Monthly Archives: December 2009

finishing strong

joel and i had the privilege of attending the celebration of life of a leader in our congregation this morning
the ceremony was a true service of worship, glorification, and praise to Christ
this man was described as pushing others closer to Christ
we were urged to remember that the hole we feel in needing/wanting those that are gone should be filled with Jesus!

we are so blessed to have been at this funeral today and so thankful to have been impacted by Scott’s life

its a wonderful world

louis armstrong had it right!

blessings are overflowing lately for the drapers!

we have been enjoying our marriage so much more every day – its wonderful to see how better it continues to get!

we also are so happy with our wonderful puppy – those of you that don’t have this type of a bond with a pet won’t understand – but she makes life so much greater for us!

we have been so blessed to be a part of such warm fellowship at our faith community (life community church in bluffton) God has been transforming our hearts, building relationships, and plugging us in to serve our community – its exciting to see all He has to offer us and the many wonderful opportunities He provides

extended family time has been rich this fall and winter as well – we are so looking forward to spending more of it all together over the christmas season – we are thankful for the wonderful relationships we have with our brothers, sisters, parents, nieces, nephews, and grandparents!

i am so personally thankful for the end of my fall semester! i am excited for the wonderful opportunities i will receive as i begin practicing my skills at our free clinic in huntington (ask me for details!) the last year and a half has taught me so much about school, relationships, professors, diligence, and responsibility – i’m so thankful to be a part of this program!

i have also been so blessed in this wonderful world to have such a wonderful husband! he has grown and changed so much since our engagement, our marriage, and even more in the last six months. his leadership and guidance has been a main ingredient in the joy of our marriage – i love you honey!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving in review…

i just want to give a glimpse into our long weekend through some random thoughts and quotes that some of you may or may not understand or appreciate: enjoy 🙂

1 bed that had been peed on by a dog that i laid in for 30 minutes before Joel came to bed and laid in the wet spot…we slept on kid sleeping bags and used random house blankets that were not long enough to cover us up. needless to say – i woke up cranky and cold.
1 cousin asking Joel if she wanted the baby she was carrying…
1 horrendous headache Sunday morning that handicapped me to the bed while Joel had to get up at 6:30 and go to church for 6 hours…
2 games played with Joel’s family where Joel not only DIDN’T win but kind of got last place…
2 Christmas movies watched while decorating our home (Surviving Christmas – very bad! Elf – very wonderful!)
3 Thanksgivings
3 new people at the greater Draper Thanksgiving that none of us (us being Joel, Neil, Leslie, and I) knew (happens every holiday at that house!)
3 nephews running around my parents home 🙂
4 hours of traveling to and from MI
7 dogs in one house at one time
8ish strands of lights put up around our house
$15 Christmas tree – yay our second married Christmas!
20+ crackers with Dawn’s cream cheese, chipped beef and green onion cheeseball creation on Saturday afternoon…yummy
25 days until Christmas – another crazy holiday weekend full of family and surprises!

when i started this post i didn’t realize i’d make it so numerical – but then that had a nice ring to it all…one of my favorite games of this season is writing emails/poems/conversations to the tune of different Christmas carols – maybe i’ll do a future post honoring that fun!