Some Holiday Traditions

We had many child friendly Christmas activities that all seemed to get squeezed into last Friday. First was a cookie decorating party for our play group. Andrew enjoyed the freedom to stick lots of sugar into his mouth at will and Rebecca liked playing with the sprinkles.


That afternoon Trace took Aidan to Holiday in the park at a local park. They bring in snow for 2 days every year. They have a small area of snow to play in and an snowy hill to slide on. Aidan had a great time playing and then the boys came home to join us for dinner. We did baths, put on our pajamas and then headed back out to drive through the city of Bethlehem ( a local church does acts out what the town of Bethlehem might have been like on that wonderful night and then ends with a manger scene at the end) and then on to look at lights.
We turned up the fun Christmas music and just enjoyed being all together. We found this one house that has their lights synchronized to Christmas music so they blink with the beats. You tune into a special station so you can pick up the music they play and you can watch the lights dance before your eyes. They even had times when they dumped buckets of snow onto the ground when it fit with the lyrics. My favorite part was the nativity scene and the fact that they had their children come on and read the Christmas story from the bible. It was really neat and we thoroughly enjoyed it (you can tell how much Andrew loved it by the photo below)!
Here is a really bad picture of the house with the lights...it doesn't do it justice AT ALL, but maybe it can give you some vague idea of what it is.

Saturday night I took Aidan and Rebecca to a local pottery store to decorate an ornament each. This is the 3rd year I have done this with Aidan and the second year for Becca. They had fun and now I have two more hand made ornaments to hang on my tree. This weekend was full of some of our favorite Christmas traditions. What are some of your favorite traditions?

Brrrrr

Winter has finally arrived in Texas (at least for the day)! The weather hovered around freezing and the wind made you want to hide your face. It is funny to me to listen to all the wimpy Texans as we shiver and bundle up (believe me I am one of the worst!). So the kids and I did the only logical thing on a cold day like this. We made hot chocolate and stayed in doors as much as possible.


Here is to cold winter days and Hot Chocolate to warm you up or if you are Rebecca here is to an excuse to eat marshmallows by the handful. Happy Winter.

The veil is torn in two

In BSF this year we are studying the life of Moses and this week we looked specifically at the directions for how to construct the Tabernacle. This lesson has been extremely powerful for me. It is such a testimony to the Lord's Holiness. We are not holy and what is not holy cannot bear to stand in the presence of such holiness. This is evident in the way that the people reacted when seeing the glory of God in Exodus 20:18-19. We see the people beg for Moses to mediate between them and God but not to allow God to deal with them directly.

Now the Lord is giving Moses the ceremonial law and specifically directions on how to build the tabernacle. On the inside of the Tabernacle there are two rooms: the holy place and the most holy place. They are separated by a curtain. In lecture today at BSF we were taught that the curtain was as thick as the palm of your hand. That is a strong curtain and it was designed to separate the people and to protect them from the Holiness of God that none of us could stand. Once a year the High Priest was allowed to enter into the Most Holy place to sprinkle the Mercy seat with blood that served as an atoning sacrifice for the people. ONCE A YEAR one man could enter into the Most Holy Place where the Lord Dwelled.

How many times a day do I approach the throne of Grace and enter into the presence of the Lord? Not once a year, but daily. Oh how I forget the wonderful privilege I have to go boldly before the throne of Grace. How often do I forget that it is only through Christ's sacrifice that I am worthy to approach my Lord. How often do I forget the sacrifice that was paid in order for me to go before my master in confidence. And from time to time I hold this honor in such low regard that I forget even to pray.

Friends, when Christ died His body was broken and the curtain was torn in half from top to bottom. The curtain was ripped open. He became our mediator and we became High Priests able to boldly approach the throne of Grace. The entrance to the Lord had been blocked, the veil was torn in two. It is wide open today! The sacrifice has been paid and a a new covenant has been established. Hebrews 10:17 tells us that once we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus our sins will be remembered no more. And we learn in Psalms 103 that in His Loving Kindness our sins have been removed from as far as the east to west.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:19-24

May I encourage you to walk in love and good deeds living fully in the Grace you have been offered through the death of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. My prayer is that all that read this will seek the privilege to draw near to God and live in the assurance of things hoped for.

Thanksgiving Tree

I just took apart our Thanksgiving Tree from this year to make room for the Christmas decorations and get ready for the new season that is quickly approaching, but I realized that I never blogged about our tree. I love this little tradition that we have. This was our fourth year to do it and at the end of the year I write down everything that was said on one piece of paper to save. It is so fun to read the things that we have written in years past and to remember what was going on in our home when the kids were that age.

Here are a few of my favorite things that were mentioned this year:
***A few things Daddy said he is thankful for Friday Fun Days ( a special day with Aidan every week), being handed the broken brush after bath (Becca always wants daddy to brush her hair with our handleless brush after her baths), and perfect landings off the ottoman (this includes everyone, but I would guess Andrew especially).
***Mommy is thankful for little boys who eat ice cream with chips (Andrew insisted on using his chips like a spoon), a boy who multiplies, girls that yell way too loud, and the laughter that comes while sliding down the slide all together.
***Aidan is thankful for presents, parties, numbers, and Jesus dieing on the cross.
***Rebecca is thankful for food, grass, paint, butterflies, and Lydia's party.
***Andrew (from mommies observation) is thankful for star burst, chairs and ottomans to climb on and jump off, markers, and Mr. Potatoe head.
I hope you had a very thankful Thanksgiving and that you have a wonderful December celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior!

Prayer Needed

Trace came home early from work today. He explained to me that there had been a murder/suicide at work. The secretary in his department had been killed. She was working and her ex-boyfriend entered the building, brought her outside, shot her, and then himself(although it was not a fatal shot). Thankfully Trace had left and gone over to some other CBI office buildings across town. He was across town when this happened and when he received word. He drove back to work to find that everyone had left for the day. They have closed the office until Monday.

Please pray for this woman's family. She was a single mom to a 12 year old little girl. She was originally from England so as far as Trace knows she has no family here. Also please lift up the staff at CBI. I can only imagine how difficult it will be for them all to return to work. Many of them, Trace included, had just had conversations with her that morning. It is terribly tragic for everyone involved. Lastly, I would like to ask you to pray for the man who shot her. He was helicoptered to the hospital and is not expected to die. As we all turn our minds to those we love and are so thankful for, may we be mindful and prayerful of those who are suffering so deeply. Thanks for praying!

I'm Still Here

Wow, I have been a very bad blogger! Life has been so busy that I have not had time and honestly I have found myself in a very strange place spiritually so I have not known what to write. I have so much to process and pray through so every time I get a few minutes where I could sneak away to the computer to write I feel like I need to just stop and be quiet. I have felt the Lord pulling, pressing, and pushing me in new ways. It can feel a bit overwhelming to me at times, but I am so thankful to know Him and to Know that He isn't finished with me. I would love to share more about what is going on with me but right now I simply do not feel like I have the words or the time to communicate what I am experiencing. Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to sit and write more.

However, for now I will leave you with a few pictures that I have been meaning to share:

Aidan had his Thanksgiving feast at school last week. Here is a picture of my little Pilgrim. I so enjoy going to his school and being in his classroom and I think he appreciates it also.

This is a picture of some of his buddies at school.

We also had an end of the year soccer party for Aidan's team at Chucky Cheeses. It was fun to get together and let Aidan play. This is his coach who was wonderfully encouraging and patient with with boys all year long. He was fantastic and it made for a great team to be a part of. Go Hurricanes!

And finally, this picture is of Becca. We had run errands in the morning and only had about 45 minutes before we had to get ready to go get Aidan so I told her she could skip nap time as long as she rested and was quiet. She got her umbrella, made a little tent, got some books, blankets and a pillow and next thing I knew she was out. I felt the exact same way that day...I didn't really have time for a nap but my body was crying out for one. It has just been that kind of week or two for us around here.
I hope you have a very restful and relaxing break. We are sure looking forward to slowing down a bit (at least for the next week or so).

An unexpectd answer to prayer

***Updated to add - This has been postponed due to an unplanned conflict. Maybe it will happen next week. Please pray for God's perfect timing.

I was working on the computer this afternoon trying to take care of a few things before getting Aidan and the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number but I picked it up anyways and was shocked to hear the man introduce himself as a member of the CBS local news team. He asked for me, of course I thought he had the wrong number or something, but then he started talking about the Moms in Touch prayer group that started out here this year. I realized he had the right person so I listened to him ask if I would be willing to do an interview. Knowing that I have specifically prayed for direction in how to advertise MIT so that other moms will hear about the ministry, I felt like I had no choice but to say yes. I mean how do you ask the Lord something in prayer and then say no when he answers so obviously? I guess I could justify saying no because He answered in a way I would have never imagined and one that I am not all that excited about being a part of, but I know that would be disobedient and so I said yes. I am very nervous about this. I am worried that I won't speak clearly and that I won't look very intelligent, but those things are truly more about me than the Lord. I know that He has ordained this and that He will provide all I need. Please pray for me. Pray that I will boldly proclaim His goodness if I get the opportunity and that the Lord will be glorified.

I was told that they will be here about 7:30 am. so they can get some extra footage of us getting ready. Please pray for a peaceful home and children! You all know how mornings can go and we need tomorrow to not be one of "those" days. Our group meets at 8:15 in the morning so they will follow us there to get some more footage and somewhere during this time they will interview me and possibly the other moms. As long as all goes as planned they said it would be on the 6:00 news on CBS 19 and then it would be on the website for a while. Please also pray that other moms see this and that the Lord stirs in their heart a desire to be a part of this ministry.

If you have kids in school I cannot encourage you enough to be a part of one of these groups. Prayer is such a gift and this is such a well developed ministry with very wise leaders and wonderful materials to help you start or join another group. GO read more about it. Friday mornings truly are my favorite mornings of the week since beginning this group.