Eighteen Candles... and a Happy New Year!

Yes, today is my eighteenth birthday!

And it really is hard to believe. Where did all the time go?

This morning my mom and I drove to our local DPS office so that I could take my driving test with the prospect of finally obtaining my drivers license.  I have to admit I was a tad nervous; mostly because I'm not a consistent parallel parker. *nervous chuckle*  I was so afraid I would fail that part of the test. SoOo... I prayed a lot!  And guess what? 

***  I passed!!! ***

I have to give all the credit to the Lord for supplying me with the wisdom and guidance that I needed.  He is so faithful and I am just jumping for joy inside.  Left to myself, there's no way I would've walked out of that office today with a license in hand.  But -- praise God -- I'm now a licensed driver!  Eep! 

This is just an added blessing to the many I've experienced this past year.  I can't thank God enough for walking with my family through these last 365 days. 

People, let me just tell you,

HE IS A FAITHFUL KING AND LORD OVER ALL.

Without His hand of providence leading and guiding, protecting and sustaining, nurturing and holding us up this past year... I don't know where my family would be.  I am truly in awe of his awesomeness right now.  And that's what I love about this time of year: the opportunity it gives me to really reflect on all God has done in my life.

Elisabeth Elliot speaking of Amy Carmichael

"The preoccupations of

seventeen-year-old girls

-- their looks, their clothes, their social life -- do

not change much from generation to generation. But in 

every generation

there seem to be a few who make other choices. 

Amy was one of the few." 

...And I pray I was too.

Now, as an eighteen-year-old, I look forward to continuing to live out my life to the glory of my precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  He is certainly worthy. :)

I pray you all have a supernaturally blessed new year!

Happy Birthday to My Littlest Sis . . .

Who isn't so little anymore!

Dear Samantha,  It's hard to believe we're celebrating your 12th birthday!  It's at times like these when I'm reminded of all the memories we've made together, and just how precious of a gift you are.  My life has been so richly blessed because of you.  And I mean that with all of my heart.  I love you.  And I pray God's best for you each day! Remember to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness... 

Happy birthday, little Sis!

Love Always,

your forever...

 Tay-bay

♥

Happy Sweet Sixteen ~ to My Little Sis . . .

Happy 16th birthday,

Sister #1

Sixteen Wonderful Things About You:

#1 Your smile

#2 Your funny sense of humor :D

#3 Your thoughtfulness

#4 Your creativeness

#5 Your ability to take care of and play

with children and babies so well

#6 Your resourcefulness when it comes to

working outdoors-where I'm not so resourceful!

#7 Your Christlike spirit

#8 Your love for reading

#9 Your ability to accomplish whatever you

set your mind to do

#10 Your confidence

#11 Your baking... it's always yum-o!

#12 Your pretty blonde hair and blue eyes

#13 Your amazing talent to mow large areas of

grass in no time at all. ;D

#14 Your beautiful singing voice

#15 Your hugs

#16 And last but not least...

the fact that you are always there for me when I need you.

We are definitely total opposites, and I know we

don't always get along, but whenever it comes to

doing something important it's been a tremendous blessing

to have you right there with me.  There are so many examples I

can think of when you and I had to work together to take care

of something.  And--by God's grace--we've always been able to get it done.  We really have been through so much together, and it's at times like this when I realize just how thankful I am to have YOU as my sister.  You are so special to me.  Thanks for everything.  I hope you have a wonderful, blessed birthday!!!

I love you SO much!

40 Years Old Today...

************************************

I'm so glad God blessed me with such

an AMAZING father like you.

I love you very much,

Taylor

.♥

Birthday Blessings . . .

...

Today is Sister #2's thirteenth birthday! My goodness... I cannot believe how quickly the years have gone by. I remember the days of climbing trees, playing in the water hose, dressing up, "spying" on Dad while he would mow the lawn, taking trips to the park, jumping on the trampoline, doing flips all over the couch... along with all the other fun things we did when we were girls--as if it were only yesterday! Where has the time gone?

...

............................................

I'm so thankful for all the memories we've made together,

and I'm even more thankful that you are my sister.

I love you very much, Sis! And I hope you have a

wonderful 13th birthday. You truly do deserve it. :)

"The blessing of the Lord be upon you."

.................. Psalm 129:8 .................

Happy Birthday, to My Best Friend :)

I couldn't let the day pass without wishing my dear Mommy a happy, happy birthday! She is such a special person to me and she truly is my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without her! :)

---------------------------------------

Thank you, Mommy, for all that you do.

You do such a wonderful job at taking care of us girls,

and Daddy too.

I am so grateful to have a loving, godly mother like you.

I love you so very much.

Happy Birthday!

~Love you, Taylor

---------------------------------------

My Mom at a birthday party when she was a little girl.

(Pictured front right, with the black socks!)

"This is the day that the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

Psalm 118:24

A Very Happy Birthday/A Pretty Late Post!

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry for not posting for so long! I've been quite busy this week! I hope you all have been enjoying the new year. :) I had such a nice birthday, and I thought I might share a couple of pictures with you...

My sisters set this up for me while my mom and I were gone! They had each made something for me, wrapped it, and written a sweet card. :)

Here I am opening a gift from a very special friend of mine. ;)

And now I'm wearing the gift! :D An adorable new apron! Yay!

~ I absolutely love it!! ~

Here, on the left, is a book I bought myself with a giftcard, and on the right is a set of audio CD's of the entire New Testament that some friends gave me!

This is a cute little snow globe that came in a package of stuff from some other friends. I just thought this pictures was neat!

And lastly, I bought myself a new camera! As you can see, it's a Canon G11 and so far I'm really happy with it! I think I'll definitely be posting a lot more pictures on here soon. ;)

Anyway, I can't believe it's already been a week since I last posted. I had a very nice birthday and I'm so glad that the Lord has blessed me with another year! Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my last birthday post. You're each such a blessing. :) I hope you have a wonderful rest-of-the-week! God bless!!

Praising God for Another Year

Today is New Years Eve, and also my 17th birthday. It's so hard to believe another year has gone by! I have been blessed in so many ways--too numerous to count! And these are some things I pray the Lord will bless us with in the upcoming year:

• The Armor of God "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:11
• Assurance
• Belief
• Boldness
• Character
• Commitment "Your hearts must be committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time." 1 Kings 8:61
• Compassion
• Confidence "We say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" Hebrews 13:6
• Contentment
• Courage
• Determination
• Devotion
• Discernment
• Encouragement "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25
• Faith
• Family -- To embrace each other daily!!!
• Fellowship
• Health
• Honesty
• Hope
• Hospitality
• Humility "Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life." Proverbs 22:4
• Identity
• Integrity
• Joy "Be joyful always..." 1 Thessalonians 5:16
• Justification
• Kindness
• Love for God
• Love for others
• Maturity
• Obedience
• Patience
• Peace
• Perseverance
• Praise "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name!" Psalm 103:1
• Prayer
• Presence of God
• Priorities
• Purity
• Quietness
• Repentance
• Righteousness
• Salvation
• Self-control
• Serving
• Sincerity
• Strength "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
• Thankfulness
• Trust
• Truth
• Will of God
• Wisdom
• Witnessing
• Worship

With my birthday falling on the last day of each year, it makes it easy for me to look back on the past year and thank God for all he's done for me and my family. I have so much to praise Him for! I look forward to what He has in store for 2010 as it leads up to the time when we will one day be with Him in Paradise, day and night never to stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come." (Revelation 4:8) I pray with all my heart that this be a year filled with fruitful labor and service in Christ.

Now, with the next year just minutes away, I wish you all a wonderful, joy-filled, blessed New Year in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--who was... and is... and, praise the Lord, is to come!

Praise the Lord for another year!!

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH. :)

Birthday Blessings

Yesterday we celebrated Sister #3's eleventh birthday! On Friday, she and a friend of hers got to go to a Family Fun Center nearby. They had a really good time together. Then that evening we had our grandparents come over for presents and cake and ice cream. This year she decided that she wanted an ice cream cake... so we bought one! (No, we didn't make it ourselves!) It was very delicious, though! :)

This is one of the gifts she got from our grandparents:

... Isn't he so cute?!


Here she is (on left) playing the "ticket version" of Deal or No Deal with her friend at the FFCenter. They ended up with about 1,500 tickets to spend on prizes! Good job, girls! (Sister #2 helped them out a lot with that! ;)

Anyway, it's hard to believe the youngest in our household is now 11 years old! My goodness how time flies. :) She has been one of the biggest blessings to our family and I love her so very much. May the Lord bless you and keep you, dear sister, throughout this next year!

I love you!