Joy to the World!!

For the third year in a row my favorite word at this time of year is JOY.  Christmas has approached quickly this year.  It has snuck up on me and I don't feel like I've dabbled in all of the usual holiday cheer.  But, my presents are purchased, wrapped, and under the tree so I guess I'm in good shape.  I just have been trying to soak in the wonder of the season and not be carried away with busyness and frustration.  JOY keeps coming back to my heart and mind to draw me in to Him.

As we sang Joy to the World today I couldn't help but feel such an overwhelming understanding of the words to the song.


Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Wikipedia (yes, I wiki) says that "Isaac Watts wrote this hymn glorifying Christ's triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song celebrating his first coming."  This is the joy we sing about!  Christ came as a baby to live, die, and be raised to life again so that we may have eternal life with Him. He is coming back to make all things new and to rule and reign on His throne!  What amazing promises for those who believe!

This year has been an interesting year...not by way of adventures, but just in the everyday things of life.  We've had the blessing of good jobs and getting to see our families a bit more but we've also been unsettled at times.  Since moving back to this area, we have known we were probably just "passing through" for a time before moving somewhere else.  So, we've reached the point where we are moving somewhere else--Kentucky to be exact--and we are excited.  We are moving forward pursuing future goals and dreams with Casey starting his PhD program!!  Please pray for us as we pack up and start over again in the next few weeks.

"And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."  Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas from the Croys :)

A Quick Recap of Summer So Far....

We've been busy this summer......

At the end of May we celebrated my Grandma's 94th birthday!  As I have mentioned before, she is one of my favorites and I love getting to spend time with her.

Autumn with her sister, niece, and Grandma

Autumn getting to spend a little time with her niece

Autumn's mom teaching Maddie to shell garden peas

In June, we went to the beach twice....first to Emerald Isle, NC...

Bridge over to Morehead City

We enjoyed our time on the beach

We went to Fort Macon on our last day

Autumn got to spend Father's Day with her Daddy!

Then a week or so later, we went to North Myrtle Beach, SC....We stayed at Autumn's brother-in-law's family beach house....

Casey with Maddie

A view of the pier

Us with Autumn's mama

Autumn's Daddy photo-bombing us :)

Then we went to the Durham Bulls game and fireworks show on the 4th of July!

It's been a great summer so far!

Anniversary Trip to Charleston

How is it May already?

In March we celebrated our 3rd anniversary by taking a little trip to Charleston, SC.  Despite the weather being a little cool, we had a wonderful time to get away and enjoy ourselves.  It is hard to believe sometimes that it has already been three years and equally at the same time hard to believe it hasn't been longer.  I'm so thankful for Casey and all of our adventures together through everyday life and special times like these.

 Here are some pictures from our trip:

This is a view of the bridge that we crossed over each time we went into Charleston.

 We stayed in Mt. Pleasant and headed across the bridge to Charleston when we arrived.  We enjoyed visiting the waterfront and seeing the dolphins playing in the water.

A view of the waterfront...

Just a colorful house I liked...

I loved seeing all of the old churches!

Of course we got a chance for Casey to play golf :) 

 I also love old churches, houses, and architecture in these old cities.  It was starting to get dark so I didn't get too many pictures, but managed to snag a few.





  The next afternoon the sky cleared up enough for us (read Casey) to go play some golf. We enjoyed the time walking the course and seeing the Spanish moss.  There was even a warning sign about alligators!


 Later that night we went to Hyman's Seafood for supper, which Casey said was some of the best seafood he'd ever eaten.  I don't do seafood, so I'll take his word for it. :)
 
The weather was a bit chilly and cool, especially our first night and the whole next day.  We found this little spot outside of Charleston where you could see the city across the water. It used to be a bridge from Mt. Pleasant to Sullivan Island, but now it's a walking area lined with palmettos. We went back to this area the second day with much nicer weather and enjoyed walking around and taking pictures.  It was a nice little quiet area and we enjoyed watching the birds and boats.  We also enjoyed the views of Charleston.

On our final morning we also visited Market Street. We enjoyed walking through and seeing the baskets and other crafts from the area.  We even bought a couple of gifts and a painting for us!

The only photo of us (somehow it always happens that way).

We really enjoyed our trip and were thankful for the time away for a couple of days.  Hooray for three years!

Spring!

So, I realize Spring officially starts March 20th (which is also our anniversary), but I couldn't help myself!

I have been so excited for March and Spring to get here. I have been longing for warmer weather, hearing the birds chirp, longer evenings of sunlight, and getting to see tulips, daffodils, and other flowers.

I have also been excited about our new garden I planted!  In our last blog, I planted garden peas.  Well, they started to sprout up in the last couple of days!  Seeing the seeds pop through the soil just reminds me of God's goodness and His promise to us of new life. 

Here are a few pictures of the planting process:

The seeds all lined up in my wooden box

Pushing the seeds down 1.5 inches in the soil (FYI--it was snowing while I did this!!)

Painted the box afterwards---planted the peas Feb. 23

Peas starting to sprout March 12

I also couldn't help thinking about this imagery from Isaiah 61:11, "For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations."  What a promise!!

Looking forward to this new season and all it has in store....

Three Things Since Our Last Update:

1.  Jobs---Casey has been working full-time since December, which we are so thankful for, but Autumn also started a part-time job in mid-January.  We've settled into a routine and are glad to be working!!

2.  Birthdays---Casey, to be more exact, celebrated a birthday.  As usual it was low key and consisted of large quantities of carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  (Those are Casey's initials in the cake icing below.)

3. A New Project---One advantage of moving back here is being able to grow plants and have a garden!  The men in my life (my dad and Casey) are helping me plant a garden on our balcony.  My dad made the wooden planter box and Casey gave me potting soil and seeds for V-day.  If all goes well, I may start a gardening page on our blog, but we'll see.

Even though I have enjoyed the snowy day today, I am looking forward to Spring and new things!

Hopefully next month we'll be able to live back up to our name of Traveling Croys....

Sunset on Valentine's Day

2013

I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog when we're not traveling places with fun pictures to post....

However, I would like to change that.  (I would also like to get Casey to write a blog since this is Traveling Croys and not Croy.  In his defense, I do ask him to read each blog and approve of its content.)

Confession: I'm guilty of looking for the big moments in life--the trips, the milestones, special days and holidays.  

Reality:  Looking at the big moments is not evil, but having tunnel vision does obscure seeing the little things everyday that God has for me.  "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Colossians 3:17

Confession:  As 2013 began, I had mixed feelings about the uncertainty of this year.  

Reality:  God already knows this year of my life and is guiding my steps.   "The heart of man plans his way; but the Lord establishes his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

Last day of 2012 sunset

We have beautiful sunsets where we live although the pictures I try to capture just do not do them justice.  I have always loved sunsets and I have been privileged to see many gorgeous ones on several different continents.  I am fascinated by how God paints the sky differently each day--sometimes with wispy clouds and rich colors, other times with pristine clearness.  Some days we do not see the sun set at all, but it still does.  It's an amazing reminder to me of God's glory, His majesty, and His provision for us.  He causes the sun to rise and set each day.  For this alone we should be grateful but He has lavished an abundance of blessings on us as His children!

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!"  Psalm 113:3

My hope is that 2013 will be filled with little and big things that reflect His glory and for the opportunity to make His glory known to those who do not know Him...