Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was so excited to be able to make a turkey this year with all of the sides and desserts. I decided to order a fresh turkey. I'm so glad I did. It tasted great! It was the best turkey I have ever made. A good friend of mine talked me into brining the turkey and I will always brine a turkey from now on. It was so moist and delicious. My husband doesn't like turkey and he LOVED this one!

In addition to having a wonderful tasting turkey my Dad and his fiance surprised us and had dinner with us. It was so nice to have my Dad here to visit and share Thanksgiving with us. It was truly the best Thanksgiving ever!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 118:1

Birthdays

Also since the spring all of us have celebrated birthdays! Another blessed year! Here we are -

Elizabeth turned 4, Matthew and Kyle turned 11, Scott turned 38 and I turned 39!:)

Chicago

One of the things we did this summer was taking a trip to Chicago for our family vacation this year. We were able to see the Sears Tower (a.k.a. the Willis Tower), John Hancock Tower, ate at some fabulous places and saw the New York Yankees play!! It was a great vacation and one that was very needed for our family. Unfortunately, before we left we found out that I was in the middle of a miscarriage. Needless to say it was stressful and sad but we serve a mighty God and He was truly merciful to me and my family while we were on vacation and when we came back! We are truly blessed and God is good to provide everything we need when we need it and this vacation was one of those times!

Family

Well, it's been quite a while since I've been here! I'm so sorry for not posting anything. Two seasons have come and gone and not a glimpse from me! Yikes! Life has been busier than I thought. Scott has continued to enjoy his new job, Matthew and Kyle are now 6th graders and Elizabeth can write her name! Wow, lots to share. Here are a few pictures from Spring, Summer and now Fall!

Arrow of Light Ceremony

Kyle, Scott and Matthew
Kyle, Me and Matthew
The whole family
Boys will be boys!

Here are a few pictures from of the Arrow of Light Ceremony.  Of course Matthew and Kyle had to be goofy on the last picture!;)  Scott and I are very proud of their accomplishment.  I'm also very grateful for Scott's leadership in our family.  He's a wonderful Dad and loves helping the boys in Scouts as well as other fun endeavors.  

Lots to share

Our home has been busy.  We've seen two cub scouts earn their Arrow of Light awards and a 3 year old celebrate her 3 1/2 year old birthday at...Chuck E. Cheese!  Great stuff to share.  I'll post some pictures this coming week from the Arrow of Light ceremony and the partying at Chuck's place.  Until then I pray you're having a great Sunday!  Enjoy the warm weather at least there's warm weather here!:)  

Home Improvement

Our home is finally getting to where we want it.  After living here 2 years on Valentine's day we can finally begin to see some improvements on the inside of the house.  The last two years we have focused our attention on the outside.  My brother-in-law, Chuck, left on Saturday after spending a week with us helping us by painting and taking down wallpaper.  He painted our foyer and hallway.  The walls were primed but the trim was baby blue.  The owners of the house before us absolutely LOVED blue.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that everything was blue.  The walls had blue wallpaper, the trim was blue and unfortunately the carpet is still blue (we're saving to change the flooring in the house).  Chuck did an absolutely fabulous job painting.  It really looks great.  In the boys room we took down the wall paper, Chuck skimmed the walls and primed it and after he left on Saturday we painted it - BLUE!  I know what you're thinking why blue?!  Well it's not a baby blue but a denim blue and it looks SOOO  GOOD.  It definitely looks like a boy's room.  They had flowered wall paper up before - UGLY!  They are very pleased with the results and love the way it looks and I'm so happy that they are happy!

Now onto an Elizabeth story.  Yesterday Elizabeth and were talking while I was preparing her lunch.  We always have these wonderful chats before or during lunchtime.  She was asking about her age.  When is she going to be 5, 6, 7, 8... she went all the way to 11.  I told her that she has to go in order.  She's now 3 and then she'll be 4.  Of course she had to show me by holding up her fingers what 4 years old looks like.  After that she asked me "When do I get to go to Grandpa's?"  My Dad takes the boys about twice a year to spend the weekend with him at his house and she obviously wants to go too!  I told her that I didn't know.  I asked her if she'd like to go when she's 4?  She said, "No."  I then asked her if she'd like to go when she's 5?  She said, "No."  I then asked her when she would like to go and she said "Tomorrow."  How's that for knowing what you want!  She's my girl and I love my days with her.  She's so fun.  There you have it, a glimpse into our day.

I pray you have a blessed day!!  

A Grateful Sister-in-Law

I am so grateful for my brother-in-law Chuck coming to help us out.  We have lived in our home for two years on Feb. 14th and we still have wallpaper up and painting has not been completed.  Thankfully he is here to help us take down wallpaper and paint!  He is truly a blessing and so is his wife Tammy for lending him to us.  

Happy President's Day!    

My First Blog Post

Hello Family and Friends!  Welcome to the Houk family blog.  I'm excited that you are visiting and are seeing a glimpse of our family life.  Matthew, Kyle and Elizabeth are growing up so fast and I would love for you to see how much they change and grow.  God has blessed us greatly and this blog gives you a chance to see those blessings, thus the name Blessings She Wrote!  Enjoy your visit with our family in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  - Joshua 24:15