It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

Christmas! My favorite time of the year! The trees, lights, music, hot cocoa & pictures! Kelli joined us in the cold to run around Mike's farm taking pictures of the kids. And what an amazing job she did. Thanks Kelli!

I was so excited to see how well these pictures turned out. If I say so myself, I think the kids look like a Hannah Anderson ad!

3 down. 4 to go.

Yesterday as we enjoyed a feast of smoked turkey & all the trimmings we had one more reason to be thankful. We celebrated the 3rd month completed in Charlie's deployment. 3 months. I can't believe he's been gone for that long. I even got an extra special treat when he was able to call the night before & we enjoyed a nice long chat. I can't be more thankful. So as we head into Christmas preparations, birthday parties, company, MOPS & life in general, I know we are on the cusp of the 1/2 way mark, the downhill slide begins! 4 more months to go!

Where are you mommy?

As Emma & I spent some time looking through pictures recently, she asked where I was in all the pictures. I had to laugh. I'm hardly in any of them. I explained to her that I was behind the camera. And then I realized that I don't always want to be behind the camera. Now dont' get me wrong. I hate having my picture taken. I keep thinking if I finally lose that 20 or 30 lbs I won't mind so much. But in the meantime I have no preserved memories with the kids. In twenty years I want to visibly see the journey I was on as a mother with my family. I want to look back & remember those happy times with something more than what just Charlie & the kids were doing. I don't always want to remember oh yes, I was behind the camera, or I was in the kitchen cooking while they played or all the other things mothers engross themselves in while sometimes forgetting what's around them. I'm being stretched.Ouch. I don't really like it. I guess the phrase "No pain, no gain!" just isn't relating to exercise. It's all the matters of life that are outside our comfort zone. So my goal is to start allowing my picture to be taken more. Here is to being stretched.

Risky Business

I was in the living room the other night & heard "look at me mommy!" I turned around to see Nathan sliding across the hard wood floors in his version of whitey tighties & socks.

All he needed were some shades & a shirt & we would have the pre-school version of Tom Cruise! In our version Tom has set up a lemonade stand. I think I like our movie better!

Snow bunny

Maggie thought this hat was hilarious for the first few moments. She laughed & clapped, putting on a show for everyone.

Then she went from this to . . .

this.

It's okay if you're laughing. I did too!

Full of love

The kids have really been enjoying getting to dictate letters to me to send in Charlie's care packages. They come up with some of the funniest things. I photocopied Nathan's last letter because these are priceless memories being created. So Charlie as to not ruin the surprise for you, don't read any further! But I couldn't wait to share Nathan's letter.

Dear Daddy,

I see sharks & Nemo. I love Hermie. I see Mickey. I love you. I love Nemo & sharks. I love you. I love Nemo & Hermie. I love daddy. I love Hermie.

Love you,
Nathan

A touching letter written with such pride. And alot of love. For everyone.

Will he eat me?

For the past couple of weeks I've been taking Emma with me into Sunday morning service at church. Service last approximately 2 hours & I'm so incredibly proud of how she does. This morning I gave her the rare opportunity to choose if she wanted to go with me to service or if she wanted to go to her new 4 year old sunday school class. This is the conversation that transpired:

Emma: Mommy, I want to go to my class today.
Me: Okay Emma that's fine.
E: Mommy, will Bo's (pastor's grandson &her classmate) grandpa eat me?
M: Emma, what, will he eat you?
E: Yes, will Bo's grandpa eat me?
M: Are you saying eat you?
E: Yes will he bite me?
M: No Emma, why would you think that he would bite you?
E: Because last time he talked about how he was going to spit me out of his mouth.

This is where I die laughing because I finally realize what in the world she's talking about. Last week Pastor quoted the scripture from Revelation that talks about how God will spit the lukewarm out of his mouth. So in attempt to explain I try to tell her what pastor was teaching about. How if we don't love God with all of our hearts He will spit us out of his mouth. This only seems to heighten the anxiety & she now very adamantly wants to go to her class so no one will spit her out. I am only laughing harder at this point. So I finally just tell her that he didn't mean her. She looked at me & said "is he talking about you?" I said "yes he is." She finally was pleased with that answer & said "okay mommy then I want to go to church with you."

Thinking outside the box

With the upcoming holidays I'm sure gift list are being made. Who wants this, who would like that. This holiday season I encourage you to think outside the box. How many sweaters/purses/books/etc. do people need? How about spending $25 to feed a mother & her hungry children? Or $35 to help sexually exploited girls. $16 will buy 2 soccer balls, $150 will purchase a share of a deep well, $100 gets a goat & 2 chickens. The World Vision Gift Catalog for Christmas '08 just arrived today and I'm incredibly inspired. Let's face it, most of us aren't in need of much so why the holiday frenzy of finding just the right gift? Make a donation in honor of family members & let's make this holiday season really count with gifts that will truly change lives.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Three babies in a tub! There is nothing that makes the long nights go quicker than giving children some bath paints, crayons & a tub of water.

Even Maggie delighted in scribbling around the tub. That's when she wasn't busy trying to eat the crayons.

Emma taking a break from coloring to cook. The bathtub has become the place for many gourmet dinners. Although on this evening Nathan stole the show with his letter to daddy. A couple days prior Charlie had sent the kids an email & so Nathan thought this was a great time to respond. Can anyone read hyroglyphics?

Arms and Legs

She asked if you were coming home today, I told her no not today & she said but I want daddy to come home, I explained that I was ready for him to come home too & she got quiet & wrapped her arms around my legs & all I could think about was whose legs was I going to wrap my arms around when I was having one of those days too.

Dear Daddy

One early morning last week Emma arose early & came looking for me to announce she had to use the potty. As most mornings go I was upstairs writing an email to Charlie. She came & joined me for morning cuddles as I typed away. She even laughed & commented on how I was playing with the keyboard, she thought my quickness in typing was playing not actual writing. At the end of my email I let her dictate one to Charlie. It went like this:

Dear Daddy,
I love you. I want to to give you eskimo kisses. Thank you for the birthday presents. (she just said he didn't say your welcome. I've now explained again what a letter is.) I love daddy. My friends came to play yesterday. They were so having fun. I love Hermie movie. I miss you & I love daddy.

Love,
Emma

Whose day wouldnt' be brightened by this?

No Regrets

I sometimes wake in the early morning & listen to the soft breathing of my children & I think to myself, this is one thing I will never regret & I carry that quiet with me all day long.

Story People

The 5 scariest things . . .

Upon our arrival home from our Church's fall festival I found the following email in my inbox. It was sent to me from Vision Forum, an amazing Christian website devoted to bringing families & this nation back to the principles upon which it was founded. I found it to be a good article & definately some food for thought.

The Five Scariest Things You Can Do This Halloween

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. (Proverbs 8:13)
By Doug Phillips

Our country is in the grip of a fear crisis. The tension because of this fear is almost palpable. There is fear over the election, fear over the economy, and fear over hundreds of other issues ranging from the environment to terrorism.
The one fear that America is missing is a fear of the Lord. As a people, we no longer fear God. Because we do not fear God, we no longer hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).
Instead of hating evil, Americans toy with it. We toy with holidays like Halloween that were conceived in evil and that promote the “cute-ification” of evil, whether that evil takes the form of witchcraft, sorcery, ghoulishness, or some other form of malevolent imagery paraded before our children. We laugh at the very things that the Lord describes as “abominations”, and we find ourselves obsessively fascinated by, and attracted to, all things dark.
Yet we do not fear the Lord.
Those who “hate evil” are very scary to a secular society that fears man more than God. They are scary because, they dare to declare that there are absolute standards by which society must be governed. They are scary because if they are successful, industries like Hollywood that make billions off an industry promoting ungodly fear will lose their influence. They are scary because such people will not be swayed by political candidates who use fear as a tool for manipulation.
With this in mind, I offer you the five “scariest” things you can do this Halloween:

1. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to not make light of evil. Halloween was conceived in evil and has remained a celebration that uses children to promote a fascination with darkness and superstitious fear. Simultaneously, it makes light of things that the Bible describes as evil. Stand against such things, and the world will find you very scary indeed. The fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil (Proverbs 16:6).

2. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to not be fearful. The media wants you to be afraid of everything from overpopulation to global warming. The politicians want you to be afraid of the economy and the election. God wants you to do what is morally right, trust Him completely, and never be gripped by an ungodly spirit of fear. That is why one of the scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to reject the spirit of fear overcoming many Christians pertaining to next Tuesday’s national election and wholeheartedly purpose to vote your conscience and act with principled conviction, placing your trust and hope for this nation in the King of Kings, not the presidential candidates. Jesus said: “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke 12:4-5). Believe this, and you will be light to the world.

3. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to completely skip Halloween and remember Reformation Day. It was 491 years ago today that Martin Luther nailed his world-changing 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church. These theses included rebukes to ungodly fear and superstition. Five hundred years ago, sometime near October 31, a baby named John Calvin was conceived who would dedicate his life to eradicating an ungodly fear of superstitious beliefs and proclaiming the gospel of grace. His emphasis on reformation, revival, and the sufficiency of Scripture had such far-reaching implications for nations like the United States that he has been described by Christian and secular scholars alike as the true founding father of America. The Reformers did something that was very scary to the world of their day. They stood against all forms of dark superstitions which grip the minds and souls of men. It was their emphasis on the fear of the Lord and the wisdom of Holy Scripture that was used of God to liberate untold numbers of men and women. But, to remember the Reformers instead of Halloween is very scary to the world. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).

4. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to refuse to watch or allow your children to watch any of the toxic Halloween and Horror films emerging from Hollywood. America’s fascination with ungodly fear has made Horror the most popular and fastest-growing film genre amoung youth. When parents allow their children to toy with this genre, they promote ungodly fear, and they contribute to the fear-factories in Hollywood that prey upon the youth of our culture. Say “no” to Hollywood Horror, and you will be dangerously scary to the media elite. “Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence....?” (Jeremiah 5:22).

5. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to get on your knees as a mother and father and pray that the Lord will send you many, many children who will fear God, not man — children who will especially shun the glorification of witchcraft, the bondage of ungodly fear, and the “cute-ification” of evil that is promoted through holidays like Halloween. Cultures that toy with evil end up being cultures of death. The Christian response is to be a people of life. That means babies. Lots of them. It means fearing God by honoring His command to “be fruitful and multiply.” It means remembering that the Scripture describes children as a “blessing” and a “reward.” Raise children that fear God more than man, and that will be answer enough to our Halloween- and darkness-obsessed culture; for if you trust God over your womb and commit your children to a holy education, you will be very, very scary to the modern world “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 34:11).

Nathan the giraffe

The past couple of days have been spent enjoying harvest festivals at our church & then the church where MOPS is held. In all the excitment I didn't get pictures of Nathan dressed as a bumble bee or Emma as a butterfly. Maggie was dressed as the little girl who was terrified of her giraffe costume. I'm pretty sure I can convince them to get back into their costumes to take a picture for Dad. That usually seems to work. I did manage to get this one picture though & it really made me stop & look at my son. The poor middle child. Who some days I wonder might pull a Jan Brady & begin yelling Emma, Emma, Emma. He so loves his sisters that I don't truly ever see that being an issue. But I feel like I don't always notice how big he is getting. He fit into his play clothes from last winter prior to our vacation to Florida. Upon returning from Florida I soon discovered as fall crept into the weather Nathan crept out of his winter play clothes. Now mind you he is still small for his size as they were 18 mo. playclothes. But as I bought him 24 mo. & put them on him there was a transformation in front of me. He no longer looked so baby-ish, but rather big-boyish. He's probably looked like that for a long time but it was a moment where I finally saw it. He is a big boy wanting to assert his independence and be validated as the big boy that he is. He has the sweetest spirit always asking us if we are happy. And who couldn't be happy with a sweet & loving little boy like him.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Yesterday our little pumpkin turned 4. It is with her we entered the wonderful world of parenthood. I felt for those first few month that my main objective was just to keep her alive. What a scary time that was. Now she is this bright, fiesty, energetic, loving four year old. I was told many times how quickly time flies when your children are young; but I could never fully appreciate those statements until now as I'm in the midst of my childrens' years flying by. It's exciting & sad all at the same time.

On Thursday we spent the morning running errands with Emma's best friend Mya & her mom & brothers. Afterwards we were supposed to enjoy a picnic & play at the park but the chilly weather did not permit us to do that. So instead we ended up at Chick-fil-A where the kids had just as much fun.

On Saturday Emma woke up to find her presents on the table. I picked up a princess marker/stamp kit while at Disney & filled a colorful butterfly box with card making supplies. Emma was in heaven. But not before she first proceeded to open her marker set & without uttering another word handed me all of the Jasmine markers with the exclamation that she was not modest. You see dad & I have agreed that any princess who is not fully clothed will not be something she is allowed to play with. We've explaind scripturally what modesty is & what God requires. We were quite surprised when it didn't take months to comprehend as I assumed it would but rather moments. She is actually quite passionate in her conviction & it touched my heart that she never once complained to turn those markers over to me. It saddened me though because they were 3 purple ones, her favorite color. So creativity struck as I borrowed stickers out of her kit, covered Jasmine's exposed stomach & now we have 3 modest purple markers/stamps. An example of how her maturity in some areas amazes me. She is an amazing little girl & I am so thankful that the Lord blessed us with the honor of raising her.