Christmas Day

Christmas Day this year was one of the most fun and restful Christmases I've had in a long time. We stayed home all day long. The boys were able to play and play with their new toys.

Memaw, Papa, Gigi, and Pop joined us for breakfast, and the five of us enjoyed a nap later in the afternoon. The boys were wonderfully sweet and cooperative today.

While all of the memories from today are sweet, there is one that touches my heart more so than all of the others.

Our oldest child, John Isaac, is such a sweet boy. We are so blessed to be his parents! Like all children, he has strengths and difficulties. For instance, he has absolutely the best imagination of any four year old I know! Also, he is excellent at memorizing information, and he is super affectionate. Sometimes, however, I wonder if he is listening when I talk to him about a number of things.

Throughout the Christmas season, John and I have made an earnest effort to keep the focus on Jesus...Jesus' Birthday! The children have been to a Happy Birthday, Jesus party. They have been talking about the birth of Jesus in Sunday School. At preschool they had a Christmas party, and the focus was surely on the gift of Jesus. We baked Jesus a birthday cake for Christmas Eve. Still, I hadn't heard much from our first born concerning these things. In fact, when I would ask the boys whose birthday is on Christmas, John Isaac would often say, "mine!"

This morning, one of the gifts that the boys received was a set of standard unit blocks. It was our hope that the boys, in time, would use their imaginations to build numerous structures. We figured that, over the years, they would be useful for any number of playing adventures from building bridges for pirates to building campsites for cowboys.

This morning, however, my John Isaac's first construction project (done entirely by himself) was to build a stable for baby Jesus. If my heart could literally melt, there would be a significant void in my chest. He did such a wonderful job, and we were super impressed at his understanding of such an abstract arrangement. He included the stable, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds, etc... all represented by blocks. That kid never ceases to amaze me. I suppose he had been listening all along.

What a blessing it is to celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord. This will not be a Christmas I will soon forget.

Joy to the World

the Lord has come!

Let Earth receive her King!

Let Every Heart

Prepare Him Room!

Have I Forgotten Anyone?

This time of year has me making lists. With three boys, list making is sometimes the only way I organize and get anything done outside of their care. I have the Christmas card list, the presents list, the grocery list for the upcoming festivities, the to do list. The list of lists could go on and on...seriously. I've always been a list maker. As a side note... I think list making provides one with a sense of accomplishment as tasks are crossed off of the list, and, in general, makes one more efficient.
While unpacking our Christmas decorations this year, I found this framed cartoon. My mother gave it to me the year that John and I were married. I think it is a poignant picture of how chaotic and stressful Christmas can be.
If we let them, the commercials and ads will convince us that more and more stuff will bring us joy. The to do lists will become such a priority that we forget why we celebrate. The full schedule will convince us that there is no time to "be still, and know". Truth be told, most of us would be far more embarrassed if we forgot a gift for someone at a gathering than if we let our thankfulness to God lapse this season.

Let's not forget!

Handmade

The concept of things being handmade is one that, unfortunately, seems to be less and less frequently seen. Businesses mass produce their products. The result is that, in many ways, life is made more convenient. I partake of the easier, more convenient methods with some regularity, myself.

Still, there is something about this time of year that creates in us a desire for the handmade. For instance, my mom and grandmother have been spending their days making quite the variety of homemade cookies...from scratch. My mother-in-law makes wonderful fudge. Fudge that I have attempted to make on a number of occasions resulting in frustration and disappointment as mine has not once turned out as creamy and delicious as hers. That said, I am in the process of making homemade breads.

We like the handmade, homemade things at a time of year when mass produced is readily available. Oh, I absolutely appreciate gifts of all types, but why is it that the handmade touches our heart? Because it's special the way that so and so makes it! It makes us feel special because so and so took the time and care to make something delicious, beautiful, or both for me!

Everyday, my husband wears, to work, a belt that his mother stitched for him. It displays mathematical symbols which look like a foreign language to many. To my husband, those symbols are familiar and useful. That belt would not appeal to the masses, but it is perfect for him. My mom is in the process of hand quilting spreads for John Isaac's and Jeffery's beds. I can't wait until they are complete! This act of love on her part will make me, and will make my boys, feel special each time they are used.

It occurs to me that God loves things that are handmade too. "You knit me together in my mother's womb." Do you think that God uses the very term, knit, in order to help us understand that we are of handmade quality? I do. What make us the quality of the handmade is that we are made by Him. It occurs to me that if we are mass produced, as many believe, the quality of our craftsmanship goes down dramatically.

This Christmas, I am thanking God for the handmade ones in my life. Like the quilts my mom handcrafts and the belt that my husband wears each day, we are each made for something special. We are each made special, by hand.

Thanksgiving was such a fun time! John, the boys, and I spent Thanksgiving with Gigi, Pop, and the crew. We spent Black Friday with Memaw, Papa, and the crazy shopping crowd.

I have included some pictures of our travels. In the top left are Memaw and Greg looking at the Christmas tree. Moving clockwise, my nephew Nick is being awfully sweet to the youngest grandson, Duncan. Duncan is in the following picture. What a cutie! Then, there is our only niece, Olivia. She's so sweet and tiny! At the bottom, are John Isaac, Jeffery, and Nick playing before Thanksgiving supper. In the bottom left is a picture of Greg and Gigi, and in the center is baby Greg visiting with his great grandaddy Florida.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and I have been reflecting on the many reasons I have to be thankful. Several reasons from my ever-growing list can be found below. I hope that everyone is having a lovely season of Thanksgiving!

God sent His son, Jesus, to suffer the consequence of my sin and rise again so that I can have a relationship with Him.

I have a hard-working, loving husband and three healthy, beautiful children.

My mom is cancer free!

John and I are both from homes in which our parents have made the choice to stay married through the good and the bad; setting an incredible example for us.

I have been blessed with supportive, caring extended family and some of the very dearest friends I could ever imagine.

I have the privilege of mentoring a super, young person. She has impacted my life in more ways than she'll ever know.

Guatemalan adoptions have partially reopened, and adoption awareness, in general, is on the rise!

On that note, I'm so thankful that we have the opportunity to adopt again.

It Matters To This One

Have you ever prayed for something for years never knowing when or if it would come to be? I can think of a number of times that I have done this. I prayed for a number of years about having children, and God has blessed John and I beyond what I ever thought possible!

Over the past two years, my heart has been more heavy than I can describe about the closure of adoptions in Guatemala. John Isaac has been such a gift to our family. When I would think about the growing number of orphans in foster homes, group homes, and orphanages in Guatemala, it would overwhelm my emotions with grief that other boys and girls, similar to my own son, were without a chance for a loving, permanent family. The idea of growing up without parents is one that is unfathomable for me. John and I grew up in loving families taking much, I am sure, for granted.

All over the world, including the United States, there are real boys and girls who have no family. Many have no hope of ever experiencing what it is like to grow up with a mom or a dad. I have heard people compare the cause of adoption to that of recycling, and I stand in utter amazement at the apathy that is shown for living, breathing children who live without. Upon telling one person that John and I are in the process of adopting again, someone said to me, "You can't save them all." She's right. I can't, but I can do my part. Not everyone should adopt, but we all should be willing to look the orphan crisis in the face. We should recognize the state of children who have no family for what it is, a crisis.

Today, I have learned that adoptions have been reopened in Guatemala. God used the adoption of John Isaac to open my eyes; to make the plight of the orphan real to me. It is with tears of joy streaming down my face that I say, "Thank you, LORD, for this answered prayer!"

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas!

This morning, I awoke to a very cold house! I quickly realized, upon examination of the thermostat, that our heater was on the fritz. I say "on the fritz" because I have zero knowledge about heaters. I covered the older boys with heavier blankets, and grabbed the baby to put him in bed with John & I.
Once we awoke for good, I called the heater fixing people. They were more than happy to fix the heater this very morning...for an overtime fee, of course.
The older boys went to see their Gigi and Pop with Daddy, and Baby Greg and I have braved the frigid air of our home until the heater fixing man arrives.
The pictures I have included are sweet Greg playing in his jacket, waiting for the air to warm.

Family Pictures....AAAAHHHH!

Over the past couple of months, I have made several attempts to have pictures taken of my family. This seems like a reasonable thing to do since I have three young children. However, this task has, twice, left me feeling disappointed and quite defeated. If you are thinking that I must be a silly woman for feeling this way about pictures, you may be unfamiliar with the physical exhaustion and psychological beating that comes from bathing, dressing, transporting, posing, reposing, reposing, reposing, "come back here you crazy child..."

Where was I? There was the beach....aaaahhhh! Then, there was JC Penneys....honestly, I was almost in tears. Yes, they were just that uncooperative!

After leaving the mall on the day of the Penneys attempt, I called a very dear friend of mine. Her name is Sarah Beth, and she truly has a talent for capturing beautiful moments in the midst of complete chaos. I have shown a small sample of the pictures that she took at the orchard that is located near our home. I can't express how pleased I am with the pictures that she has taken of our family! Thank you, sweet friend.

Mercy, Forgiveness, and Consequences

Wouldn't life be grand if kids were always respectful, always obedient, never obnoxious, never rebellious? Since becoming a parent I think about questions like the one above with regularity.

I believe that I have relatively well behaved children. However, I am not blind to the fact that they, like all of us, strive to have their own way. Their way and my way are often companions. We can compromise on some matters, but then there are matters in which compromise has no place. I am their mother.

When I look at the world today, I see a culture that feels entitled, shows little respect for others, and is selfish; a culture with few consequences. I have been guilty myself, at times, of these ugly characteristics. We all have. Even still, the behaviors and motivations that are socially acceptable among young people in this day shock me to the core. If you've ever read the comments linked to the most watched videos on YouTube or if you have watched the news lately, perhaps you know what I mean.

How then, in this culture of acceptance and anything goes, will I raise my boys to be different? I believe that a portion of the answer resides in teaching them the truth of consequences. When thinking about discipline, I think about what kind of men I want my little boys to become. Discipline with love is necessary if I do not want them to become self-indulgent men, men of little integrity, men who recognize no authority. The process of discipline is one that weighs heavily on my heart. No one enjoys seeing their children suffer the consequences of their actions. However, the process of molding my children to recognize and submit to authority is one that is for their own good. If no consequence existed, how might they (how might we) act as adults? If there were no speed limits, how fast might we drive? If there were no threat of jail time, how much more often would people steal? How many more men and women would engage in extramarital affairs if there was no chance of loss? If there were no consequences, we would take what we wanted, when we wanted, in whatever way seemed "right" in our own eyes. We would do as we pleased, and, let's not play dumb, sometimes what we are pleased to do is simply wrong.

Current trends in parenting seek to encourage self-esteem, say no as rarely as possible, and, in the power struggle that is inherent at times while raising children, place the power in the hands of the child. I wonder, when I read such material, what the end result of such parenting will be? It seems to me that one who is constantly applauded and rarely told no is likely to think more of himself and less of others than he ought to.

When I think about my original question, I also wonder how often my Heavenly Father looks on me with the same longing. How often do I, like my boys, think that I know what is best for me. How often am I unwilling to listen to the One with limitless depth and perfect perspective? "Those whom I love, I discipline..."

I will chose to applaud my children when their behavior and motives are truly worthy of applause. Doing so brings me great pleasure. They are true blessings! I will chose to discipline when it is required. In doing so, I will seek to show my children a love that encourages them to be the best that they can be, a love that teaches them to care for others, a love that cares enough about their character to teach them that, although there is mercy and forgiveness, all actions have consequences.

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Hebrews 12:11

Beans and Cornbread...

My husband, John, and I met in college. Well, we actually met before college. Upon our first meeting one another, I remember thinking that he must be terribly full of himself. We were to accompany one another to the math department orientation during scholarship interviews. I was all chatty, while he was stoic and silent.
During the first couple of weeks after attending Murray, I was approached by this very same guy about studying together for an upcoming World Civ. test. Turns out he was not full of himself...he was nervous!
Long story made short...lots of studying, years of friendship, engagement, marriage!
During the pre-marriage friendship portion of our relationship, John and I would hang out much of the time. John did not care, at all, for parties, social gatherings, etc... We would spend time walking, talking, playing chess, watching movies...
Beans and Cornbread is a special dinner and a movie segment found on TBS on most Friday evenings. I can't tell you how many movies John and I have watched together over the years. Most of them are chick-flicks. Thankfully, he doesn't mind. Then again, he always falls asleep....huh?
At any rate, we now have toddlers. What was once Beans and Cornbread has become Pizza and a Movie. The boys help make the pizzas, we eat dinner, and watch a movie with the kids. It is super fun, and a time for the two older boys, John, and I to relax together. The boys love to help us cook, and they are always ready to cuddle with momma and daddy for at least an hour while watching a good movie. Tonight we watched, UP. John fell asleep during the movie, and the kids wiggled and squirmed.

I know these days won't last forever. Yesterday, I was watching chick-flicks with my best friend, today we watch cute kids movies with our boys. Sooner than I'd like, those loud, wiggly boys won't want to cuddle up in my lap for hours at a time. I'll savor it while it lasts. I suspect, in the days ahead, there will be time for more Beans and Cornbread.

Road Trip

Yesterday, John was working late, so the boys and I took an afternoon trip to Memaw and Papa's house. My parents were glad for the visit, and the boys were excited too.

Whether we stay overnight or just visit for a few hours, the trip is always worth it!

Next time, Memaw will have to make it into the pictures!

goodbye thursday

Hello Friday!

hello boys

hello potty

hello diapers

hello sun

hello coffee

hello Oso

hello Lord

hello sausage and biscuits

hello potty

hello diapers

hello DC*B

hello silly dancing in the kitchen

hello blog

hello lincoln logs

hello books

hello dishes

hello laundry (ugh!)

hello bath

hello potty

hello diapers

hello Candy Land

hello PB&J

hello Morgan

hello potty

hello diapers

hello naptime

hello friends

hello handyman

hello daddy :)

hello potty

hello diapers

hello Shoguns (Yum!)

hello cookies

hello potty

hello diapers

hello bo bo bed

hello prayers

hello kisses and hugs

goodnight

hello jeffery

hello potty

goodnight!

What does your Friday hold in store?

Fun with Pop

This afternoon the boys and I received a visit from John's parents, Gigi and Pop. The boys always look forward to visiting with their grandparents, and I know that the feeling is reciprocated.

15 Months

Today, after escorting the "big boys" to their preschool classroom, Baby Greg and I made the short drive to Dr. Yeiser's office for his 15 month well baby check.
Before continuing, I must take a moment to blog the praises of Dr. Yeiser. Our family has been so blessed to have found him. Thank you, Longtines! Our great appreciation for Dr. Yeiser began when he correctly diagnosed John Isaac's head-drop seizures upon first observing them. A diagnosis that Dr. Puri, our neurologist at the time, had said would have been overlooked by many pediatricians. I will never, ever be able to express my sincerest thanks for that correct diagnosis. At the time, John and I were barely competent at diaper changing and sufficiently warming a bottle. We would never have questioned the pediatrician had he been wrong. Praise the Lord for this competent, kind pediatrician who it just so happens also loves Him!
Back to Greg...While waiting on the well baby side of the waiting room, Baby Greg decided that wearing my glasses was the very best entertainment. I wonder what the world looks like through his sweet, baby eyes? My glasses couldn't have cleared things up, but he sure thought they were fun to wear.
He was quite cooperative for the measuring and examination. A fact that I do not take for granted! He currently weighs 27lbs. 5oz. (84%), is 32.5 inches tall (87%), and surprise, surprise he has a big noggin...51cm. (100%). I wonder where he gets that?
After the examination, Dr. Yeiser alerted us that the "nice nurse" (aka the shot nurse) would see us shortly for Greg's 15 month vaccinations. My Sugi (pronounced shoo-gee) persevered and was promptly given hugs and apple juice...return of the happy baby.

A Story of Joyful Giving

For the past four years, I have given serious thought to the idea of Santa Claus. I "believed" in Santa, received from Santa, had a great Santa experience. No harm done. However, the question of whether or not to build up Santa has loomed in my mind. I've heard and weighed the pro-Santa stance and the anti-Santa stance. I have debated in my head whether it is make believe, harmless fantasy or lying that may lead them to question the truth of other, much more important Christmas stories and foster materialism.
Well, this is it. This is the year that my boys are asking about Santa. They have seen Santa ornaments, pictures, commercials. Santa is not a character that is easily ignored or overlooked at this time of year!
Enter VeggieTales...HALLELUJAH!
This year, VeggieTales has created a wonderful movie for young children examining the story of Saint Nicholas and the true reason that we are to give, not only at Christmas time, but throughout the year. My favorite song in the movie says, "I can love because God loves me, I can give because He gave..." This movie does a great job of keeping the focus on the Savior while not pretending that we can ignore the character, Santa.
Like Frosty and Rudolph, Santa will be a Christmas time character in our home. We will discuss helping others, sharing what we have...all because He has graciously given to us. My boys will not have presents from Santa under our tree, but they won't care. They'll be delighted with the items that await them on Christmas morning. They'll know they came from momma and daddy, and that we share presents with each other because God has given us the best gift of all.

Trick or Treat

This year my boys were awfully cute for trick or treat!!! John Isaac was a monkey, Jeffery was a tiger, and baby Greg was a chicken. I was able to get the costumes for half price from Old Navy, so that made this holiday a little sweeter. They had a great time at the PGBC Fall Festival and at the RMC Trick or Treat.
One thing that struck me this October was the number of young children wearing costumes from truly horrific movies. For instance, I saw elementary age children wearing masks, dressed as the villain of the Saw movies. I haven't watched them, but, from the previews, I can guess that they are pretty gruesome. I am constantly amazed at the things that young children are exposed to, and I can't begin to imagine the terrible dreams and fears that are associated with such images.
I've decided that Halloween is a scary holiday, and not one that I want to participate in. Trick or treat, however, is a holiday in which I will dress my children in fun, age-appropriate costumes and allow them to collect candy from family and friends. They have so much fun dressing up any day of the year, and they love the candy that results. I'll let them be kids...hold the scary, unnecessary junk!

Turning Thirty

Isn't it nice to be able to count by ten? Our money, measurements, time...counting by tens is so useful and convenient.
So, in two days I'll be thirty years old. After being a twenty-something for years, it feels different to be thirty. So much has happened in the past ten years of life. For one thing, I married John. That's been huge! Ten years ago I was in college, single, childless. Now I am blessed to be at home with my three boys and married to my very best friend! Ten years ago, I thought I knew everything. Now, I am aware of just how little I really do know.
One thing that I know for sure...stronger now than ever before...is the truth of God's Word, Jesus as Savior and Lord, and the desire to know Him more.
I am thankful and humbled by my experiences over the past ten years, and I await, with hope, what the next ten years hold in store!