May your days be merry.

We had a wonderful Christmas party geared for the little ones, but as usual, there is friendship to share from the smallest to the oldest.

Loving and enjoying the babies.

Beautiful women.

My brother Ben studies and wonders, deeply, intriguingly....    ;)  and right this minute Bannon has walked up to me to ask me what is happening to this baby in the picture of this book Ben is holding in his hand in this captured moment. I really don't know what to say. Let your imagination help you....the book is called a Renaissance Christmas.

Pito's here!

Donut? Juice? Chips?

"Merry Christmas!"

"Feliz Navidad!"

Grab bags

The buffet

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.
It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” Dr. Suess

Days of....

Sledding, snowpants, and hot cocoa

Laundry, piles of laundry. But lots of red

Writing letters

And cups of tea from the Christmas teapot.

Putting on my apron.

 Some days I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Yesterday was one of those days. If I let my mood run its course, it would have been one of a complaining nature. But what sort of good does that bring about? No, I guessed it wouldn't do. After some needed understanding emailing with a dear friend, I got busy doing the "next thing,"  and let the songs of need and praise come from the heart. Things started to look better soon.

I was able to work around some children who are truly generous and inspire me in many ways. I did the things that I know are me and who God has made me to be. I worked on letting go of guilt for not being a superwoman, letting go of comparison, letting go of my inability to make everyone happy, letting go of the what-ifs, and leaving it all in Father's hands, asking Him for wisdom, brings peace. 

Again, pictures taken, to enjoy, to pay attention to, the little things, to dance.

I fluffed the nest with a little vacuuming, some laundry, baking cookies, reading about bugs with some interested students :), Christmas copywork, lego towers, smiling at the sweet little mommies, thanked the Lord for the feet and laughter and cries that make up the snow sledding, boots, and puddles my dry warm feet step in. (And next time, a large towel will be handy for that.)

      

My Mom lovingly and carefully put together these paper boxes and made us an Advent calendar. I have to fill these up today! The kids are very excited about it. She has started a new blog here, and I can't wait to visit with her there.

I have so many other things to say, but hopefully will get to it tomorrow.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

The little guys have been battling a virus this week. They've been sipping tea and Ramen noodles. I've had to talk to myself and tell myself to be patient with the tears because sickness has a way of wiping out the stamina of the little guys very quickly. They need time to heal and rest.

A woman has the privilege of investing her heart into her home. Love, vision, words of encouragement, ceremonies built into the daily "hum-drums," brighten up our corners of the world. I love doing what I do, although it's not always easy. It doesn't come from my own abilities or strength. I frequently need to pull away to quiet places of the heart where I can pray, read, and listen.

My listening today came in the form of watching the softly falling snow, praying about some things, knowing we are all loved. I kept returning to this quote I read this morning:
 "If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary."  Joe Gatuslao

Abby ran to find me at one point and said, ‎"Mommy! The snow is shining! It looks like diamonds all sparkling on the rocks! The grass is shining too!" Love was spoken through the present of a snowfall, a joyful child, the reminder that these days are all a gift. My cup is filled.


And progress is being made in the crawling department.

                                                 Look out world, here he crawls.

Here are some little snippets of what we've been doing.

The Clown of God, a simple story of a clown who juggles, but honors God because he does what he was made to do.

                We've been keeping the bird feeders on our to-dos, because the birds are a bonus round here.

                      And the little guys and Dad made this wreath for the door. It's beautiful.

Blessed Messes

Bella...

Bella, what are you doing?

Are you playing with the water?

Are you washing the dishes??





Someone, somewhere, saw these two and took pictures...


AND it was certainly NOT me.