A New Chapter

December 29th - Skyview  I wanted to do something really fun with this one - but I never had the chance today!  So in between the different houses I caught the beginning of what was a beautiful sunset!  The sun sets every night and it is dark for a time, but with every morning comes the promise of a new day as the sun rises to scatter the darkness!

Every Christmas my Dad's mother takes us out for supper - then bowling! This year it was Miltons and Victoria Bowl - such a special evening!  Tying the shoes - check out the carpet - need sunglasses!  My Dear Grandfather  The Schmuck Family (Grandma's Family) was incredibly good at the whole bowling alley thing - she still carries it on!  Micah  My dear mother - awesome bowling hand!!!  Daniel - wow!  My dear Grandmother and I - I love her so much! She is an incredible example and testimony to me of the Lord's grace being poured out in ones life!  Cute threesome! To all a Happy New Year!  We're going up to Sauble Beach and spending a couple nights away! Looking forward to it!

On December 25th, 2012 Christopher A. Walter got down on one knee and proposed to Jenelle D. M. Toman. She said " YES "!  The Ring Little miss muffit being goofy My Grandparents blessed my parents with this beautiful Brown Maple Richfield Sofa Table!    My mothers parents - so grateful to have them around for yet another Christmas! They are both still in really good health, but none of us should take for granted each breath the Lord gives us!  My dad's mother - still here with us... and in great spirits!  My dad gave my mom a playbook for Christmas - she was quite tickled  My two beautiful sisters! Keep serving the Lord - He will be with you every step of the way! "So this is Christmas" Another year behind us, another year ahead of us! Looking forward to seeing what God will do in 2013!!!

 I'm not sure how it happened, but Jenelle and I wound up in the kitchen together (don't look at the mess! That's what happens when we work together:))!     Such special memories made together in the kitchen!  We were blessed with tickets to Handel's Messiah (thanks Rob)!  Jenelle brought her date...  ...and I brought mine!  Just one Sunday afternoon - had to include this one! She is growing up SO fast!  Jenelle showing Chris an album of when she was super young! Really PRE-Christmas! Daniel decided to wait till Christmas Eve day this year to do his shopping! I agreed to help him and Faith wanted to see what the malls were like!

  December 28th - Words I knew as soon as I saw the "challenge" for today that I wanted to do something like this... I do have to admit though I didn't take all the pictures this morning - some I took yesterday! I hope this still counts! A dear friend gave me this verse quite a few months back and how very true it is Isaiah 30:18 -  And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all they that wait for Him. Sometimes the seasons of waiting are times where the Lord wants to do things in our lives that He couldn't accomplish any other way! He wants total glory in every situation and sometimes makes situations seem SO impossible in our lives that only HE could bring them to pass! Isaiah 64:3 - For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides thee, who works for him that waits for ...

December 27th - Night After a long, busy day I decided to relax out on the rink!  Well... maybe kind of! The younger boys asked me to take them to Waterloo Town Square (beautiful rink). Was a cool, crisp, snowed dusted (dumped), starlit, evening!  I must admit though - there is definitely something relaxing about skating...

December 26th - Grateful I am so incredibly grateful for my dear mother and the example and encouragement she has been to me. She gave life to me, raised me, loved me, and encouraged me to keep on keeping on even when the keeping on gets hard! To simply trust the Lord and know that He has my life in the palm of His hands... that nothing happens by chance and that He is working on my behalf! She is an incredible woman of God and I pray that one day I will be able to pass on to my children what she has passed on to me!

December 25th - Morning This morning Jenelle said "yes" to an important question asked by the love of her life! I thought since it was a major part of the day and since it was in the morning anyways I thought I should likely include this in my "photo-challenge". Blessings to you both as you begin a new journey and as you prepare to begin life together! So happy for my big sister! Let the wedding planning begin

December 24th - Favorite Part of Christmas Eve This morning I knew exactly what I was going to do with my "photo-challenge". It was a rather hectic day and I was going to make a collage of everything that happened... however it changed! Tonight we all went down to the Church I grew up in and apart from seeing some old friends and re-acquainting (which is always special) - it was so nice to sing the old carols! Ps. Graham gave a really good word on "The Gift" and his illustrations were neat! The picture above captures the end of the service all of lights were dim and we lit each others candles as we sang Silent Night/Isn't He/Away in a Manger. Such a special evening!

December 23rd - Scarf (ves) The four of us!

December 22nd - Tradition Out of the many different Christmas traditions we have here this is just one of them! Every year we make over 20 of these Christmas Wreaths generally together (Mom, Jenelle, and I) - We pass some of them out...  however Christmas morning comes and the house is filled with the smell of the wonderful delectable Christmas Wreath - My Great-Grandma started this tradition and I'm so thankful it's still going!

December 21st - Peace Peace (pees) - noun, interjection, verb Noun  1. Cessation of or freedom from any strife or dissension 2. A state of mutual harmony between people, or groups, especially in personal relations Interjection 1. Used to express greeting or farewell or to request quietness or silence Verb 1. To be or become silent a. untroubled; tranquil; content There is so much emphasis on world wide peace and our own personal "inner peace", etc. People try many different methods, however the only place we can truly find that peace is in the arms of our faithful Prince of Peace. Finding contentment in where He has placed us at this very moment in our lives... being at peace - knowing He is in control... it's not easy, but truly SO worthwhile. We can fill our lives with worry, stress, etc (especially at this "busy" time of year), but it is so important to keep our focus on the right thing - everything else will fall into place (sort...

Capturing December 20th - Christmas Tree Topper I was driving home and realized I hadn't completed my "challenge" for the day - I don't think I passed today:) I realize this isn't on top of a tree that you can tell clearly... Thought: The bright shining star is what the wise men noticed THOUSANDS of miles away and left their homes in search of The King to bring gifts and worship Him. May our lives shine "that star" of sorts to draw many people to the King of Kings!

December 19th - Candy Cane

December 18th - Stocking This was my very first stocking - thought it would be fun to bring it out!

December 17th - Presents

As part of my Wedding & Event Planning Course I am supposed to be attending different types of weddings! This one was in Niagara-on-the-lake. St. Mark's Anglican Church  The getaway buggy! So nice - So cold  The bridal parties getaway!  My grandparents were good friends of the grooms parents - so I caught a ride with them. This picture captures my dear grandfather so well - his smile! While my grandparents were at the reception I crossed the border and spent some time with H & H. Took some of the children skating... These girls are growing up fast into beautiful young ladies... the two on the left:) Lining up to race While there I was blessed with a manicure from the manicurist! It was so very nice to spend time with the family - how I've missed them!