Loma reflects this beautifully. As we peered out from the rocks, all you could see for miles and miles was ocean and sky, as the breeze literally filled our lungs with fresh ocean air. It was truly surreal. We spent some time talking about God's goodness and his absolute bigness...then took some family pics together before heading out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants :)