Christmas 2013...

We started Christmas break with one sick kiddo but we made the most of it reading lots and lots of books and watching some movies.

Christmas Eve was extra special this year because Wes led worship for 4 services at church and Micaiah joined him playing drums for "Go Tell It On the Mountain."  Joshua was part of the kids choir that sang that song too.

One of my favorite memories other than Christmas Eve service will be the boys giving gifts to one another.  They were so excited to pick out the gift and I loved watching them interact as they gave/received the gifts.

Christmas morning came early with Joshua continuing his Christmas morning tradition of looking at his stockings, getting really excited and then throwing up...yep, real life there folks.  Sometimes it ain't pretty (especially if you have a strong gag reflex).

  Micaiah was just as excited as you can see in the pictures below.

Eli's facial expressions are always fun to see.  He definitely is the most animated when opening his gifts.

Will was so excited to find M + M's in his stocking...

Poppy joined us Christmas morning...

Eli showing us his really loose teeth on Christmas morning...

Will playing with his new favorite train...

And then he snuggled up in Mommy's sweater after a long morning... I have memories of doing the same thing with my mom.

Christmas day was what I would consider "ugly-beautiful." It came with great joy, anticipation and delight but also with feelings of sadness (missing family members that are no longer with us, broken family relationships and the realization that some family members live too far away to enjoy a meaningful connection during the holidays).  

I think these are common feelings at this time of the year.  If we allow them to...they ultimately point us to the one that promises redemption.  He came as a child to live among us and promises to return and make all things right.    

 "If we can see Christmas as a foreshadowing of future lasting joy and not an attempt to fulfill our dreams, we can unburden it from unrealistic expectations and transpose the melancholy of its passing into hope." ~~Jon Bloom

Multitude Monday #4378 - #4402...

"Send me your light and your faithful care,
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you dwell. 
 Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God."
^{Psalm 43:3, 4} 

Today along with the Gratitude Community I list His endless gifts as I draw near to Him...

...brothers and beautiful smiles...

...hearing and seeing Micaiah's heart for his brother and how he offered to help him learn to read...

"Mom, maybe I could help him learn to read because I'm a kid and that may make a difference."

...a friends beautiful refinishing work on an old buffet for our dining room...

...that Joshua was brave and made it through his oral surgery...

...in laws that drive hours to help with childcare for a few days...

...time to run errands alone...

...a difficult meeting that brings clarity...

...my mom's physical and emotional support after the meeting...

...seeing this perfectly timed quote by Ann Voskamp...

"Tears are never a sign of weakness. Tears are always the sign of an open heart."

...my husbands business mind and how his explanation regarding this difficult meeting put things in perspective...

...a perfectly timed text followed by a phone call from my dad...

...honest, authentic conversation that brings tears around the dinner table with some of our closest friends...  

...fire in the fireplace, candles lit, surrounded by friends...

...a lovely visit with the previous owner of our home...

...Eli and Joshua helping Daddy light the advent candle at church... 

...a late night phone call with my aunt...she's always been more like a sister to me...

...an incredible sermon on JOY by George Hopkins on Sunday that challenges me to think on the question...

"Do I delight in the JOY that's sustaining?  

Or am I putting my delight in things that will fade away?"

...and then he continued with Psalm 43:5...
"Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God."

...and he followed up with "There are times in our lives when we need to preach to ourselves.  Sometimes we need to sing to ourselves and let that song be our own song.  And say to ourself 'Soul why are you so downcast?  Hope yet in the Lord, for He is still present and He is still near'"...

..."Joy  to the World"...

...freshly fallen snow...a reminder that He makes all things new...

...the boys delight in the first snow of the season...

...arriving home safely...

...hours of sledding, fort building fun outside into the dark of the evening... 

 

 

Multitude Monday #4347 - #4377...

"Good hearted people, make praise your habit."

Psalm 64:10 The Message

Today along with the Gratitude Community I praise him as I list gifts from this past week...

...my husbands life giving words of encouragement and love...

...long johns on cold mornings...

...a friends offer to take Josh on a field trip so I could share my testimony at a friends neighborhood Thanksgiving Tea...

...the power of sharing my testimony...how God reminds me once again of His love and faithfulness and the timing is perfect...

..."lookin book time" with Eli... 

...Crowder's new tune "I AM"...

...reading to my little one over lunch...

...psych report in hand...

...sunshine on a cold and blustery day...

...time cuddled up under blankets reading to the boys...

...our first snowflakes...

...Eli's infectious laugh...

...wrestling with fears...

...cousins togther...

...the opportunity to share a story of God's faithfulness with Micaiah...

...sharing a read aloud with Josh while the snowflakes fall...

...driving into the mountains and witnessing this beautiful winter wonderland...

...special time with family over the holidays...

...early Christmas presents...

...enjoying the movie Frozen with the family...

...Will playing on the railbed while we wait for the steam engine...

...an afternoon chasing the Western Maryland Steam Engine...

...looking and laughing at old family pictures...

...the joy in this little guys face...and those eyes...

 ...football throwing...

 ...laughing at Wes' football funnies...all in good fun of course...

 ...Wes' help with laundry as we return home...

...a clean refrigerator...

...turning my heart toward advent...the struggle to press into Him...prayers lifted throughout the day to help keep things in focus...

Multitude Mondy #4323 - #4346...

 “Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. 

 God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.” 

Ann Voskamp

Today along with the Gratitude Community I list his gifts from the week...all pictures were taken with my iphone...

...coming across this great reminder one morning...

...kitchen floor snuggles with Will one afternoon...while I was making lunch he kept coming over and trying to get my attention...so often I just keep on doing what I'm doing as I talk to him but this afternoon I stopped and got down on the floor with him and loved on him and he kept saying "do it again Mommy"...

...the joy in his heart as he jumps in a pile of leaves and says "I love autumn"...

...coming across this gem one morning...
"Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry; 
 for their sake he remembered his covenant    and out of his great love he relented. 
Psalm 106:44-45

...hearing Eli read "Green Eggs and Ham"...

...a night out with good friends...great conversation, great food and pumpkin cheesecake to end the evening...

 ...seeing this out our front door one morning...there is something so mysterious and beautiful about fog that makes you stop and slow...

...coming across this promise one morning...Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

...little "munchkin man"...

...family picture idea coming to fruition FINALLY...

...a family dinner around the table...candle lit, table set and boys loud and laughing...

...friends all gathered at our home for homeschool science one afternoon...

...a dinner party to celebrate a friends 40th birthday where we laugh long into the evening...

...studying Judges 11 with my CBS class and coming across this little nugget of wisdom regarding Jephthah in vs 3...
"Circumstances beyond his control forced Jephthah away from his people and into life as an outcast.  Today, both believers and nonbelievers may drive away those who do not fit the norms dictated by society, neighborhoods, or churches.  Often, as in Jephthah's case, great potential is wasted because of prejudice--a refusal to look beyond ill-conceived stereotypes.  Look around you and see if there are potential Jephthahs being kept out due to factors beyond their control.  As a Christian you know that everyone can have a place in God's family.  Can you do anything to help these people gain acceptance for their character and abilities?"

...this song and its truth..."I know who goes before me...I know who stands behind...the God of angel armies is always by my side"... 



...being in the classroom with the boys for American Education Week...

...my husband that lovingly reminds me to take one step at a time and to remember that God already knows whats next...

...shoebox packing party with Operation Christmas Child...

...taking my little train man to the holiday train garden for the afternoon...

...and for the photographer in me...achieving bokeh in the above iPhone picture...

...a full, fun soccer season coming to an end...