We made it home on one tank

Alternately: the baby was screaming and we didn't want to stop

alternately: we did make it to the gas station in the morning :)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours!  

Wishing you the peace and joy of knowing our Savior, and his love for us!

Dear fish

I know we've had you less than 18 hours, but the longevity of your life is already in question.

In fact, we are placing bets (one Christmas coffee) on the span of it.  Francis is guessing one mostly-dead fish within 24 hours, and I'm guessing one completely dead within 48 hours.  

Feel free to prove us wrong. 

So far, however, you are seeming to like your new home.

We bought you as a surprise gift to our daughters, and they are thrilled.  

You seem to have a soothing effect on Jessie, however she may not have a soothing effect on you.

We're working on it, and here she is apologizing to you for disrupting your peace.  

Thank you for costing less than $1.50 and having a 14 day guarantee.

Sincerely,

Laura

Big sis, lil bro

What all the coolest elves are wearing

Removed after 30 seconds - The girls didn't want him to feel left out!

The result of tree-decorating toddlers - 

90% of the ornaments on the lowest 10% of the tree.

Crave

"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." 1 Pet 2:2,3

He's not a newborn, but he has been giving me a very vivid picture of what it means.  He screams, begs and demands to be fed.  His back arches, he kicks and screams, crying big hot tears.  He's inconsolable until his need has been satisfied, refusing to let up until his belly is full, and then he turns into a picture of contentment, at peace, happy.

Do I approach the Word with the same need?  Prioritizing it, refusing to let the day's to-do list get in the way?  Do my girls see me fighting for my devotion time, willing to let the rest wait until I've been satisfied?  It's true that I am more contented, more peace-filled when it's the first thing.  And we've been trying to do that, building time in our morning where we each take a section on the couch with our bibles.   

Emma came home from bible study saying, "Mom, did you know that when your mouth and body are busy, it's hard to hear the Lord?"  I am so thankful that we are attending a solid bible study that is teaching my children the importance of "Be still and know that I am God."  Their teacher is very clear on distinguishing between 'nap time' and 'quiet Jesus time' and is teaching them solid truths that their little hearts are hiding up.  These are beautiful things!

How we roll

How we roll, as in sugar cookies!  This recipe was an epic fail on the baking part of things, but Jessie loved the dough.  She probably consumed about 1/2 lb of butter and 1 cup of sugar, and will not come down of her sugar high for the next 3 days, but at least she'll have the energy to help me get the flour off the ceiling fan :)

She took her role of cutting cookies seriously, and then was air-lifted to the bathtub to turn the water white.

Now to head to Costco to get good sugar cookies! 

(they were for a church function for the kids to decorate, and ours definitely did not fit the bill!)

5

A whole handful.  These girls are 5, and while I have a WHOLE lot to say about that, tonight won't be the night!  Let's just say that turning 5 on the 5th of November made for a very special 'birthday week'. We decided to make it birthday week, and do '5 things in 5 days'.  Some days were gifts, some were activity-days where we would do something special.

One special activity was a 'date with Daddy'.  Francis made a card for them, inviting them to join him in celebrating their birthday by getting dressed in their favorite dress, and me gifting them with new hair pretties, and then went on to dinner at Chick-fil-A, watching the sunset and picking out new mugs at Target.  Jessie and Levi and I had a great time at home, complete with dinner by candle-light and lots of stories and snuggles.

The week climaxed when friends from Michigan and California came to stay for a week, and after they left, we got to spend a week with Oma.  We spent lots of time learning, crafting, visiting, celebrating Thanksgiving, and going to visit the National Aquarium.

And now I've got to go.  As a little one wails in the other room, I'm reminded of 1 Peter 2:2, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation."  Watching Levi's face, I see just what that crave ought to look like - incessant, demanding until the need gets satisfied, requiring it for life.  Do I approach my devotions that way?  To thirst and beg for it until I get my time with God, immediately upon rising?  I'm in the midst of re-prioritizing our days, setting out clearer goals for each week and this is one that needs to be at the top.  I'm thankful for these reminders in scripture.

In other news, I have two little girls who got almost completely caught up to school.  After falling a little behind (which isn't really behind, since they are too young for kindergarten in MD) because of all our special weeks, these girls were begging for 3 lessons a day.  And Sami even cried on Sunday because I explained we don't do school on Sundays :)  These little girls are loving learning, and are so eager to be able to read.  I am so thankful for their willingness and eagerness to learn!  It's definitely a learning journey for all of us!