happy new year

2011 began and, truly, we had no idea what was in store for us. 

2011 was hard. 

but i stand here today not focused (well, at least i try not to be focused) on the hard, but on the beautiful. 

"when life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate.  and when life is bitter, say thank you and grow."
-shauna niequest

family picture december 2010


this time last year, we had no idea that HTE would close it's doors (dave's old investment firm) and that Dave would begin a new journey, a new firm, a new season.  (season's the name of the new firm,  ya like how i threw that in there?)

january 2011


little kickers winter 2011


school at home


there is always pain in brokenness.  and this was most definitely true during the process of shutting down HTE and parting ways with partners we had grown to love.  there were lots of days when sending dave to work felt much like sending him into a warzone.  i would cry when he left and beg God to be real to him, to sustain him with joy and peace and hope.

ian eats solids! march 2011


ash turns 2!  march 24, 2011


easter 2011



and in the middle of all of it, all of the muck, God was making things new.  that's what He does, you know, in death, there is always, always, new life.

dave and i turn 30!  april/may 2011



aves turns 4! may 19, 2011


God (and dave and elliott)  birthed Season Investments.  it's been a dream for a long time now, but, really, you don't realize how impossibly hard it is to follow a dream until you are there, in the middle of it, doing it and kind of wishing that you weren't.  but God has been faithful to give glimpses and whispers of "yes, keep going, this is the way."  He has spoken louder than doubt and fear and the enemies lies of "maybe we should go back".

4th of july 2011



ian turns 1! september 13th, 2011




we know now, that we are not sustained by what we can do for ourselves. 
we are sustained by Him.

we know now that you don't get peace and hope and joy when life is awesome. 
you get them when life is hard. 

we have more courage looking into 2012 than we did looking into 2011.  i know this for certain.
more faith.
more intimacy with each other
more intimacy with the Lord.
we rely less on ourselves and more on Him.

and those things, my friends, are dreams far too big for us to dream for ourselves. 
but i'm so thankful that He dreamed them for us. 

happy new year.
-the houles