our little slugger...

Today was one of those times when you stop and wonder, "Where has time gone?"

Our baby is 4 years old today! It seems like he was given to us by God just days ago, yet, it seems like he's been in our lives forever! He truly is our pride and joy. He makes every day a pleasure! Even those times that can be challenging, I try to stop and think, "At least I have him to challenge me." When I'm chasing after him for the "100th time" in a day, it's "At least he can run, and I can keep up with him!" that I say to myself. What did I do to deserve the privilege and honor of raising (along with the best husband and father in the world) such an incredible little boy?!?!

It's been amazing to watch him grow...physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. His interests have varied as his stages change (typical, I know, for any child); however, for the past year, he has done nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe baseball... almost literally!!! Just ask anyone who knows him! So, with no question, his birthday party theme this year had to be BASEBALL! We had a wonderful time with friends...who really are like family to us. I think he could have played baseball with them all day.

As Jacob continues to grow, I pray that God will always grant us wisdom and discernment to raise him "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." My prayer for him has always been Luke 2:52... May Jacob "increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

"Dear God, bless what you have fearfully and wonderfully made...In Jesus' name, Amen."

come to the table...

The new year has definitely started off well! For some time now, I have been wanting, no...needing new kitchen chairs. If you've visited our house within the last year and a half, you have probably set on a variety of chairs ranging from wooden to metal folding. Thanks to Craigslist, we now own not only new MATCHING chairs, but an adorable kitchen table.

I have tried to be patient and particular about waiting for new chairs and/or a table. I wanted black and rectangle, and today, the Lord was so gracious to give me both...not to mention at an incredible price--$85! The design in the middle of the chairs was unique, so I wanted to give it special meaning...since this truly was a gift from God. I call the chairs my Worshipping Chairs because it looks like uplifted hands of praise...well, at least to me they do! God is so good even in the little things.

happy new year...

Once again, December has come and gone...and now on to a new year.

We had a wonderful Christmas season. This year our family remembered the birth of our Savior in a new way. We observed the weekly advent candle-lighting while also reading an advent story each night. Not only did we reflect on the first coming of Christ, but it caused us to focus on His second coming.

This Christmas, the festivities of the season were all the more exciting as Jacob is beginning to understand more about the holiday. He enjoyed reading our "Jotham" story each night, but for him, the greatest excitement was going to Granddaddy and Grandmama's. It was wonderful to see our family in Georgia.

Since coming home, our family has had several days of "at home" time. This has been incredible! We have done several projects, had movie nights, played games, and laughed uncontrollably!

We are certain that God will continue to bless in the new year and allow us to be a blessing to others. Our family resolution is Psalm 1:2-3...

"...his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

We wish you a prosperous 2009 as well.

sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving from the Strouse House!

We have had a day full of wonderful blessings! God has been so gracious to us, and we owe everything to Him!

Living so far from both of our families is very hard...especially on holidays. We do try to travel to be with Jon's family or my family as much as we can. This Thanksgiving, however, we were home. We both have missed spending the time with our loved ones, but have felt especially comforted today. It has been a lovely day, and we are so grateful to have each other.

At dinner, Jon read Psalm 147, and then we all mentioned what we are most grateful for. Aside from the Lord and our salvation, it went something like this:

• Jon--"my family"
• Leigh Ellen--"Jon, Jacob, Jon's job, our home"
• Jacob--"BASEBALL"

There are really just too many blessings to name. It is so easy sometimes to dwell on the difficult times and problems of the day, but when we stop to think, we really have so much more going right in our life--so much more to be thankful for--than we really ever realize!

"Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. ...Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: ...The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." Psalm 147:1, 7, 11

on this Thanksgiving Eve...

Wow, what a week! The time has flown by, and "busy" just doesn't seem to accurately describe the days. Our family is definitely looking forward to a few days of family time!

On this Thanksgiving Eve, we have begun to slow our hearts and minds as we prepare for a special day tomorrow and weekend together. I prepared a few dishes tonight for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast, and we all made "No-Bake Cookies"--Jon's favorite! Jacob had so much fun! He got to help stir the ingredients, spoon out the cookies, and make it "snow" on the cookies! All without too big of a mess--yeaaaa!!!

We have just settled down with a movie, popcorn, and of course, our cookies. You're suppose to get to stay up late on "vacation" nights, right?

I'm very excited about our meal tomorrow...and of course, the desserts. I'm especially excited about spending the whole day with my precious family!

let it snow...

It did indeed snow today...well, more like "flurried." Jacob loved it! He kept wanting me to open the window so he could touch it. I hope we get a good snow this year. We would love to build a snowman!

Snow is not the only thing falling around here these days. Something else we can all be thankful for this Thanksgiving is the drop in gas prices. I saw it for $1.97 tonight. I never thought I would see it below $3.00 again, much less below $2.00!

Speaking of being thankful, we are so grateful for our little boy and his precious personality. Tonight, while Jon was working on some plumbing in our bathroom, Jacob was being Daddy's little "helper." Instead of helping, Jacob decided to brush his teeth. While he worked, Jon heard from the sink, "In the name of the Father..." Jacob was baptizing Spiderman (his Spiderman toothbrush). I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

what's the rush...

I love the fall...the colors are so beautiful! Our blog was previously Christmas-themed, but I just couldn't bring myself to slight Thanksgiving. With only a week and a half left to enjoy this season, I decided to stay focused on thankfulness and God's blessings.

In October, when the leaves were most colorful, our Autumn Blaze maple trees were gorgeous! Jon took pictures of the leaves, and I've enjoyed using them as my desktop background...as well as for the banner on this blog.

The leaves are actually all gone now...and it's starting to look a little like winter. In fact, the news predicts POSSIBLE snow flurries in the morning.

We're usually in such a hurry to get to Christmas, but I just want to slow down and enjoy the everyday blessings that God has provided!