happy valentimes

Valentine's Day came and went, and we celebrated it up! 
Date night! Valentines. Heart-shaped bacon and homemade pumpkin donuts. Parties. {A.K.A. Obscene amounts of candy exchanged.} 3 Crushes (just the pop, for now :) Fires and fondue with the fam. 

Last night, the kids were all nestled snug in their beds, visions of conversation hearts and toilet paper-snowmen dancing in their heads. I had plans to write this, as the house was quiet and the hubs was at class, but my head was pounding. As I drifted off to sleep, praying for my boys and for my life to count and to know Him more, the lyrics sang in my mind: Oh how He loves...   

How fitting that on a day we set aside to celebrate love, from the morning greeting us with a fresh blanket of snow to my last stream of consciousness, and everything in between are just gifts of the Everlasting Love Himself.

No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. 
I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. ~ Isaiah 1.18 {NLT}

You, my friend, are so very loved. More than we could ever imagine...

I pray you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power to grasp 
how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge... 

~ Eph. 3.17b-19a

May we know this love. This patient, kind, sacrificial, gentle, freeing, mercy-full, protecting, joyful, trustworthy, always-hoping, always-enduring, never-letting go, making-a way kind of LOVE.

 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 

~ Romans 5.8 {NLT}

Oh, how He loves, 

on valentime's* day and every other in between...

*yet another phrase of Jude's that is too cute to correct :)

twenty.eleven

Seems like it was yesterday that the thought of stepping into another year brought a stomach-full of butterflies.*  After a long December, we were singing with the counting crows: maybe this year will be better than the last.  But...if not, I asked the Lord to open my eyes, awaken my heart to joy.  Not happy-'cuz-life-is-good or happy-when-my-kids-behave.  Not happiness-found-in-escaping-to-anywhere-but-here or happy-from-a-pat-on-the-back. 

Joy that springs from a well deeper than circumstance. 
The joy that only He can give.  

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 

~ Psalm 90.14

2011 came, 
and this is just a snapshot.  
{There is so much left out...memories we hold in our hearts but don't have on disk - lovely faces that grace our days, precious family, priceless friendships, warm exchanges in the hall, honest conversations, laughter and tears shared.}    

we hugged hard good-byes to loved ones...

 

we embraced hellos...

we shared our lives, our hearts, our journeys, our gluten-free cakes......

we faced our fears, cheering each other on in the process...

{below: before...}

we moved, gathered, celebrated...

{above: after!!!}

we discovered the wonder in the here, beauty in the now...

You know what I see looking back on this year?

He has given joy!

We often don’t enjoy the experience at hand because we’re so caught 

up with reaching out for the next one…The secret to awakening joy 

is being present with whatever part of life we’re tasting right now.

~ James Baraz & Shoshana Alexander

More to come, as we ring in the New Year tonight with some of our favorites.
Wishing you a Happy New Year, filled with joy that only He can give! 

Rejoice, o weary world!

I don’t know how this Christmas finds you.  A house filled with loved ones, or longing to hold the hand of a love that's passed…all your wishes under the tree, or wondering how you’ll make ends meet…peace in your home, or greed- gripped hearts stirring fights...crossing off your favorite to-do’s, or swapping out the fun for cleaning up vomit and washing mounds of soiled laundry…reflecting on the graces of a year past and the hope of a year to come, or far from home unsure of what tomorrow holds...
 
This time of year is funny like that.
We listen to the carols Have a holly, jolly Christmas and It's the most wonderful time of the year.  Yet, for some, that is so very far from reality.
Can a Christmas still be merry? 
You may have nothing to unwrap, and yet everything to receive and embrace.  OR, you may have everything you wished for, yet settling to delight in the gift rather than the Giver.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining. 
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth. 
A thrill of hope! The weary world rejoices! 
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. 
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! 
O night divine, the night when Christ was born…

Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother. 
And in His name all oppression shall cease. 
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, 
With all our hearts we praise His holy name! 
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, 
His power and glory ever more proclaim! 

Have you ever thought about those words...truly, let them sink down deep?

We have so much to celebrate!  
Even when this time is not what we would have planned.  
It’s not about what is happening around us.  
But the Hope beyond this, the Joy within.  His joy, my strength.

*This* is how a Christmas can still be merry.  God is WITH us.

Wherever you are.  However you are, He is near those who call on His name.

    I am overcome with joy because of Your unfailing love,

for You have seen my troubles,

and You care about the anguish of my soul.

Psalm 31.7

May this Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace be as near and dear to you as you are to Him.

Wishing you a very merry celebration of the greatest Gift!

With care, Andy.Sara.Miles.Jack.Jude

pa rum pa pum pum

Christmas Break is here!!!  Two weeks with my boys at home, and we're gonna live it up!  My goal was to be done with handmade gifts in order to enjoy fully this time.  It's gonna fly, so we're making a list and checking it twice.  {Plus, I've learned one of ours does so much better with some idea of what to expect from these days.}

Here's a peek into our Christmas Break "to-do" list...
drive around to see Christmas lights . work on learning cursive . watch star wars . serve lunch at 'our Father's house' .  snow angels . impromptu s'mores-in-the-fireplace parties . O-h-i-o . host family and friends . make and deliver buckeye bark or peppermint bark to the neighbors . talk about the birds and the bees . string popcorn and cranberries . look everyday for ways to bless, and...

homemade slime!

Star Wars snowflakes

teeny-tiny bow & arrow

edible puzzle

homemade coffee creamer

{peppermint mocha and cinnamon strudel look yum!}

20 more indoor activity ideas

Of course we know these are better written on the chalkboard than in stone.  But, it's fun to dream.  And, what's on the top of my list?  The thing that (of all times in the year) should be priority, but can too easily get lost in the rush of all the activity...
To Come.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A newborn King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

Oh, that we not forget and fill our days with all sorts of busy-ness in the name of celebrating His birth.  He came that we may have life!  Life found only in the coming.  In the emptying and quieting and receiving of this Gift.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
~ Jesus, John 10.10 {ESV}