two thousand seventeen //

Last year, I did a post with a highlight of each month....well I can't believe we are at the end of 2017 already. But here I am, with a stretching + amazing year behind me. And through it all. God is Good. All the time. And all the time. God is good.

// highlights of my year //

JANUARY // we just did the normal-winter-January-life, like going to the farm show //

FEBRUARY // having all our friends and family show us so much love by supporting and helping us in so many ways during the storm //

MARCH // quizzing and winning a second-place trophy with these peoples //

APRIL // Florida with the fam //

MAY // being able to watch our house transform and having lots of happy people around working //

JUNE // playing frisbee with friends //

JULY //the first next-generation Martin family wedding //

AUGUST // spending time with this gem and mom's family on vacation //

SEPTEMBER // watching the harvest happen //

OCTOBER // shooting my first deer // 

 NOVEMBER //celebrating my 16th birthday //

DECEMBER // spending lots of time with family and friends, celebrating our Saviour's birth //


// Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. //
Psalms 98:1

It's about time....

It's about time....to write another blog post!! Sorry for those of you who thought this was going to be a big announcement or something. It's just me, with a catch up on life! 😄

It snowed already and it's not even Christmas! It was so pretty! ||

  

 We celebrated Mom's birthday...Happy Birthday to an amazing Momma!! We love you 💗 ||

Part of Mom's birthday gift was a chicken tractor and 10 laying hens...Daddy picked out some really unique and pretty hens ||

 We started filling our jugs with fresh mountain water at a nearby spring - Addy enjoyed a water trip with Daddy ||

Construction is still happening since the storm in February...below a bunch of guys setting trusses on Grandpa's shop, just down the lane from us || 

Uncle Donny & Aunt Michelle had an exchange student Lily, and her son James stay with them over Thanksgiving. On Saturday night, she was cooking a Chinese meal and wanted our family to join her - let's just say it was some interesting/good/not so good food, but we had a fun night together 😋 ||

Lily our chef - she was a character and a half - so so fun and hilarious 😃 ||

 That's all for now - have a wonderful week as we look forward to celebrating Jesus and His birth, exactly a week from today!! Merry Christmas!!

||Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.||

Isaiah 12:6

||winter tag||

picture from Pinterest 

Paige over at http://paigespages4thelord.blogspot.com tagged me with the winter tag, thank you, Paige!!

• the rules are to thank the person who tagged you- Thanks, Paige!! 
• answer the questions
• and tag at least 3 other people 

Do you celebrate Christmas? - Yes, I celebrate Christmas!!


Do you celebrate any other festive holidays other than Christmas or in addition to? - Yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving & Easter 4th of July, New Year's Eve, Valentines...pretty much all the major holidays!

When it comes to weather, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10? - Probably 70...the warmer the better for me! I love warm weather 🌞

Rain or Snow? - Well, I think we are talking about winter here, so if its cold out, it might as well snow! 😊

On the perfect winter day, would you go shopping or stay home? - Go shopping!!

Trip to the mall, or walk in the park? - Definitely a trip to the mall!

Favorite Christmas movie? - I honestly haven't watched many Christmas movies, so I don't know?!

Favorite Christmas tradition? - Probably being with family over the Christmas season...we always get together with my mom's family + my dad's family. On mom's side, all the cousins exchange names, and get their person a $10 gift. That is always a lot of fun!!

Would you rather say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas"? - a big MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

What does your Christmas morning look like? - It's usually different every year. This year, we will probably have a slumber party with my family, and then get ready and go to Grandpa and Grandma!!

Favorite Christmas song/carol? - I love all the jiggy little Christmas songs like jingle bells, and all those fun ones! I also like Christmas carols! (side note - we went Christmas caroling with youth group last night, and it was so fun!)

Hot Cocoa, Peppermint tea, Peppermint Mocha, Peppermint milkshake? - A warm cup of Peppermint tea!!

and now I tag - 

Maddy over at http://littlebitofsunshineweb.blogspot.com

Jaidyn - (private blogger)

Beth over at http://bethinboots.blogspot.com/

and whoever else wants to do it!! Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!

November Snapshots!!

 November Snapshots 2017

 My family + close friends surprised me with an early 16th birthday party!! I was SO surprised and it was so much fun celebrating with everyone!! 🎂

the new heifers are being enjoyed by all - they are beautiful!   

Dad & I spent some more time in the woods - no deer this time! 

 we headed to the mountains for the weekend - 6 adults & 20 kids -never a dull moment 😉

 the weather wasn't that nice while we were there, but the setting was beautiful! 

and these will be my last snapshots of fall - we are now in the Christmas mood!!  ✨🎄  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving to Y'all! I know I am a day late, but I figured better late than never!!

A few things I am thankful:

- a warm house on cold days

-these girls ↓↓

-the sunshine 🌞

- cousins & a day spent with family ↓↓

- the start of the Christmas festivities 🎄

-my family ↓↓

"Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms."

-Psalms 95:2 NKJV

WINNER!!

Well ladies, thank you so much for entering my giveaway! Y'all are the best 😎 I am happy to announce that the winner is.......PAIGE!!
Congratulations Paige and I will contact you about claiming your prize!! 🙌

my one hundredth post (+giveaway)!!!!!

Wow, friends, this is my 100th post. It's so crazy that my blog has come this far!! This blog started back on March 4, 2017. That's exactly 1 year, 7 months, and 29 days ago. This whole blog was birthed because of one person. I was talking to a friend on the phone one day, and this friend a private blog. Apparently, we were talking about blogs, and I decided that I really did want a blog. I think I had thought about it now and then, and then that chat gave me the last nudge! I was looking back over my statistics, and oddly enough, this post was my most looked at post with 126 views!! It doesn't even have any pictures, but thanks for reading it 😆My second most looked at post was this post with 101 views! My blog has had 15,103 views (not sure if this is counting me viewing it or not 😏) all which are from USA, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Portugal, Germany, Lithuania (wow that's quite the list!!).
So in honor of all you making this blog a successful place, I am giving away a $10 Amazon gift card!!!! To enter this, you need to let a comment with your NAME and one of your FAVORITE FOODS. I can't wait to hear from y'all and THANK YOU for standing by me on this blogging journey...its been quite the ride, and last, but not least, I want to thank JESUS for being apart of this blog, and giving me the energy to press on. All the glory goes to Him and Him alone!!! 💕
So, don't forget to enter the giveaway, and thanks for being apart of this blog!!

**Update! I forgot to mention when the giveaway ends...it ends on Monday, November 6, at noon!

W O R D S

Photo creds - Pinterest

“He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

"Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few." Ecclesiastes 5:2

Our mouths have SO much power. Both to do lots of good, and lots of bad. The Bible speaks a lot about our tongue, and all it can do. We can find lots of verses talking about our tongues, and the bad they can do. Don't get me wrong, without our mouths we would be "up a crik", but we do need to be very careful and soft spoken with our words. Some people can control their tongue easier than others. For me, I am more quick to pick out the negative in a situation and speak up about it. And that is usually harmful and hurtful! It's ok to state our opinion at the right time, but sometimes we just have to keep our mouths shut. This message goes to me as well as to you....we will be judged for every word we speak!

"But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36" 

Life Lately

It seems that y'all really enjoy my life lately posts, so I decided it is time to do one of them again!

Dad and the little girls cheesin' in the middle of a checkers game! 

 I finally shot a deer! It was so exciting, even though it was just a little doe! I was pretty happy 😊

We hosted Uncle Donny + Aunt Michelle's 25th wedding anniversary party in our barn...it was a smashing success!! 

 the decorations were really pretty! Jalisa + Tori did a great job!

a lunch date with Mom and some of the girls! 💗

My little polar bear 😍

"It is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23

thankful.

• Fall is the time of year where we look back and realize all we are thankful for. Some days it it hard to find something to be thankful for, and other days we are thankful for so much! Every day we should thank Jesus for all He's done for us...whether we feel like it or not; He truly deserves our praise. 
• "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

p.s. check out the "about me" and "blogs I follow pages"...I updated them ↑↓

Throwback Thursday

I was looking back at some Florida pictures today, and I got the idea that this would be perfect for a "throwback thursday" post 😊 so come along, as these pictures take you back to...March 2017!! 

Florida was such a beautiful and relaxing place...our family loved it!! It was a much-needed vacation, and it was wonderful.

We were privileged to have Grandpa + Grandma Sauder down there some of the time...grandparents are the best!!

Florida beaches are so pretty...ahh! 

and the siblinghood - although life with 5 siblings isn't always smooth, they are the best and I am so thankful for each and every one of them 💕