Christmassy time

The kids and I had a wonderful time in Florida! Here are some pictures! They are totally not in order because it is too hard to arrange them... how the heck do you do that? Anyway, all the kids you see in the photos are: Kristin, Ryan... Julia, Faith, Josh (David's kids)... Isa and Willy (David's nephews, same ages as my kids, and look just like them too!)

We had Christmas Eve Dinner at my aunt's house.. that's her tree you see. Most of the week we just hung out, kids played in the backyard, and we ate a lot of "decent meals" as Ryan says, when you ask him what his favorite part of the trip was (Kristin's favorite part is "David"... aw! So was mine :) )

My friendly reminder

My friendly reminder

There is so much to think about. My life is spinning.

I have major life events coming up, one of them being next week.

How are things going to fall into place?

Will they fall into place?

Why can't I know how it's all going to work out?

Will it all work out?

I don't know what's going on, or if we will all be okay.

Can't I just know?????

..... Kristin came up to me earlier tonight as I was stirring macaroni and cheese for their dinner in the kitchen.

She gave me a drawing, that had a note written on the back. She asked if she could read it out loud to me.

"Dear Mommy,I hope you like this butterfly I made for you. Merry Christmas! I wish my other teeth would come out. I wonder when they will. Do you know? I don't. But God knows.Love, Kristin"

I just hugged her so tight and told her thank you for the reminder.

Sorry, Mommy, Santa IS real!

I just had to do it.

She has WAY too many things (expensive things) on her Christmas list. I kept telling her day after day, that Santa MAY not be able to get everything she's asking for. We'll have to see if he can afford it. She says "No, mommy, his elves just build it"

Finally I took her aside and said "Kristin, you're 7 yrs old. I think you're old enough to handle the truth. Baby... Santa isn't real."

"Yes he is."

"No baby, he's not. He's fun, but he's just fictional."

"Oh yeah? Then who leaves all the presents under the tree?"
(hands on hips, and slight head nod.)

"The mommies and daddies."

"Then how come it says "from Santa" ?"

"The mommies and daddies write it on there."

"Wellll.... your handwriting isn't the same as Santa's"

"Okay, Kristin, the point is, Mommy is telling you that Santa is fictional. It's okay to have fun about Santa, but don't forget the most important thing to celebrate about Christmas is Jesus' birthday." Of course now I'm worried she might think Jesus isn't real since I've told her all along that He is! So I emphasized, "even though Santa isn't real, Jesus is definitely real, and His birth is what we're celebrating. But it's okay to have fun with Santa, even though he's not."

"Well I still believe in him."

"Okay, that's perfectly fine if you do, you're allowed to believe in him, but just don't be surprised if you don't get two more Nintendos and a Wii."

(she and Ryan each have a Nintendo DS)

The next night I saw yet another letter she wrote to Santa and left on her table with her crafts.... asking the same old things....a silver DS, a pink DS, a Wii, and an Elf.

(a "real" elf).

Merry Christmas :)

My Little Bible Reader

Kristin's favorite and best gift for her birthday was from her Grandma (my mom). Her very own Bible. She loves it!

(keep reading for a cute story)



Last night Kristin read her Bible for "silent reading" in her bed.This morning she came in my room with her Bible."Mommy can I read you something?" she said, and climbed into bed with me. Ryan had already come in and cuddled up with me.

I said, "sure, what would you like to read?"

"Well, lately I've been reading the book of Numbers." (lately? lol)

I said "oh that's great! Well you know Kristin, there are lots of interesting stories in the Bible. Want me to show you where to find some that are more interesting?"

"But mommy, Numbers IS interesting" (ooooh... shame on me! lol. I know, there I was telling my kid that a particular part of God's holy word was boring!)

"Okay, what part of Numbers are you going to read?"

"Chapter 6"

"Wonderful! Why did you decide on Chapter 6?"

"Because I read all the other chapters already last night"

"Oh! Wow. Okay, I'm listening."

She then proceeded to read the entire chapter 6 in Numbers. She read it like any other book, with expression in her voice, and only stumbled on a couple of words, like "tabernacle". It really sounded like she understood what she was reading.

Just to see if she did, I asked her questions at the end...

"so Kristin, what did the Levites have to do for their commitment to God?"

"they couldn't eat grape stuff, and they had to grow their hair long until the vow time was over."

She can't wait to come home and see what happens next, lol.

Seven Years of Kristin... a look back

Note: For some reason, the right side of some photos are cut off. You can click on the photo to see the whole thing, if you want.

November 9, 2001
Kristin finally decided to meet us! Actually I don’t think she decided at all. She was due on October 31, but got a little too comfy in there, so we had to induce labor at 9 days late. No sign of her wanting to budge on her own!



November 2002
Her first birthday party! Ladybug theme. Great time at Aunt Brandi’s neighborhood Clubhouse. It was rainy and cold, but we had a cozy time indoors. Brandi helped me (as she is so kind to always do!) make her Ladybug cake, and Kristin helped clean up the floor by eating crumbs.




November 2003
Kristin’s second birthday party took place about a week before Ryan was born (I don’t remember what day we had the party, but their actual birthdays are 11 days apart). As you can see I was nice and plump with baby brother. We had an Elmo party, with an Elmo cake, and this time she was old enough to really be excited about the attention upon her. Not rainy this year, but chilly outside.




November 2004
Birthday party number three was at Kidsville, and this time she got to invite all her friends from Sunday School, now that she was old enough to expand from just a family party! I made her Dora and Boots cakes, at her request. It was cold and rainy this year. Can’t we ever do this outdoors?




November 2005
This year, for her fourth birthday, she shared her party with her brother Ryan at Chuck E. Cheese. All their best friends came, and of course family too! It was chilly out, with a little bit of sprinkling.




November 2006
Five years old and FINALLY a sunny November. We didn’t know if it would be, but we took the chance of planning the party at the park anyway, and lucked out! She also shared this party with her brother Ryan, and all their friends and family shared in a hot dog cook-out! I made them Strawberry Shortcake and Spiderman cakes.





November 2007
Six years old is a great age for a sleepover birthday party- her first one! She invited a handful of her best friends, and we had pizza and a movie…and of course a yummy Hello Kitty cake!







November 2008
Here we are at seven years old, and I can’t even remember her as an infant- unless I look at the pictures. She’s totally a big kid! This year is once again, cold and rainy, so we had a delicious family dinner (including BFF Courtney) at Claim Jumper, and next week she will have her “friends” party at Nickel City, shared with Ryan. Look out for those pics!

Well, Duh, Mom!

As any normal family would do right before leaving for school in the morning, we were sitting on the couch watching the last bit of Sponge Bob. In this episode, they have a campfire going, which is put out by the rain.

Me: How is it raining under the ocean? Where are the clouds? Doesn't rain have to come from clouds?

Ryan: Mommy, it's just a fictional show.

Well... there you have it. Now you know. I'm sure many of you were asking the same thing, so don't even lie!

:)

Worried about your retirement plan?

Jesus already has one set up for you in heaven (if that's where you're storing your faith). You'll be retiring in a place where streets are paved in gold. So let's not freak out about the economy of this world. LOL. This is my friend James' blog.... take a read! *here*

Worry Schmurry

"Don't worry! All circumstances are owned by Me. The good ones come from Me, and the bad ones are bought by Me and made good."

This is a word from the Lord. Okay, it's not in the Bible or anything, but God clearly mentioned these words to me. Anyway, He gives promises all over the place just like this in the Bible.

Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for good, for those that love God and are called according to His purpose."

What circumstance do we need to fear? God promises that if we love Him, and are called to His purpose (isn't that all of us?) everything will be okay. And besides… no matter what we have to deal with on this earth, what's the worst that will happen in the end of it all? We die and go to heaven to spend all eternity with the God of Creation? I just don't see anything but happy endings around here.

Jesus suffered and died not only to cover the cost of our sins, but to free us from ALL things that bind us.

Romans 8:1-2 : "Therefore, there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." What is the condemnation, the punishment of sin? Death. When Jesus beat death, He beat everything that death is. Death in finances, death in relationships, sickness, and of course spiritual death, so that when our bodies die, we live again in Heaven.

So whatever is going on… big or small… don't worry, because the Lord says it will work out. Jesus PAID such a high price for what you're going through. You are not obligated to carry it anymore, so don't! Instead, He says, "take My yoke upon you, and learn from me, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30).

Let's just take things day by day and see where God is going with all this confusion that comes in and out of life… I'm excited to see how it all comes together…

End of Summer Fun