Our 2011 Christmas

Well, here we are, hours away from another year.  Oh, there will be celebration, and there will be toasting, but we'll be lucky if we make it 'til midnight.  You see, we just got home from a 2-week vacation visiting our families.  We spent 8 sweet days in Sunnyside and 6 in Spokane.  It was wonderful.

There are no words to describe the sweetness that is time with family.  So, here are pictures...   Also, I should apologize for the excessive pictures of my niece, but I won't.  She's cuter than your niece.

Happy New Year from the Boboths!!




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Merriest Christmas!

Sorry for the absence, but we've been busy this last week hanging out with our sweet niece.  Here's hoping your Christmas celebration was wonderful, Christ-filled, and super awesome.

Ours was, and is.

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24 Years of Grace

Crazy as it seems, time just keeps on a'ticking.  No matter how much I want to stop time for an evening or fast-forward through some days, the clock keeps on moving at the same, steady pace. No faster, no slower.  We're all given the same 24 hours in each day, 7 days in each week, 365 (or 366) days in each year to do with it as we will.

What a blessing to have had another year of life.  We celebrated my birthday last Friday with a sweet dinner out to my favorite Portland restaurant and a visit to the Oregon Zoo to see the Zoo Lights.  (Checking #5 off the Forest Grove Bucket List)  But, perhaps the greatest gift of all, was the 5 hours that evening the my husband devoted entirely to spending time with me when he needed to be studying for finals.  ;)

Thank you to all of you for the sweet birthday messages, phone calls, and gifts you sent.  You are a blessing to me!  And now, some pictures for Alicia:

Zoo Lights

Christmas Tree at Portland City Grill

Thank you, Lord, for another year of life.  The good times, the tough times, the growing, the learning.  All is grace.



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So Proud...

... of this handsome man, almost eye-doctor, that I get to call mine.

                                     
9 final exams in 8 days... PHEW!  What a stud... I can't wait until Friday!!




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1000 Gifts: 81-100

81	- The Fifth Installment of 1000 Gifts -  My wonderful husband who provides endless laughs. Love him. So blessed.
82	Early bed times
83	Texts from my sister, perfectly timed
84	The end of travel season, long awaited
85	Girls' Night… with some of the best.
86	Helpful, cheerful customer service representatives
87	A quiet day full of productivity
88	Homemade cranberry sauce
89	Home. Being Home.
90	The realization that our church family is - in so many ways - our church family.
91	Clear skies and dry roads
92	Fully-charged cell phones
93	Music of the Season, worshipping, cheering.
94	Dinner with family - who happen to be friends
95	Eggnog
96	The way a Christmas tree fills the room, pine-scented
97	A walk on the beach in the sun… IN DECEMBER (!)
98	A relaxing weekend with the love of my life
99	Living in an area that is never lacking in excitement
100	Flour on the floor, sugar cookies on the counter

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

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ALL is Grace

There are moments in life when I want time to stop.  I feel like I could freeze-frame everything and skip and twirl and be giddy, shameless and free.  Like, my heart is exploding because it's so darn full.

This weekend was such a time. Indeed, what a weekend it has been.  A dream, so far from reality, I thought I'd never wake.

Friday night, after work, the Mr. and I took off for a weekend away at the beach.  I was SO excited to have some time with my husband... All. To. Myself.  (Grad school can be a tiresome mistress at times.)

We checked-in to our room only to find a bottle of champagne sweetly lain across the pillows, and saltwater taffy strewn across the comforter.  (and a fireplace in the corner !!)  The room was perfect.

Saturday dawned sunny and clear - a wonder in December.  We had a leisurely breakfast and strolled through downtown. We spent hours ducking in and out of various shops - dreaming of our future and reliving our child-past.  (1½ hours in the Toy Store... pretty sure we'll never grow up)  What fun we have together!

We found our way to the beach, with the sun shining down and the waves lapping at the shore.  It was perfect.

I could go on and on... the dinner by firelight, the twilight streets glimmering in the Christmas lights, the friendliest people... but that is not what made this weekend so wonderful.  That which made this weekend was the man with whom I was honored to share it.  The man with whom I am blessed to share my life.  Over and over during countless conversations, both the deep and the light-hearted, I was struck by the outrageous grace that I have been given.  Evidenced, quite clearly, in this man.

But also evidenced in the beautiful sun, the soft robes, the hardened sand, the hot morning coffee, and the eucalyptus hand lotion.

In the crackling fire, the smile of a stranger, the grasp of his hand, and the twinkle in his eye.

In the stressful days working, in the long nights studying, in the miscommunications, in the laundry-doing.

ALL is grace.

Today, our car pulled into our driveway.  He turned the key to silence the engine, but neither one of us moved.  Not wanting to end the dream, we both sat.  As if the click of a seat belt or the opening of a car door would jolt us awake cold.

Then, he smiled.  All is grace.  Then, he kissed me.  All is grace.  Then, he took my hand, and we headed back to face real-life together.  What a blessing, what outrageous Grace.



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