"These are a few of my favorite things..."

I always feel that the time from Thanksgiving until New Year is a complete whirlwind! I even find myself at times grrrrring about the holiday season. I feel like I have a hard time Enjoying Anything between Everything that needs to be done and the things I want to do. SO.... New approach! Instead of keeping the whirlwind feeling lingering inside me, I'm going to look back and savor the moments that brought "goosebump" moments to my arms and heart. Even if the moment only occurred for a split second.

• DVRing all the Christmas movies from the Hallmark Channel. I only watched a few, but it was wonderful to watch them anytime. I always feel warm and fuzzy inside after watching them.
• Fudge all over the boys faces after licking the beaters.
• K- Man making a list of the goodies he wanted me to bake (fudge, puppy chow, candy covered pretzels, sausage balls, and candy covered popcorn).
• B-boy seeing Santa for the first time at the mall..."I see Him! I see Him! He's over there!"
• Watching the boys write their Christmas lists...adding to it all month long. I love the way K-man spells his words and how B-boy forms his letters.
• Shopping for clothes (with my boys in tow) for a couple of ladies living at the nursing home I work at. The boys were so proud when they picked out a blouse that I actually bought for the ladies.Wrapping the gift while I thought about what each of the ladies meant to me.Watching them open each present and feel and touch each piece of clothing. Seeing the boys' big eyes as the ladies were so excited about the gifts.
• Seeing the boys look in awe at the Christmas tree ornaments and gifts.
• Driving up to the outside of our house being decorated with Christmas lights for the first time.
• Finding the perfect place to put our Department 56 Snow Village.
• Looking at all the past ornaments made by the boys over the years.
• Having a marshmallow fight following opening the marshmallow shooters Christmas morning.
• Listening to B-boy see Christmas lights on the way to church. He would see the same lights every time we went, but listening to him you would have thought he had never seen them before!
• Singing at the nursing home with friends from church.
• Looking at Christmas lights with Paw Paw and Gramzie singing Christmas Carols at the top of our lungs!
• Watching B-boy in his Christmas program. He was a very ADORABLE wise man.
• Listening to B-boy practicing singing all the songs that he would be singing in the program. I can still hear him singing ...."Si--lent Night..." all over the house.
• Going with K-man on his field trip to an Opera House for a Christmas show/play. Yep, I teared up...always do! There is nothing better then seeing your child's bright eyes experiencing Christmas.
• Going with friends to see the play Rodolph. B-Boy was scared out of his mind of the Abominable Snow Monster! Watching the boys get autographs from all the characters after the show. Yep, I teared up at the end...always do!
• Getting 10 Christmas cards on one day!
• Hearing the boys excitement as they looked at what Santa brought before they "woke us up".
• A couple of days before Christmas- Listening through the boy's door as K-man explained what Santa does on Christmas Eve.
• Seeing my adorable husband in his new house shoes, shooting the boys with his new Nerf Gun!
• Listening to all the Christmas music being played EVERYWHERE.
• Seeing our nieces that we haven't seen since this past summer.
• Sitting on my Parents front porch for two hours on my Mom's new porch swing watching the boys play outside

Sigh...

Yes, once again, in the mist of the CRAZINESS of the holiday season there were memorable moments that deserve their time to be savored.

Sigh...

Little One, Little Two...Little Indians

I'm Thankful for My Two Little Indian Boys!

Learning to Read

With learning to read comes a new awareness of the world around you.

As the K-man has increased his confidence in reading, I often hear him reading signs in town, book titles, signs I have in the home, labels...the list could go on. I usually just smile and say something like, "great reading', "that's right!"...however, this summer I had a heart stopping moment.

We were exiting off the freeway when I looked in the rear view mirror at my two boys in the backseat only to notice tears rolling down the K-man's cheeks. When I asked what was wrong he pointed to the man holding a sign at the traffic light. "Help. Have no Home."

"Momma, that man doesn't have a home!"

As I choked back tears and looked at my innocent little boys in the backseat my heart broke. I said something like, God knows that man's name and God IS working... It just made me sad that K-man was realizing things are not always, "Ok." There is hurt, hunger, sadness and loneliness in this world. We stopped before going in the next store and I prayed with all my heart! Out loud I was praying for the man to know God and for protection..., inside I was also praying for God to keep my boys' hearts soft for the hurting and to strengthen them for the hurt they will face and witness.

May we have soft hearts for the hurting, the hungry, the sad, and the lonely.

May we never stop reading!

We have Voted!!

This election year I have tried to make it very real for my boys. The K-man has picked up a lot from our supper table discussions and we have watched Fox News together as a family (monitoring the content) to try to explain the importance of voting and what a president actually does. I have also read books with the boys such as Clifford for President which is more on the K-man level (B. just likes the big red dog- Ha!).

After the K-man's Halloween party at school we headed to the polls for early voting. I tried in the most simple ways to go through the process with him. The ladies there were wonderful and gave him a sticker when we had voted. The K-man had some good questions and was excited to help me push the red button to enter our ballot! One question that bugged him all the way to the poll was how to spell the candidates name we were voting for...he was relieved when we didn't have to write anything!!! After voting he was very concerned about others not voting the way we voted...we have had some great discussions!

While there teaching my 4 year old about voting there was a gentlemen there in his mid 50s that was trying to vote but must have not gone through the right process to register and he had to finally tell them he had NEVER voted!!!! What in the WORLD!!! I was also amazed at a girl who practically skipped into the room beaming that she was about to vote for the first time...she looked to be in her 30s!!!! Ok, Ok, better late then never, I guess!!

This morning we spent time at the breakfast table reading Romans 13 and praying about the election and our family in the future. We had a good family talk about God being in control no matter who is our president. This election has been a blessing to our family's growth though it has been a tough year with the ups and downs!

Today, I am glued to the TV...In truth,I am an election junkie and the suspense kills me! The horrible news is I have Defensive Driving tonight (another story of waiting to the last minute!) and it is going to drive me batty until I can get on my Sirius radio to hear the update! Please tell me there are others out there that enjoys election years!

Thoughts on the Election...

We are blessed to be in a country where we have the freedom to vote for our President. With this wonderful freedom comes responsibility. This election has personally been a roller coaster ride of emotions for me, because I do feel the strong responsibly to fight for the "goodness" and "honesty"of our nation. It is a tough world out there and without God as the priority of our nation the wickedness will abound. We live in a selfish nation with "Me" as a focus...We need God as our focus! I have watched every debate, listened to talk radio, and read anything I can get my hands on to try to find a comfort or a peace...BUT guess where I found it???

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Romans 13:1

I have very strong opinions about each of the candidates that are running AND I will be placing my vote for the "team" that I feel is best for our nation. However, this passage along with the whole chapter of Romans 13 has granted me a peace and a strength for what the next four years have in store for our nation and my family (ie. what God has planned) I have read this chapter everyday for the last week and I will continue as the election moves forward.

I am blessed that God is in control and not mere men!

Just Reading...

It has been a busy couple of days for many reasons. Like many moms, for me each day has many trials...you know what they are. Some seem huge and others are small. For me, yesterday was FULL of them! I handled some trials with grace and others with too little patience. However, when my head hit the pillow last night I knew God had been with me all day. He showed me my blessings throughout the day even through my tears and the tears of others. I am blessed. Instead of sharing the dramatics of my day yesterday (which many of you would get a good laugh at)...I want to fill your thoughts with a challenging thought I came across here the other day.

What are your thoughts about the blog post?

Summer Bible Reading Club 2008

Summer Bible Reading Program 2008

"Wild about God's Word"

This is the bulletin board we used to watch our children's animals move to their goal.

We feel strongly that God and His Word needs to be center of our family.

"These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. When you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you and write them on your doors and gates."

Deuteronomy 6:7-8

One way we have tried to work on this is through a Summer Bible Reading Program. We encouraged adults, children, and families to read daily through Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts for 2 months this summer and then recognize those who completed the program.

We felt the program was a HUGE success for the first year. We had around 80 sign up (27 children and 53 adults) from our small congregation. The picture is of some of the children who participated in the SBRP.

Here are the 8 children who completed the program by reading or being read the Bible. They received a medal that had the following inscription on the back:

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

Psalm 119:105

Here are my sweet boys who participated and completed the SBRP. We read to the boys around 2 chapters of the Bible a night. We made it a time of devotion with singing and prayer.

"Train up a child in the way he should he should go,

Even when he is old he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6

Sometimes we just need to get in the routine of reading the Bible daily...

Sometimes we just need a goal to start reading the Bible daily...

Sometimes we just need encouragement to have a devotional time at home with our families...

This is what we hoped to accomplish with this years Summer Bible Reading Program- If you would like to know more about the details of this program just let me know!

Thoughts...

I have been reading "At Home in Mitford" by Jan Karon. I love it when you read something in a book that makes you stop and meditate on the thought. In this wonderful read an older women who has lived a very full life asks this question to her friend...

"Did you ever think that just when people grow old and have so much to tell, that's when people want them to hush?"

As I though about this question I realized that the thought was very true. I feel strongly that God has placed a special spot in my heart for the geriatric population. I work in two nursing home and rehab centers. The age population ranges from around 70 to 100+ years old. Let me just tell you that I learn something EVERYTIME I take the chance to slow down and just listen! When you look into these sweet people's eyes you can just see they have so much to share and so much wisdom just bursting to come out. However, our society sees them often as burdens and too slow to keep up.

I also took this thought one step further...

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanders or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God" Titus 2:3-5

God gives us so many opportunities to share the wisdom we have been blessed with. More then that he has blessed each of us with older and wiser women to honor, respect, and learn from. I looked around our church family this morning and noticed how blessed I was to be be in a family that has "grey hair". I am encouraged to be around these special women and learn from their full lives. I also looked around and noticed the range of young girls/women that I have the opportunity to instruct and encourage. We need to be women who lean and learn from each other.

Listen to the sweet elders around you...they have "so much to tell."

Philippians 4:8