Two Thousand Ten {in pictures}

This year has been bursting with growth, blessings, trials, joys, and lots of ways to see His faithfulness and tender mercies.

Here are some glimpses into what we have been up to in the year 2010.

Enjoy :)

As you have read, we have the blessed opportunity to have the Hood family live with us.

Nate is one of the reasons we smile during the day--he's a cute, silly monkey.

Mr. and Mrs. H celebrating Mom's birthday.

Thanks to some dear friends being out of town for the holiday's, Mica was able to experiment with a dehydrator, we're still enjoying the delish coconut macaroons.

See her account for more yummy details!

You wouldn't know that we were in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery in the middle of November would you?

Times Square

This was one of my favorite parts of our visit to Virginia.

Naturally we had to take a picture with the shoe :)

This time with my sweet friend Maria is something I treasure.

We also went camping this year--with the Webbs!

Although, I'm afraid it will take some more time for Dom to get accustomed to getting dirty.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a few weeks with the

Apodaca's after the birth of Rebecca.

Group pictures can be a challenge but here is our best attempt!

So many faces :)

Our cousin Emily spent her Spring holiday with us and helped us model all of the cute scarves Dad got us from his trip to the UK (We were thankful that he was able to take quite a few trips that year, so many fun pictures and memories that we were vicariously able to make through him :)

Dom also got the chicken pox that year :(

But you can't really tell.

We also spent sweet time with the Neals!

Their friendship is treasured and we love when they make their annual visit from Dubai.

As I am thinking about this past year, Isaiah 58 is a strong representation of the hopes I have for the coming year. Naturally it's difficult to sum up all of the little things that God has shown you over the year but that passage is a good representation of what I've learned and what I strive for this year. Isaiah 58 has been both encouraging and convicting for me, I'm sure there will be future posts about it but in any case I hope that you will read it and that the Lord would use it to humble you and show you His great mercy.

May He bless you this coming year.

Dear Mom and Dad {Happy Anniversary}

Dear Mom and Dad,

Happy Anniversary!

Thank you for seeing the Lord together in your marriage,

showing us an example of true love.
Thank you for living it out-not perfectly;

for being an example of Christs love for The Church.

We're thankful for you and that you can have this time together.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angel,
but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and deliver up my body to be burned,
but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.
1 Corinthians 13

Much Love,

Nicole, Elena, Mica, Caro

p.s.
Yes, we know you don't look like this
but we actually didn't have a picture of you on this computer!

My sister, my friend

I am very thankful for the relationships that I have with my sisters. Often times they are the ones who know me best; the ones who make me truly laugh; and they tell me of my faults. So, in this post I would like to share with you a bit about the three special people in my family.

I'll start with Nicole. We have known each other for nearly nineteen years and I can honestly say that it's not until the past eight years that our relationship has taken on a deeper level. I trust her with my thoughts and emotions because I know that she will tell me when I am being unreasonable or simply over dramatic. With that being said, I am ever grateful for her understanding me and taking most everything I have to say seriously. She will never laugh at me or tell me I am stupid or ridiculous. She is so witty and hilarious, I love and respect her so much-and one of the best things is that she thinks I am pretty funny too :)

One of the things I am loving the most about her is her incredible example of a God-fearing wife and mother. Each day she dedicates to the tasks the Lord has placed before her: to care for her blessings and love, respect her husband. Continually she pleads her grievances or concerns before the Lord and not man; she is finding her satisfaction and joy in Him, even in a day when feminism, "Me time", and "the plight of children" can so easily get in her way. She sets the Lord before her and follows Him alone. I pray that when I am married, God would see fit to bless me with the same dedication, devotion, patience, and joy that I see in her.

Mica has become my partner in crime, best friend, nertz champion, sleeping and movie buddy. Even when we were seven and five, she has let me go on my own creative, slightly disturbing imaginations. She even let me nickname her "Charis" not because it means "grace" but because it was the closest word to "carrot" that I could think of; I allowed myself the far more dignified name, "Jenny". But on a more serious note, the relationship Mica and I have has grown significantly in the past five years. When we were living in California we shared a room about the size of most peoples bathroom and a closet the size of a pantry, so we came to know each other very well after that. In the beginning it was a bit of an adjustment, I'll admit, later on though, we came to learn so much about each other. The sort of thing that can only take place in a shoebox of a room I suppose :) Now we can talk about most anything or stay completely silent. We have developed a sort of wordless communications: a look from her and I know it's time to clear the room or...well, just give her some time alone. Likewise, a few hours together on a certain morning and she knows not to ask me a certain question until later...much later. After having a deep, in-depth conversation about marriage and courtship, I asked her if we could just stay single and become old spinsters in a cottage by the sea instead of getting into the intricacy's of marriage and going our separate ways. She said no.

Caro is just very funny; we are so similar in pretty much everything. Neither of us are good in arithmetic and lean heavily on the creative side. As the baby of the family she has gone through quite a lot: four mothers for most of her life, suddenly being displaced by a certain green-eyed girl, then getting compost duty and learning the art of cleaning the kitchen after supper. It's been difficult but since we are so much alike, I've been ableto help her adjust to her new lot in life. We have been through a lot together and it has been so wonderful to talk more with her and spend more time together, as she is now thirteen. Although we still talk about the times when she would be locked in the bathroom on the train-five minutes before our stop. But that is another story, of which you will have to ask her.

So, I hope you don't have the impression that I am saying my last goodbyes or anything like that :) This post was merely to share a bit about three of the people that I cherish the most.

The Meaning of Friendship

"A friend loves at all times,and a brother is born for adversity."

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy."

"Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel."

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

These are a few verses in the Bible that talk about friendship.

The meaning of friendship has become a constantly searched topic for me recently. I have had many different kinds of friends throughout the years and yet, many of those friendships were not Biblical in their fruit. Many a time has a friend been angry with me for telling them the truth about something they did not want to hear. Because of instances like these, it has caused me to think about the purpose behind my friendships and relationship with people in general. I was always confused (and still am) at why my friends were upset because I thought that's what friends were for; to encourage, to love, to counsel, and to sharpen.

When I was younger, friendship equaled playing; whether it was dress-ups, tag, mud wars, or really anything. As I grew older, the playing stopped for the most part and friendship then equaled "hanging out" and talking. However, the talking part was never glorifying to God in any way; our discussions were mostly meaningless, frivolous chatter about whatever was going on in our lives. Now, friendships mean something so different to me! I have learned that friendship is something more than having someone to talk and laugh with, although those things have their part in friendships. It is where people are not afraid to speak the truth in love to one another, to admonish, to learn from, to care for, to pray with, to bear burdens, and to encourage each other. How am I supposed to do all this for my friend if all we talk about is the latest movie or creative project? Bearing each others burdens is much easier to do if it is based on a foundation of prayer and trust with the other person. Talking about movies and projects are not bad in and of themselves but if that is all you talk about with your friend, you will never be able to bear burdens or pray together. In fact, you will never truly know the person because conversation is then limited to "what's going on in my life" only. As a result of that, pride becomes an even larger pitfall.

I regret the time spent over meaningless talk and wasted time. It has taught me to choose friends carefully, to value the true ones I have, and to guard my tongue with much diligence. In my experience, it is very easy for young women to be consumed in conversing about silly things and be satisfied with that. Our culture has taken friendship and turned it into a monster; either you are best friends or you are enemies. Gossip has gone and taken people captive, especially women. I remember, even among professing Christian friends, gossip being the normal talk.

Approaches to friendship should be Biblical; hence, the verses above. But with those who are not saved, the situation can be difficult. I still have friends who are not saved and I pray for them but my friendship is different with them. They don't understand what it means to speak the truth in love to each other or to encourage one another. It is difficult to be compassionate towards them and love them unconditionally and I often ask myself, "why am I still friends with them?". It is hard to answer that because if a person is not willing to let me counsel or sharpen them and vice-versa , then why are we still friends? It is easy to get downcast about such a topic but remember that we can only pray for them and be an example of believers in Christ. We must relaim "friendship" and incorporate it into our own relationships.

I love all the friends I have now, from church and other places. They have shown true friendship to me. Thank you, Lord, for people who are willing to correct, bear burdens, encourage, and challenge me!

In Christ,

Micaela

A few thoughts on the "Little Women" syndrome...

Well, to be truthful there is no "Little Women syndrome"; it's a name I have used to sum up the problem that we were introduced to last year. Allow me to explain.
Last year it happened that my Mom, sisters, and I were away to Austin off and on for some time, leaving Dad at home alone or he was on a business trip. So we were not able to see each other for very long before someone had to leave again.

Unfortunately, our communication suffered as a result of this. We didn't really share what we were thinking or things that mattered to us because we were either too tired or we were talking about our various trips.

This caused us to become like strangers to our Dad.

When we were together again some things, like family devotions, became strained and almost foreign.

It was a very sad time and it took a very serious conversation and some sober inward looks at our hearts to make things right.

Looking back this has made me "bookmark" certain things that will indicate when we will be in danger of this again.

So while we get back into the weekly routines, as our days become filled, and the evenings at home seem to slowly seem to fill up, we try to share as much of ourselves with Dad as we can. Often times going out of our way to confide in him what is troubling us and especially what we are struggling with.

Hopefully we won't go back to the dark, lonely time of last year, but continue to value and treasure this time in our lives that we have with our Dad.