Whirlwind of a Year: Family- Thanksgiving and Christmas!

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend part of the Thanksgiving holiday with Grandma Joy. She was able to come out and celebrate this year with all of us! It was such a blessing to be able to spend some time with her and we are so thankful that she came out to see us all!

Andrew found this bear on a trip to Walmart while we were there, he refused to let it go, and my mom thought it was so cute that she bought it for him! It still walks around with it a lot, tucks it in under covers, gives it hugs, tries to get others to give it hugs, it is too cute!

Andrew started climbing into out laundry basket with a pillow and blanket to rest and relax. It is rather funny. He fits quite perfectly, too!

Thanksgiving, Andrew got to play with some of his cousins. All the little ones closest are boys, so it works out well. They all have a blast! He especially enjoys playing with Bodie!

While down over Thanksgiving, we went out with my in-laws to celebrate my father and sister-in-laws birthdays. Both of my sister-in-laws have very sweet boyfriends who were able to come along to celebrate with us. So what else than picture time! This is my first picture of all of us, let alone any of the girls with their men! We had a very nice evening! Thanks everyone for the photo-op!

Andrew and that silly bear!

Christmas was crazy for us, wonderful, but full of fun things to do. The weekend before my father and mother-in-law came down to celebrate with us, since this year we spent it with my folks. We had a wonderful time even though it was pretty much overnight. Andrew enjoyed spending time with his grandma and grandpa, too!

It took us the majority of the day just for Andrew to open everything. He would open a couple then want to play for a bit. It worked out well, because we were able to take our time and let him go at the pace he wanted to go. Thanks mom and dad for driving down and spending some time with us over the Christmas season!

My parents came up the Sunday before to bring me back with them so I could spend the week down with them. While there, I was able to go visit my best friend, Jeni, and her son. I hadn't seen Jeni since before she had her son. It was a lot of fun to catch up, talk, and let the boys play. It took a bit for them to warm up to each other, but by the afternoon they were loving life! Also, she is due with twins come July!

Andrew and that silly bear again, oh yeah, his other favorite stuffed toy is his Elmo (he's not into Elmo, just loves his toy)

Christmas at the Lyche's

Dad reading the Christmas story (short version from Luke)

Above: Amber and I dueling cameras!


Uncle Jim and Micah-man

Noni and Andrew (and of course a puppy)

Ms Verity! Isn't she a cutie pie! Wanted to do her hair with Noni

Those silly kids and puppies

Thank you mom and dad for a wonderful Christmas. It was so much fun to get to spend it with you guys, Amber and Jim, and the kids!

Thank you to everyone for a great Christmas. We went through a lot this year, everyone of us. It is a constant reminder of Who is really in charge. Praise and thanksgiving to our Lord for bringing us through this year, allowing us to daily fix our eyes on Him. He is our Refuge, our Shelter, our Shield, our Comforter, Deliverer, Hope, and our Savior. Things in life are not always easy, they can be extremely hard to understand if at all, but there is always a reason for us to go through them. It may be years or a lifetime to find out what those reasons are, some may never truly know, God did not say this life would be easy. He did promise to endure every pain, every sorrow, every struggle with us and for us. I think about Job and what he endured; not that he was any less human than the rest of us, but he found favor in God's sight, yet endured and suffered pain that anyone would consider to be massive and insane. He lost everything, I mean everything, but kept his faith and trust in the Lord. God in turn blessed him in all things, not that He had to but because He loved Job. Even the murderer being crucified next to Jesus found favor with the Lord and is dwelling with Him in heaven for all eternity because he came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior before his final breath. So no matter where you are, what you have been through, where you are now: PLEASE know that Jesus loves you. He knows everything and is in everything from the beginning of time to the end of time. Don't leave this world without the love of Christ in your heart, the full knowledge of Him. If you admit that you are a sinner, believe in your heart that Jesus died for all your sins, and confess with your mouth that He is Lord and Savior, you will be saved.


"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:16-17, NIV)

~All Our Love~