Today we begin to celebrate the Good News heralded by angels long ago: A Savior has come!
We are so thankful for His faithful love in our lives. May His love be poured out richly in your lives in 2013.
Posts Tagged → Jameson
three kiddos.
The rule of kid photos: They’re all smiling in the blurry shot.
Dressed and ready to head to the CFA Christmas Concert.
Christmas thoughts
Our tree is so pretty. It was also so very much fun to decorate it this year, which makes its beauty all the more enjoyable. The kids pause on their way through the room to admire it from afar, or perhaps run over just to make sure their favorite ornament is still in that special spot. Our tree night was filled with dancing and laughing and Christmas music in the background — and free from frustration or dashed hopes or any of the other things that can so often accompany traditions.
tree night photos here.
*****
Christmas isn’t about getting presents. We all want our kids to know it’s so much more than that. No one’s happy when suddenly their children turn into greedy monsters the day after Thanksgiving. But this year, I’ve been challenged by the idea that Christmas isn’t about giving, either. At least, not presents. I needed that little reminder from the Holy Spirit because I love this excuse to give gifts to my kids, my family, my friends—so much fun! But I can get uptight, too, about choosing the perfect gift. So maybe my kids need to lift their eyes from the getting, but I need to lift my eyes from the giving sometimes. I need to remember that Jesus is all that matters. (And if I’m going to get caught up in giving, give love.)
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We are dancing loosely through these days of December. We fit in chores here and there, quickly pull out a page of math, surreptitiously fit in a reading lesson while doing Christmas crafts. But we also linger in PJs a little longer. Bake cookies. Visit friends.
Saturday, after being out late at the CFA Christmas concert, I declared a Christmas holiday. We ate rice pudding (a rare treat these days), wore our pajamas, and watched The Nutcracker from under afghans. Nana (my mom) came to join us. It was the slow family day you dream of. What a blessing.
boys getting ready to decorate the first rum logs of the season!
*****
As I add greenery here and a candle there, and in general just go all out with making the house pretty and cozy, I am more aware than ever of my ability to quickly slip into Sounding Gong and Clanging Cymbal mode: warm, cozy home without a warm, cozy Mama. Good works without love behind them is always a rather ludicrous idea, but it becomes only more so when my efforts at “warmth” are so concerted. If I have cookies baked for the neighbors but have snapped at my husband, what have I gained? If every window is lit and the garlands carefully hung but I banished my kids in frustration, what have I gained? I remind myself of this as I plan each day and carefully weigh each moment’s decisions. Better to have a little less “cozy” and little more love, I’d say. A wise woman builds her home—and her home is people.
favorite Christmas decor from Germany
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We have a surprise guest this Christmas. In case you didn’t get the message via FaceBook, here it is:
(Guess that last post will come in handy!)
november 24
Photos I’ve been loving:
Mom, sisters, brother, kiddos at the diner for lunch. Can I just say, these kids bless people everywhere they go?
My little girl and me. She is a doll.
Jameson and Beatrice playing in the field. She loves to play outside, and Jameson finds great joy in entertaining her…though it often ends in tears. ;-)
november 21
The boys are obsessed with Monopoly.
This week has been Thanksgiving vacation, because I said so. Jameson was thrilled when I told him so on Monday morning, and ran off singing, “I don’t have to do any Ma-ath!” Of course, he then proceeded to set out Monopoly, and has been adding and subtracting ever since. Don’t tell him how much ma-ath he’s doing, okay?
Yes, three mornings in a row. Extending long into the day, when Mama allows. (And a “new” corner, after I went on a little rearranging spree last night.)
Two days of just trying to get things crossed off has resulted in… well, not much. Ha! But regardless of how much gets “done”, there is always living that happens. I think I’m really starting to learn and appreciate that fact. Of course, waking up to a house in a cloud really helps one to just focus on the things (and lives) right here. I think I could use a few more cloud-wrapped days!
Our little house on a hill is wrapped in cloud this morning.
I rearranged lamps last night. And bookshelves. Bringing “cozy” into our home is one of my favorite things, and the highlight of the colder, darker months. Summer living happens outside, and the house becomes nothing more than the refueling station. But now, in these short days and long nights, fireplaces and chairs with afghans and books readily at hand — those things shine. Of course, those things are only tools: What’s really happening is an invitation to come, be together, pause, laugh, talk, rest.
The sun, trying its best.
We are talking about thankfulness lately. (Of course.) Thankfulness is enjoying quite the rise in popularity, as t-shirts and throw pillows and cross-stitched wall hangings remind us to love friends, be thankful for friends, count our blessings, and generally be positive about life. This all reminds me of something I read several years ago: The thing about thankfulness is that it inherently requires a recipient. When the pillow encourages you to “be thankful for family and friends”, who is it you’re thanking?
I want my children to not just see me being positive about the good things in life, but to hear me thanking God for His many blessings. My thank yous need to be addressed to the Giver, not some black hole of positivism.
This song is a favorite, and I’ve been appreciating the reminder to be vocal with praise and thanks.
november 15
Today was:
Coffee, laundry, prayer, Bible, chatting with my 6 year old mister.
Walking to the tune of freezing face and appendages. It’s really cold out there! (I’ll be laughing at myself in a couple of months, when the thermometer is struggling to reach 0 degrees!)
Breakfast that took too long.
Devotions, where every word I spoke to the boys turned right around and convicted me. Some days it’s just like that. I need Jesus every bit as much as they do.
Cleaning bedrooms: The dust in mine was horrific. Convincing Jameson to throw away the pile of junk on his dresser was traumatic.
Walking to my mom’s house for Jameson’s 1912 literature class, where we learned about Jim Thorpe. Life is very sad and very hard. Heaven is a good promise.
Waving good-bye to our very wonderful neighbors. Sure, we only have been neighbors for 2.5 years, but these people have been a presence here in town for much longer than I’ve been alive. Long before I knew their names, I knew their familiar faces as they passed our house on their daily walk. We’ll really miss them.
Lunch of PB&J.
Lots of discussions on not harassing little brothers, not being a tattle-tale, being quick to forgive and move on, obeying even when Mama is not in the room, and saying NO to foolishness. (Lots.)
Naps, quiet, Christmas shopping online.
Coffee for me (and a bit for the 6 year old) while we cuddled up and watched this.
Math, coloring, vacuuming, reading.
Lighting candles and pj’s.
Lastly, pizza, root beer, and Star Wars 6 (with Daddy manning the remote controls. We like to skip the scantily-clad Leia scenes. Ick.)
