Some Family Time

Katie, the kids, and I went up to the Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm in Pleasant Hill yesterday to pick out our Christmas tree for this year. I guess that makes sense that we went to get a tree, huh? It was a wonderful time together with much-needed outdoor mud play, even if it was a little brisk. Here are the kids riding on the hay. The girls are their normal selves, happy to be picking out a tree and very excited for cookies and hot chocolate afterwards. Ricky seems a little pensive with the jostling of the haycart and the noise of the diesel tractor droning on through the puddles. Of course, I think he also saw a cow, which was very exciting. He can say "moo." So can the cow. It was a big day.

It seems like we get these days too far apart, and I hate to sound cliche, but the days do tend to pick up speed as we grow older. Katie and I are almost 30 years old, and where we are today is not where I expected to be at 30 years old. We are pleasantly surprised at what the Lord is doing in our lives and have to take a few moments to breathe every once in awhile, because amidst all the turmoil of raising three children, pastoring a church, and generally staying sane, God has been incredibly gracious to us. All I have to do to remember that is look on these three little faces and see the fingerprints of God on the canvas of my life. These ones are a few of the greatest gifts that God has graced us with and we are honored and overjoyed to call them our own.