This is the date of my precious sister's birth. Nine years ago, one of God's greatest blessings was brought into my life...in the form of a tiny child named Anna Grace. The little one is thirteen years younger than me and came as the fulfillment of seven years' prayers for a little sister. :) How gracious God was in sending her. Anna's been the joy and glory of each day's waking and the rest and peace of each night's sleep. To God above, I say, "You are wondrous and good...and gracious above all, for you have given to me a double portion of grace, our beloved Anna Grace." Anna, I cherish you always. Happy birthday, dear one.

Merry Christmas, my friends! May the Lord grant you much peace and many blessings tonight and in the new year to come. You're always in my heart, and this evening, my heart is filled with great gratitude to God for His goodness in bringing each of you to my life. I'm very blessed, indeed. :)

May this Christmas night find you resting in the hand of the Almighty, remembering the beauty of His great, sacrificial love on our behalf. How good He is! Merry Christmas, my dear ones!

The events of these past several weeks have so filled my moments that I've literally not had the time to write here. That seems quite a likely excuse--even I'll admit that--but in all truth, that's been the case. :) If I somehow managed to find a way to visit with you here, the hour inevitably flies far into the predawn moments of the morning. Oh, well... I'm trying to reform such things now. :)

In late breaking news, I've just turned 22. December 21st came like any other day but left me another year older. :) A wonderful several-days-long celebration with lots of love from dear family and friends comprised all the birthday revelry. ...I'm such a blessed girl. You'd have to know my family and friends to know how very truly I mean that, but trust me, they're precious people and great gifts of God in my life. :)

Life has been so busy, as of late. Long before I tried to fit in any birthday commemoration, the days were already too full, literally, to be able to include more than three hours of sleep. :) It's been a good season of life, though. Many beautiful things have been brought into my days on this earth.

Speaking of the earth, our Hill Country is actually expecting snow on Sunday. I'm ecstatic. :) This may seem like a rather mundane occurance to some of you, but if you'd been "enjoying" 80 degree daytime temperatures, this whole Christmas season, you might be a bit excited, too. :)

A few days ago, I had my final concert of the season with my Renaissance choir. What a wonderful time I had! I'll try to post a song here so that you can all hear a bit of our work. 'Hope you'll enjoy it. :)

Much love, my dear ones. Thank you for remaining by me, even when all my "interesting writing" has ceased in the wake of an entire month of sleep deprivation. :) You're all dears, and I'll be praying that you'll enjoy a marvelous holiday season. Merry Christmas, sweet friends!

Dear Ones,

I know I've not been here very much lately...Forgive my seeming lack of care. In truth, I love visiting with each and every one of you, and I regret that I've been so insurmountably busy, these past many days. Promise me you'll not hold it against me forever. :)

As I know all of this will seem gibberish, just trust that I will post more worthy things very soon. :) You're all so good to me...Thanks for being there.

Farewell, dears!

This is to be a post of pictures. :) Photographs have long been revered as one of my most loved things on earth, and it's time I shared a few of my favorites with all of you here.

First and foremost, here is our lovely tree. (Unfortunately, such beauty comes at a great price. This tree bears a heavy blame in my "state of crutches" right now. :) It's a really long story, but I'll be sure to tell you later.) Each of the limbs hold ornaments...each of the ornaments hold dear memories...each of the memories hold a portion of my heart. All this to say, I love my tree because it reminds me of all I most love. :)

This photo is one that was snapped of me tonight. Of course, it was one of those "on the whim" moments, but somehow, it called to mind one of those old songs I so love, "All is Well." I don't quite know why, but it seemed veiled in echoes of peace and quiet rest. I thought, perhaps, it would bring some tenderness to this cold, December night. :)

This little ladybug looked a bit vulnerable when it landed on my shoulder a few weeks ago. I figured I'd carry it around for a bit, before letting it fly off to the great unbounded fields surrounding my much-loved town. (In case I've never mentioned it before, I love ladybugs...especially yellow ones.) :) I was glad to have the company of a friend, for a little while.

This was the view from my sweet grandmother's front porch, last Friday evening. Is it any wonder that the Tyler farm is one of the dearest places in which I find sanctuary? I spend most of my life running--figuratively when not literally--and the moments when I can simply "Be still and know that He is God" are growing increasingly more precious, with each day I live. This was one of those moments, gazing on His creation in wonderment and knowing that, among all this, He still has a place in His heart for me...

For the truly strong of heart, I'm also including a link to the photos with which I returned from my journeys in Scotland and Ireland. You should all feel very honored; I went through over 1700 pictures from the trip and gathered only my very favorites for each of you, a mere 330 photographs. :) Needless to say, if you have a few moments to glean through the thumbnails, I'm sure you'll find some lovely pictures in the web album. I'm still in awe of so many things I found during my sojourning there. I hope you'll enjoy...

http://picasaweb.google.com/For.the.sake.of.the.call/AmySTripFavorites

God be with you all! Much love...