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Ascent Totally Different

Ascent Totally Different

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Sledding video from today

It finally snowed!

This is Krista...the girls and I headed south yesterday to spend time with my family while George puts in a 100+ hr week of work this week. Although we are missing him sooo much, we are having fun on the farm too!

We hurried down yesterday afternoon before the snow started and thankfully made it here about 10 minutes before the big flakes started coming--an answer to prayer!

I took Grace, Eva and Isaac sledding this morning. It was so much fun! I tried sledding last winter, but it didn't really work well with a pregnant belly.

Buddies

Twin cousins :) Benjamin turned 1 yesterday and Elliana has just a few more days to go until her birthday.

almost 1

The Bone Collectors

2011 Deer Camp Meat Pole Etc.

2011 Father/Son Camp

Deer Season 2011

We had a "pole bender at Hickory Ridge. Jonathon, Max, John, Coop, C. Smoke and Sgt Goff got on the scoreboard.

Nathan and Leah Have a Blog!

Be sure to check it out and subscribe at www.notesfromnewlyweds.blogspot.com!

a horse named rooster

"Joy is portable. Bring it with you."

summertime...

max and his nephew

strangely similar

the happy couple still happy

happy birthday wills!

is there a bug in your drink sissy?

parents ultimante goal in life: embarrass the kids.

my new bookshelf!

to be your child is to be very lucky.

Happy father's day dad!

The problem with people

The problem with people - They're not perfect.

if you boil it all down, most problems people have are with other people. Directly or indirectly they are that force behind many daily hassles.

Of course you can not solve the people issue by isolating yourself from everybody else since in addition to them being the source of much pain, many more are the source of much happiness.

Often we expect others to be perfect or nearly perfect. AKA other-oriented perfectionism. We hold others to standards that are impossible to maintain, often behavior never maintained ourselves. This expectation is always your definition of "perfect" and yours is always the correct one.

Problems occur as this expectation seems to rise with the direct proportion of closeness of the relationship. The highest level is usually reserved for people you know best, one of the main reasons why there is so much frustration and pressure when dealing with those closest. They have the ability to disappoint our expectations the most. The problem with people is our others-appointed approach. Letting go brings freedom and contentment.

T. Merton said "The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

So any neurotic obsession with molding someone into your utopia version of themselves will only succeed in frustrating you and driving them away. There's always something toxic about expecting others to be perfect.

You will lift a huge burden the day you simply accept others for what they are and stop your crusade to try to change them. It's ourselves we imprison when we attempt to manipulate others to the point of change instead of simply wanting them for who they will become. When you discover beauty in imperfection it shows.

"Put on then, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other; as God has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Colossians 3

"Let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is of God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love" John 4:8

Remember Joplin

I went with a group to Joplin this past week and it does look bad on television or the Internet. It's even worse to see it in person. It's so super easy to forget things when they are not directly affecting you or someone you know. And though this is physical destruction we all can see and that many respond to, there is in our own communities and cities unseen destruction of families, marriages, and lives. Maybe this is what God sees when he looks at our lives through His eyes. But through it all there is incredible Hope and promise that it can be rebuilt and restored - stronger than it was before. In Joplin and in our lives as well.

It was a strong reminder to me of how temporal our possessions are and how blessed I am to be alive.

p.s. miss you all

Harel family goodbye... awesome family that I got to work for during the past year.

They all came for dinner at my house the night before they flew back to Israel. I guess this isn't a picture of the whole family... but they are about the nicest people you'd ever meet. And they have some incredible stories too.

They boys and Eva

I will miss them and their adorable boys so much... לחזור בקרוב!

pucker up

baby baby you're so beautiful

Everyday love