Counting my blessings into the new year...

A photo collage by Smilebox

Christmas Memories 2010

This scrapbooking design personalized with Smilebox

Saturdays are for: Preparing

Our little guy has recently become obsessed with looking at, handling, adjusting,

and matching up what few pieces of true "church clothes" that he has.

It was becoming something he did everyday of the week until I started just sort of hiding this shirt and tie until Saturday when we would hang it up in preparation for Sunday morning.

Our sweet youth pastor's wife took these shots of him when they were here

on a Monday evening a couple weeks ago.

This afternoon, we put together nearly 20 gifts for all our Sunday School teachers and church staff.

If you want to know what's inside.....look here and here.

YUM!!

The girls also bagged up the little goodies they made for their friends too.

We'll be giving out over 30 bags tomorrow!!

Finally tonight, I'm hoping to get some pretty curls in my "personal assistant's" hair tomorrow morning.

Her hair is pin straight and whispy and super prone to static,

so I wrapped her hair in socks.

I'm hoping these curls will actually take.

Just for fun...

About a week and a half ago, we hosted our youth pastor and his wife for dinner.  She is an amazing photographer who did pictures for Lexi's 13th birthday party in August.  She ran out of daylight before she could finish getting portraits of Lexi, so she took this opportunity to do a lengthier photo session with her.
She did such a wonderful job capturing the personality of my multi-faceted girl!!
Here's a few of my favorites:

You can find out more about Tori Adele Photography here!!

Nurturing a giving heart

I have always felt it so important that my children learn to have a giving heart.
To have eyes that see beyond their own little world to the needs of those around them.
All year 'round, but.....
Especially at Christmas.
I mean, isn't that what Christmas really is?
The Great Give-Away.

So I've had my eyes and ears wide open the last month for opportunities we might have to really experience how much more "blessed it is to give rather than to receive."
To learn how to give to those who have no way of giving back.
To be a follower of Christ....don't I want to follow His example?

Last Christmas I really wanted to send a box of encouragement to our dear missionary friends who are on the mission field of Thailand.  They have 8 children and are such faithful ministers of the gospel of Christ.
But I just couldn't get everything together in time and the shipping is so very expensive.
This year I spoke with another friend of mine from church who is Thai by birth, and is going with her family to spend 2 months visiting her homeland.  She told me she would be visiting my missionary friends, and when I asked her if she could take some things to them from our family, she immediately said, "YES!"
I was so excited, but only had a few days to gather together some things.  It was so much fun asking my friend in Thailand what they needed (via Facebook), and then being able to put my hands on those items so quickly.
So we were able to send off some things to Thailand for FREE in my Thai-American friend's suitcase!!

But I'm collecting ideas for next year, and I feel the Lord has already given me an exciting idea for our missionary friends for NEXT Christmas!!

But we've also been busy in our kitchen again this year, making gifts for each of our children to give to their friends.  A few of my children naturally want to give presents to their friends, but a couple have to be taught to think about that.  So every year, for the last several years, we have made it a tradition to make gifts.
Children need to know that not everything can be, nor has to be, purchased to be a treat.
I feel every child has creativity within them and the ability to make beautiful items with the proper supervision.
So we make lists of all the children they want to give to,
and we start creating.

Click here and here for a peek of what we made last year.
This year I saw an idea for making candle jars out of used jelly or pickle or baby food jars, and thought as Charlie Brown....."That's IT!!"
Here's what we did:

Start with any clean used little jar.  

As you can see, we didn't get upset that the label didn't completely wash off in the dishwasher.

Slather the outside of this jar with "mod podge."

 While the "mod podge" is still wet,

cover it with tissue paper in any design you want.

Then slather more "mod podge" over the tissue paper.

Let dry.

Drop a tea light candle inside and wrap pretty ribbon around the top to finish off.

Voila!!!

Easy!!

We've also been making these:

We put two in a snack size baggie per person, and they go into the gift bag along with two of these.....

Our children can't WAIT to take all their gifts to all their friends.

It's one of our favorite ways to teach them the joy of giving!!

The Journey: a plateau

Plateau:  From "Wikipedia"

In geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau. A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity.

Another definition of a plateau:  Taken from "Dictionary.com"

a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one's career




And finally from the "Calorie King" website:


If after losing weight successfully for some time, you reach a point where the number on the scale suddenly refuses to budge - sometimes for a number of weeks - you're said to have hit a "plateau".


After about 9 weeks of continual, gradual weight-loss, I hit my first plateau!!  Thankfully, the little challenges that you read through each week on the "Calorie King" program had already discussed this rather frustrating phenomena, so I wasn't too upset about it.  I just kept going.  Moving ahead like I had been doing and journaling my calories everyday, and exercising whenever I could.  Sure enough, the following week gave me another 1 pound loss.  


Two things became so clear to me almost immediately into this journey.  Weight loss is not (and should not be) this dramatic downward slide to 10 or 20 pounds of weight loss.  It is a slow gradual stair step down of consistent and purposeful retraining of yourself.  It comes slowly.  When you slip into old habits, you get back on track and continue to move forward in the things you have been learning.


It struck me how much this is exactly like my walk with the Lord.
  
There have been times in my life when I had time to consistently read God's Word on a daily basis, spend time in prayer, and memorize His Word.  
I knew my heart was searching for His leading in my life in every decision I faced at the time.
I felt like I was growing in my understanding of Him and His ways.
But then, something would change.
A new job.
A new schedule.
A new marriage to my husband.
A new lifestyle.
A new baby.
A new diagnosis.
I let those bumps in my life interrupt or stagnate my walk with the Lord.
I needed to keep on "in the things I had learned."
When I wasn't able to spend time with the Lord like I needed, I reached a plateau.
Where I wasn't growing or learning more and more about Him every day.
Where I wondered what was wrong.


But through this process, I remembered to get back to what I knew.
That's the answer.
To just keep on keeping on.
Do the right thing.
Do the things you know have been successful for you in the past.
Get back on track.
Get off the plateau.
Try something new to keep things fresh.
A new delicious, low-cal smoothie.
A new time in your day for your quiet time with the Lord.
Add some quiet music or a cup of coffee.


Work on your own version of a "Plateau Buster" and 
keep on going!!
Your body will forgive you and settle back in to weight loss.
My Heavenly Father extends grace.

Saturdays (in December) are for: Rehearsals

Every. single. Saturday in December we have at least one member of our family who has to travel the half-hour to our church for a Christmas program rehearsal.  My husband usually is working his 12-hour shift on Saturdays, so that means I get the job of loading 6 children up (or finding child care for those not involved that day) and getting them into their place.  Last Saturday though, was a little different.

Rehearsal for the two little people was at the same time as our Ladies Christmas Brunch.  My two oldest girls dressed up and came with me to enjoy some lovely fellowship, while the two rehearsed for their program which was Sunday evening, and the other two played in the nursery.  

I hear this phrase often on Sundays,

"I just don't know how you do it.

I only have two children and it's so hard getting out the door.

I just don't know how you do it."

I always tell them,

"It starts on Saturday."

I have to pick out all the clothes and lay out all the shoes and socks,

or invariably at least one person will be missing a shoe or

 have NO appropriate socks to wear on Sunday morning, and then things only slide downhill from there.

I also have to have every. single. meal planned and ready to go

because by the time we get home after morning service (remember that half-hour drive),

my children and husband have become borderline cannibalistic.

In the past, I've tried packing snacks,

but then I learned no one is hungry enough to actually eat their lunch,

AND our van is trashed with crumbs and wrappers!

So toss in outside activities, coupled with Sunday preparations,

and our Saturdays are usually very busy.

This last Saturday was no different.

Not only did I need to have our family out for the aforementioned festivities,

but I also needed to prepare for the MOST PRECIOUS baby shower EVER

on Sunday afternoon.

This sweet baby has been long prayed for

and long

awaited.

His Mama very tragically lost his older brother at just 26 weeks (if I remember correctly)

gestation just about two years ago,

so they are so anxious for his safe arrival.

Lots of tears.

Sheer joy!