5 SWEET YEARS

YAHHHOOOOO!!!! 6/25/05 to 6/25/10. It's only the start! Thanks Jeremy!!!

My Great Find

I am really a minimalist, I don’t like junk or things lying around taking up space that I only use once in a blue moon. However, I often see items people put out on the curb for someone to take instead of throwing it away (at least in our neighborhood). I am constantly seeing old book shelves or drawers that I can see “hidden” potential in them. Jeremy usually just sees the stains or mold or the space that it will fill up and quickly thwarts my dream visions.
My break finally came when I found these beauties above in front of a nice house down the street. I actually couldn’t believe they were free and had to check with the owner. Sure enough they were and Jeremy even let me keep them which makes me smile every time I look into the backyard!

Europe or BUST

Jeremy and I just returned from a two week vacation from Europe. It was perfect! Who would have thought there would be a heatwave in the Alps mid-May? Although, I did have to carry around a horribley big jacket that took up 50% of the space in my backpack. We went to Germany, Austria, and Italy. Jeremy is documenting it on his new blog: www.jeremyspears.blogspot.com
Check it out for pictures and more!

The Reason for the Season is the Reason for LIFE

Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression [a] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken. [b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life [d] and be satisfied [e] ;
by his knowledge [f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, [h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.


...and this was written over 700 years before Christ was even born. On this Christmas, 2008 years after Christ birth we remember this amazing act that God did by sending his own self in the form of a man to earth to ultimately suffer and die on a cross, then defeating death by resurrecting three days later. Don’t let this Christmas pass with out contemplating your eternal state.
Just as a crimanal must be punished in the court of law, so must we be punished for our sins. The Bible says the conseqence of sin is death. The Good News is that our sins have been paid for, Christ came and faced death on the cross as a human sacrafice for our sin. For more on your salvation, go to http://www.ccmv.us/good-news/

Merry Christmas!- Lisa

Christmas Card Answers

Thank you for doing our Christmas card puzzle, we hope it did not cause too much aggravation. Here are the 16 items we changed:

1. The door lock has gone goofy.
2. Someone painted the building yellow.
3. Cactuses grow out of the sidewalks in Bisbee, AZ.
4. Jeremy got another sandal strap.
5. Jeremy is not going to ride very far without spokes.
6. Jeremy's logo did a 180°.
7. Lisa's shirt is now pink.
8. Safety first, always wear a helmet.
9. Hey is that Eric and Aaron Strem (Lisa's Dad and Brother)?
10. The canopy has pulled a fast one and gone horizontal.
11. The American Flag has been raised.
12. The building had a facelift.
13. Where did the forth window go?
14. An extra power line.
15. The Jeep is now red.
16. Hey Jeremy, did you "INE Fart"?

Merry Christmas till next Year!

(click on picture to enlarge)

Santa Monica- Venice Christmas Run

My cousin, Lauren and I ran in the 31st Annual Santa Monica- Venice Christmas Run on 12/13. We ran a jolly 10K amist other runners in red and green. There were a few Santa sighting and of course a few raindeer. There even was a misty rain at the end as we ran along the Venice Beach boardwalk- I tried to pretend it was snow.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Tuscon Summer!

Jeremy and I escaped the city for a little road trip to Arizona, one of our favorite places. We traveled through the Salton Sea, Yuma, Tuscon, Tombstone, Katchner Caverns, and Bisbee. I want to go back!!! Here are some watercolors of Sagaro Nat'l Park and Bisbee.

Domingo Triplets

My Cousin Kim and her husband Allen, had triplets, 3 girls Hope, Faith, and Charity, Sunday June 22. We went for a visit on Saturday to see the 6 day old little ones. It was the sweetest thing I have ever experienced. Praise the Lord, they were born with out any complications and all full-term.