Gold or Silver?

I'm sure we've all heard the little rhyme,

"Make new friends but keep the old.  One is silver and the other gold."

This has proven true in a marvelous way in my life when I recently reconnected with my best friend from high school. After graduation our lives took us in different directions and we kind of lost touch for a bit.  We still chatted whenever we saw each other but the deep friendship that God blessed us with during our high school years wasn't quite what it used to be.  This year, however, this dear girl has become a very close friend again and I am so deeply grateful to God for this amazing blessing! She's a delightful person who always wants God to be her Focus, her Strength, her Guide and the One Who is always glorified!

She is the only one who always called me, "Sam" (so I guess that makes me "Sam Stam" now!) We've had lunch, phone calls, etc where we chatted heart-to-heart, erasing all the years of void.  What a precious gift!

This is just one of the many blessings this year has held for me but it's special and it's such a "God" thing that I just stand amazed (once again!).

More Stam Family excitement!

Carissa and Josh are engaged now too!  Now Doug & Yvonne have 2 girls getting married next year! Carissa & Josh haven't set a date yet but our family has lots to look forward to!  Congrats you guys.  We love you!

Excitement in the Stam Family

On Thursday night our niece, Nicole (from Robert's side of the family) got engaged to my cousin, Mark (from my mom's side of the family)! They have been dating for over 4 years and we are thrilled that they are going to get married. Congratulations Mark & Nicole!  We love you both! XO

In my face

I went for another Remicade treatment today and realized that it's probably always going to hit me smack in the face, that this is my life.  I shudder when people ask me if the Remicade's effect will eventually wear off. What I'm not used to and don't know if I ever will be, is that, in order to enjoy a slightly better quality of life, I have to head to the Arthritis Center every 5 weeks for an IV infusion.  Sometimes I forget that it's taking big gun medications like Remicade and Methotrexate that allows me to walk a little easier and generally have a little less pain. I am, however, reminded of that truth every 5 weeks.  Do you get used to something like this? Do I just simply forget because I'm not grateful at other times?  I don't know.  I just know that living with arthritis is not fun.  Is that complaining?  I think it's just stating a fact.
Today as I was sitting in the Arthritis Center in a bright blue, reclining chair while Remicade was dripping into my veins, I experienced a mixture of feelings.  Overwhelmed because this disease can be so debilitating.  Sad because sometimes I just want to cry about it. Thankful because there are caring doctors and nurses  and because there are medications like Remicade etc for people like myself. Worried because my most recent blood work showed that the inflammation is escalating again. And it goes on and on.
However, I would be foolish to stop there.  I also have feelings of excitement. Excitement that God will always be there, that He doesn't change, and that I can always count on Him to give me the grace to bear this cross that He has seen fit to allow in my life.  It's about so much more than just me.  For that I am grateful. I also have a feeling of deep contentment. Contentment that God will only use this for my spiritual good, that He loves me more than I can ever hope to imagine, and that He promises to never leave me or forsake me.  I often think that if I feel like God has left, it's because I've moved away, not because He has. It is in the knowledge that God is big enough for anything that comes into my life, that I am able to quietly trust Him. I guess it's 'in my face' but thankfully not 'without His grace.'
Praying that you are able to quietly trust in Him as well, no matter what your life might be burdened with.

Who am I?

Who am I to tell you what the real purpose for life here on earth is? Who am I to convince you that to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and to worship, adore & praise God is the only thing that really matters?  Who am I to tell you that eternity goes on forever and ever and that your priorities in life here on earth, will be reflected in where you spend eternity? Absolutely nothing is more important than the fact that you must be saved.  Even if you're a relatively good person, attend church regularly, wear the right clothes, have compassion for others...you still need to be saved. If Christ is not your Saviour, none of these outward rituals or behaviours will bring you to heaven.  God is so loving, so willing to save, won't you take time to read His word, realize your need for this Saviour, tell Him all about it, confess your sins, ask Him to forgive you through the blood of his precious Son and to change your heart forever? He will, if you ask.  He never turns anyone away.
John 3:16 - "For God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Our Kitchen

These are before, during and after pictures of our kitchen project. The 'old' kitchen was painted wood, the drawers were super heavy to open and close, and the bright white counter top showed every little crumb or stain.  The new kitchen is an amazing improvement!!

Before:

During

Fridge & stove used to be right next to each other.
Much nicer to have them separated a bit:)

 After:

floor to ceiling pantry along one wall

Just the tiling needs to be done here

Love these drawers in my pantry!

Finishing touches:
The only things that still needed to be done at this point were the tiling and grouting as well as touch up painting.  Hans came over one night to do the tiling, Robert did the touch-up painting...it's looking great!

adding the tiles 

Reminiscing

I've been thinking about all the good times I had with my Grandma and there are a few things I think you'll enjoy reading about.  I remember:

• as a young girl going grocery shopping with Grandma and then having to date each of the grocery items before they were put away.  That way she would always know how long it took them to use a jar of peanut butter, a tube of toothpaste etc:)
• watching her make bubbelaars (Sp?) These were hard candies that she would make from scratch.  The most fun part was watching her stretch the mixture out when it was piping hot, rubbing her hands on a cold, wet cloth often, and then cutting it before it cooled off.  These candies were so good!
• helping her make food for the haying crews back in the day...
• trying on her Dutch costume
• going with Grandpa, Grandma, Mary & Wilma to visit Casey, stopping at Army & Navy for a malt and sometimes having supper at a drive-in restaurant
• listening to her knitting needles click and watching her hands fly as she knit
• sharing our new babies with her and watching her snuggle them...this is years ago, mind you!

I could go on and on...precious memories.