Stellan, and 2008.

First off, an important and exciting update. Baby Stellan is home. At home. Not eight or ten days after being admitted. He actually went home yesterday. He was admitted on Monday. What a blessing. His recovery has been swift. God is so faithful.

Moving on.

2008 was a long, interesting year to say the least. I could tell you all about it, but I won't. Instead, I am going to overwhelm you with pictures that depict the year. Here I go:

The single biggest, most significant event in my eyes? My dad's wedding. I could write pages and pages and then even more pages about that. Not the event itself - that was a quick ceremony followed by a leisurely snack time in the chapel. But the marriage. I've heard other adults say that when their parent remarried, they were jealous. Or they didn't approve. Or they were worried about someone getting hurt. That's not the case at all with me.

I'm blessed. I am thrilled. I watch the two of them as they love each other. So much. They love God, and they are pursuing him side by side. They are not alone. She is a beautiful, Godly woman. You'll find no objections here. It's been hard to get used to him being so far away (only an hour and a half or so, but that seems far when I'm used to it being only twenty minutes). But it's definitely worth it. With their union, I became big sister to three amazing people. Again... I am so blessed.

What's next? The work we've done on our house. First, here's some shots of one of our first days of demolition. They don't show the OH so fine white paneling with gold grain, nor do they show the gold-flower-swirled ceiling tiles. But other than that, you'll get some idea of what we started with:

The west face of the house.


The south-east face of the house (front).


The east face of the house.


The rubbish pile we made that first day.


The kitchen then.


The same kitchen - slightly different angle.


The upstairs hallway. At the end, you can see into the area that is now our guest room. There is no longer a hallway - the stairs now open up into our office area, which is 1/4 of the upstairs.


This is the room that is now part of our office area. When I was a child, this was my play room. That's my telescope in the corner.


This is the master bedroom. Out of every room, it is the one that has changed the least.

We stripped it down to the exterior walls and joists and rafters - removed and/or rebuilt all of the interior walls. Here are some "rubble shots." for you, from the following weeks.


Living room area.


Kitchen area.


Looking from upstairs down the hole left by the removal of the chimney.


My husband standing on the stairs while removing insulation.


The upstairs.


The downstairs being rebuilt - look at all that new lumber.


The new walls upstairs.


The east side of the house the day we put insulation up and windows in.


The west side of the house the day we put insulation up and windows in. You can sort of see me, my grandpa, my dad, and my dad's friend Charlie standing in front of it.

Let's see... what else happened this year?

My high-school boyfriend got married to a sweet girl named Jessica. I was at their wedding. In fact, I was the photographer. What a privilege it was - it is so good to see him happy. We still go to the same church, and are still on friendly terms. That's pretty cool, in my opinion. Here's a couple pictures from that.

I love how content she looks here... as if she knows she is loved.

It's interesting... there's so much more that's happened this year, that I don't have pictures for or of. Some friends of ours, after many years of trying and praying, finally had a son. He is, in a not feminine way, the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. We rejoice with them.

My plan was to conclude with some dramatic statement of what I've learned this year, or maybe end with an incredible shot of... something. But really, the one thing that's been proven the most cannot be photographed, and I don't have words adequate to describe it. What is it? God's faithfulness. Because in all else, no matter what, He's been faithful. Our ever-present Help. And that is really and truly what this year has been about.