A Family Blended & Blessed

Yesterday, we had our sand ceremony with the girls. I am not sure how familiar a sand ceremony is to you, but it's a blending ceremony. We basically all pour sand into a jar and make a promise to each other and the girls that we will stick together and be a family for ever. The sand is a great visual for the kids because they see all the different colors together. Then when we explain that our family is as hard to seperate as the sand, it is perfect for them to understand. We each had our own color and we included a color for God because He is both the foundation and the protector of our family, His is the white in our jar. My color is yellow, Stephen's is orange, McKayla's is blue, Natalie's purple and Alivia's is pink. This is what we ended up with

I love it.  A beautiful reminder of the promise we made to each other. xo It was also wonderful to be able to share that with some church family and friends.

10000 Gifts: a gift hung, held, heard

• We hung up our pictures and paintings after rearranging the living room. It is a gift to have reminders of our family and friends around us all the time. 
• Our ratties are a gift to me. They are soft and sweet and soon they might sit still long enough to enjoy. lol
• It was a gift to hear McKayla answering Major Rhonda that God was on the top of our sand jar because He is the one who protects us. It was beautiful.