Fun Festivities

This last week has been very fun filled:) Jim and I are very fortunate to have two very loving families who love spending time together. We usually alternate traveling down to PA every other major holiday and this Christmas was to be spent in MA with my family. We headed to their house on Friday and enjoyed some down time laughing together and playing with all the little cousins. It was very exciting to have our cousins drive up from PA with their newest addition, Micah. Of course, all of the little ones have more attention than they know what to do with when the whole family is together.
We enjoyed our Christmas Eve service followed by a huge potluck style dinner at my parents house. We also did a secret Santa this year. I got some nice Tastefully Simple supplies. We went to a nice church service on Christmas day too. All in all it was a great weekend filled with family time and lots of laughs and excitement with all the little kiddos running around. We also had a chance to celebrate with my in laws up in Maine at my sister in laws place. Boy did she make a delicious meal for us...(ham, mashed potatoes, corn and homemade bread)

My mother in law couldn't resist buying these reindeer antlers:)


And Jim and I couldn't resist wearing our notable moustaches:)

One of my favorite places

I love the beach! This picture (left)was actually taken this past winter. I think it was about 30 degrees out the day I took this picture. We are so fortunate that we live so close to the ocean. The smell of that salt air is priceless (great for the lungs). It is one of the few things that gets me through the harsh new england winters.
Today, after a great church service, Jim and I decided to go to a special place that we have been going for a while now where you can get pretty close to seals. If you time it right with a low tide and bright sun, the seals sunbath on a little island right off the shore. We always bring our binoculars and I've brought my camera a few times. I could spend hours just watching them! They tend to bark like dogs sometimes too. It is just amazing to think that God created every single living creature, great and small!
I'm looking forward to taking lots of pictures this winter.

work, errands, friends and volunteer opportunity

So today was a busy day. I worked this morning bookkeeping and I'm praying that my boss feels better. She is 90 years old and in excellent shape for her age but I've noticed her slowing down a little bit in the last few months especially. She is always in good spirits though and treats me like her granddaughter so it is a blessing to work for her. Then after work, I stopped to pick up a few xmas gifts, headed home to pick up our dog for a vet visit and then went to city hall to get Suvi's license. I'm so bad, I should have done this when we first moved here. Thankfully they were exceptionally nice in the office and I didn't even have to pay a late fee.
Yesterday was fun too, I had my friend and her son over for a late breakfast. I love getting together with her and her son is so adorable and very very active! Man, is he into everything:) I think moms are awesome. Later on, I met with the director of a non-profit that I may be interested in volunteering at. I really have to prayerfully consider this before I commit. I have the tendency to jump in pretty quickly and then feel over committed later on. But this could be a great thing.
Now off to a weight lifting class!

Exercise and Thankfulness

I was thinking today after my step aerobics class how much I appreciate exercise. Despite having a disease(s), I would consider myself a pretty healthy person, I just have to work harder than the average person at keeping myself that way. I think facing the reality of a disease like CF makes me extremely thankful for the ability to exercise. I can't say that I always enjoy it while I'm doing it, in fact, that is rarely the case; however, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment after I have pushed myself to the limit and sweat bullets because I know that my commitment to exercise, among other things, is why I am still alive today. I see nothing but benefits in consistent (1-2 hours, 5-6 days per week) exercise if it is done the right way. I believe that I have a responsibility to take the best possible care of the body God gave me. Does that mean I am glad that I have a disease? No, but I have to work with what I've got here and I want to be around for a while longer:)

^{Psalm 139
14} I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

I Love Christmas Time

This weekend has been pretty busy so far. Jim and I went to see a really great production of A Christmas Carol last night at our local community college. Scrooge was a terrific actor and very believable! This morning we got up pretty early for a Saturday (7am) and after meds, I started making a lasagna and prepping xmas cookies because Jim's awesome sister, Sarah (love you girl!)and her husband, Don were heading down from Maine for the day to spend some time with us and decorate xmas cookies. We always have such a fun time with them, laughing and playing games and sharing stories. I'm so thankful to have family close enough for a day trip.

After a good workout at the gym this evening, I'm excited to now relax with Jim tonight and prepare for worship tomorrow morning. We are doing the lighting of the advent candle for tomorrow morning service. I'm also loving the praise songs we're singing tomorrow.....The Wonderful Cross, Everlasting God, Your Grace is Enough....it's all good!

(I also heard from my cf nurse on Friday that I may possibly be hearing from the FDA on Monday about the approval of a medication I am hoping to get back on. This would be awesome because it has been a frustrating few months of waiting to hear about my application.)

That's it for now......Peace

Hello world, it's me!

I thought Christmas time would be the perfect time to start sharing my thoughts as this is one of my favorite times of the year. We've had a lot happen this year between buying our first home, joining a wonderful new church family, and meeting some great new friends.
Jim's loving his new job in dental sales where he sees much more friendly faces than he used to in pharmaceutical sales. He describes it as a breath of fresh air. I'm very thankful for that.
I am enjoying still working as a bookkeeper part time for Mrs Sears in Hamilton, MA and serving on our worship team at our new church.
I am so thankful that God has brought us to this point in our lives. Sometimes Jim and I are just sitting and we all of a sudden say, is this really our house?? Less than a year ago, we were living with my parents (thanks mom and dad) and wondering when we would find the right place for us.
God is good and even though we have had our challenges (hospital stay this year and home IV antibiotics and many more), God has always provided exactly what we need and then some:) We are overwhelmed by our God's grace, our family's love and our friends' kindness. Thank you all!