Abundance

...my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalms 23:5-6

Today in church, our pastor asked what we would say if someone asked us to describe our lives now that Christ is living in our hearts.  He asked if our answer would be "abundance", and it really got me thinking.  He was making the point that once Jesus comes into our lives, the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, etc.) should start flowing out of us in abundance.  Because that's what Jesus does, right?  He provides us with those things so that we may go out into the world and share those gifts with others.  It is easy to praise Him when things are going "right"...not so easy when things seem to be falling apart.  But even in those falling apart times we should try to recognize all of the beauty that He is bestowing upon us.  And that brings to me to what I was thinking about throughout the entire sermon...my many, many blessings.  Sure, there are things that I wish were different, things that I long for and desire that are currently out of my reach.  But my life, my heart, is still overflowing with thanksgiving.  I know that there is a perfect time for all things, and that in Him, I will find peace when I need it most.  

So, I've decided to call my "Thankful Thursday" posts, "Abundant Sunday".  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just browse on down a few posts, and it will all become clear :)  I'll start out today with some of the things that are overwhelmingly abundant in my life...

1.  My husband...what a joy to know that Gods hand made him just for me!

2.  The opportunity to travel.  Oh my gosh, I am quite ready to be back in the good 'ole US of A, but what incredible opportunities we have been given to see the world while stationed in England!  We may never be in the position to come back, so I am trying to soak up as much of it as I can while we're here!!

3.  My wonderfully crazy, ever-growing family.  I just love them.  They're great about keeping me in the loop, and sending some much needed Texas love over here when I need it most!

4.  The gorgeous sunset tonight.  It was absolutely breathtaking.

5.  The Christmas wreath (pictured above), sent by my mama, that makes our house just a little bit more festive!!

6.  My friends....they ROCK!

I hope that your Sunday was relaxing and filled to the brim with good things.  I'd love to hear what's "tipping your cup" any time :)

~Amy

Hamburg w/ the Hilburns!!

Last week we traveled to Hamburg, Germany w/ our great friends, the Hilburn's.  We left super early in the morning on Tuesday, and were back in England for lunch on Thursday!  Talk about a whirlwind trip!  We had a great time exploring the beautiful city, and we got a very special treat on Wednesday too...our very own snowstorm!  Now, I'm from Texas (as many of you know) where we're lucky to get a few snowflake sprinkles IF we're really lucky.  I've never seen so much snow in my life...huge, gorgeous snowflakes just fluttering down from the sky in sheets!  It was amazing!  The Hilburns two little ones loved it too...Cara even danced and sang in it (but that could have been from all the hot chocolate & few sips of coffee that we gave her from Starbucks to warm up!)  We maneuvered our way through the very busy Christmas Markets, admiring all of the wonderful trinkets & yummy food, and made our way over to the Miniature Wonderland to see the train display too.  Oh my gosh, this place was so cool!   You must click on the link to see for yourself how awesome it was!  

Though very quick, our trip was just wonderful.  We are so blessed to have friends like the Hilburns to share such great memories with!  Enjoy some pics below :)

Yummy treats at the Christmas Market

Hamburg Town Hall

Entrance to the biggest Market

Chris & I playing in the snow!

Thanksgiving Visit

Chris & I just returned from Germany where we spent a lovely Thanksgiving with his Dad & Donna. They got to visit us for a week, and we definitely tried to squeeze as much into those 7 short days as possible. We decided to focus on the Northwestern part of Germany for this visit, and we weren't disappointed. Our first stop was Trier where we shopped at the Christmas Markets and fell in love w/ Gluehwein (hot wine) & schnitzel. Oh my gosh, we were in heaven! The next day we traveled to Cochem to visit the beautiful castle, and walk the quaint, romantic town. We saved the best for last and visited Cologne (Koln) on Thursday. My mom, who traveled to Cologne when she was in high school, has always said that if God were to live on earth, the Cologne Cathedral would be His home. I can't argue with her there! It was unbelievable! We toured the Cathedral for over an hour, looking at the shrine to the three Magi & the gorgeous stained glass windows. We also took a few trips around the stalls of the biggest Christmas Market I have ever seen! Oh, the crepes! I just can't even describe how yummy they were!

On our way back to England, we stopped in Luxembourg to tour the American Cemetery there. What a somber and inspiring place. We read numerous accounts of the brave soldiers who fought & died on that soil so that the reign of tyranny could end. There were over 3,000 graves there, and General Patton's was out in front, leading his Army still.

The entire trip was just wonderful. We are so thankful that our parents have all had the opportunity to come out to visit us this year. Since Chris returned, all four sets of them have made the long trek "across the pond" to spend some time with us. It's hard to be away from our families, especially at the holidays, and we feel so blessed that they were able to make their trips.

We hope that everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

Chris & Amy

Helga's House...with Helga in the window!

Cochem Castle

The Luxembourg American Cemetery

Cologne Cathedral

Pics & MckMama

I love lazy Saturdays!  I love sleeping late, making breakfast burritos with my hubs, and lounging on the couch until I just can't lounge anymore.  It is fantastic!  We rarely have Saturdays like this, but when we do, I treasure them. 

This afternoon, we finally made our way back to reality and cleaned our house for our visitors tomorrow.   Chris's dad & step-mom are coming out for a visit, and we're so looking forward to spending Thanksgiving w/ them in Germany.  We head out on Monday for a 5 day road-trip through what has proven to be, my most favorite country in Europe!  

I also finally got around to taking some pictures of my Christmas decorations!  My sweet mama has also sent me another whole box full of festive fun, so I'll definitely post some more when I receive that wonderful little package!  I've also posted some pics of my dad's visit...I was having a little problem w/ the pic uploading the other day (I feel your pain, Kate), so they are a little delayed!  

On another note, I've found a fantastic blog that I highly encourage you to browse when you get a moment.  MckMama is a mother of 4 sweet babies under the age of 3!  Yes, you read that right!  Her youngest, Stellan, was born just one month ago.  This precious little bundle, by the grace of God (and many, many prayers) is a living miracle.  He was diagnosed with all kinds of heart problems in the womb.  At 24 weeks, the Dr's told his family that all hope was lost, and that he would surely die.  They chose to give their son to the Lord, and let Him do what He alone can do.  Stellan was born in October a "well and whole full-term baby"!  Praise the Lord!! MckMama's site holds all kinds of goodies for her readers...little bits of wisdom from a very busy mom, wonderful words of faithful encouragement, cute pics of her Mck clan, and so much more.  Right now, she's having a "Small Fryday Contest" (you'll see what it's all about when you read her blogs) for those bloggers who link to her site.  Sure, it would be fun to win some cool stuff, but more than that, I hope that you too can find some joy in what she has to say.  Take my word for it, and check her out for yourself!

Blessings, 

Amy

Our festive coffee table :)

Stockings, Presents, and Snowmen...oh my!!

The Mathematical Bridge in Cambridge

Chris & Dad in London

My most favorite picture of my dad....Behind the colleges in Cambridge

Name That Title

I was blog-browsing the other day, and came across a really good idea on one of my friend's blogs. On Thursdays, she does a "Thankful Thursday" post listing all of the things that she was thankful for that week.  Though I totally love the title, I'd hate to steal her entire idea....so that's where you all come in!  Does anyone have a creative name for a post like this??  I'm not set on Thursdays either...could be Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesdays...okay, I think you get the picture.  Leave your suggestions in the comments...I'd love to hear what you think :)

So, onto my thanks-givings...

~It seems like God has blessed me with more time this week to just sit and be with Him.  I always feel like I just go-go-go, and sometimes have a hard time finding a quiet moment to reflect on what He is doing in my life.  This week, He really seemed to slow things down so that I could do just that.

~I've been loving the cold weather.  I don't care if it's a little (okay, a LOT) rainy...I LOVE cold weather.

~I found some great new recipes in the Kraft magazine...if you don't get it, you can sign up on kraft.com.  I LOVE that site!

~I got my Christmas cards this week, and have addressed & stamped them already.  They are sitting in a nice little pile in my living room just begging to be sent out :)

~And, I just have to mention my Christmas decorations again...they just make me so darn happy!  (Oh, and I'll post some pics of them this weekend for those of you who asked!)

Hope you have all had a great week!!

~A

Wonderfully Merry

When the air starts getting cooler, and the leaves begin to flutter down from the trees, I always start to feel a hint of nostalgia and a stirring of my spirit.  At this time of year I love the smell of firewood outside, wearing my very worn-out pair of flannel pj's, snuggling in my furry socks, and the warmth of our home.  

Some of my  favorite childhood memories are of helping my mom decorate the house for every holiday.  From St. Patrick's Day to Christmas Day and everything in between; our house was, by far, the most festive house around.  I remember looking forward to putting up our Christmas tree after dinner on Thanksgiving night...it was tradition, and I treasured it.   I loved looking at all of the ornaments that we had collected over the years; the ones that my brother and I made, the ones that were trip souvenirs, and the ones that were passed down from my grandparents from when my mother was a little girl.  We would decorate the tree while listening to Christmas music, reminiscing about the past, and looking forward to the new year.

This will be the first year of my life that I won't spend any of the Christmas season with my family.  I can't help but feel a twinge of sadness when I think of all of the holiday joy that I will be missing with them.  This weekend while feeling very sorry for myself, I suddenly had a brilliant idea.  Well, brilliant for me...not so much for Chris!   

With the help of my amazingly sweet husband, I rummaged through the attic and found all of my Christmas decorations.  It took me all day on Saturday, but I am proud to say that my entire house is now wonderfully merry!  The garland is hung, the stockings our out, and we even have presents wrapped and under our tree (this largely attributed my aforementioned mother!).  Oh, it is so festive, I can hardly stand it!  And as I decorated, I thought of my other home...the one in Texas that my mama was decorating at the same exact moment as I...and it made me realize how truly blessed I am.

Dad's Visit

We have been so blessed to have had so many visitors lately!  My dad was our last guest (he just left this morning), and we had a great time exploring England & traveling to Brugge, Belgium.  It was his first time overseas, so I felt like I had to introduce him to all of the great England culture...no passing on the left, stand to the right on all escalators, and mind the gap when getting onto the tube!!  We had a great time just spending some quality time together, and I'm definitely looking forward to our next visit!