better not pout

The girls were again playing "Christmas morning," and using my wrapping paper and bags to wrap up anything they could find in the house in order to "surprise" the other with their Christmas morning gifts.

I overheard Kirsten say to Jenny: "Jesus knows if you have been naughty or nice, you know."

next EC payment due: January. =)

christmas tree past, present, future

What says celebrate more than a freshly cut (fresh part is questionable) Christmas tree and it's lights and beautiful ornaments?

Growing up, getting our tree was always a family event. Dad would take his gloves and about a mile of rope and mom got the tape measure. My sister and I and eventually my little brother would search for the biggest tree which inevitably mom would measure and say it's too big, we would buy it anyway, Dad would rope (and by rope I mean masterfully tie that tree down for the mile drive home) the tree to the top of the station wagon. Dad then got out the mighty saw that he used one time a year, and would take about 2 feet off the bottom. Then the fun began. Christmas music, hanging ugly ornaments to annoy my mom, and Christmas chaos took over our living room.

When we were first married, the search for the "perfect" Christmas tree turned into days of trimming the "perfect" tree. I had strict rules about which ornaments coming from our youth and our moms would be "allowed" to hang on our tree. If they were allowed, most certainly they were only "allowed" to hang far in the back. Year after year my Adirondack inspired rustic tree was to me, a picture of Christmas "perfection."

. . . my favorite glass snowflake balls . . .

. . . . the rustic stars and snowflakes . . .

. . . bears and evergreens . . .

If we move along about 5 years down the road, Christmas became even more meaningful with the addition of each of our kids. My Christmas tree decorating days with little ones was finally upon me! Everyone warned me of the crawling kids and the "feed line" my tree would have with toddlers. It did, but now it just meant my tree was "perfect" about 1/3 the way up the tree, while the bottom third stayed empty. I was fine with that!

Moving a little further down meant school. Oh boy. Remember those egg carton ornaments? How about the ones that were gifts from teachers? Or, the ones with our class picture in the middle, and then artfully constructed tissue paper glued on with the bottoms of our pencils? All of those ornaments that my mom and mother-in-law "handed over" when we got married? You know the ones! But, now these ornaments are MY kids ornaments. And, now MY kids are old enough to REALLY help decorate the tree.

This weekend, with the girls help, we decorated the tree. In the process I lost a few more of my favorite snowflake ornaments . . . but gained so much more . . .

like the tissue paper ornaments . . .

and this beautifully decorated snowman . . .

and some slightly scary ballerinas . . .

and lots of initials . . .

and the father/daughter ornaments . . .

Even Matt's thumbprint mouse made it to the tree this year after a LONG time in the ornament box!

Last, but certainly not least, Jenny pulled out her baby Jesus ornament. After debating where to hang it (and me trying my best not to let my inner cringing at this point be noticeable on my face), Jenny chose top and center, right under our star. "You know why mom? Because baby Jesus was born under a bright star so that the shepherds and the wise men would know where to find him."

And with that, my Christmas tree is complete.

Cannot argue with that!

Another year, and another Christmas celebration. Another time to try and "be still" and remember that baby Jesus was born under a star, for all to find peace and salvation.

I wonder what my Christmas tree future looks like . . . Kirsten's tearful request for "rainbow" lights?!?

he said . . .

Kirsten to Mommy, on the way to dance . . . "Mommy, [boy], in my class, said he was going to put me in handcuffs."

Mommy, to Kirsten . . . "we better tell Uncle Rick and Uncle Steve (our cop friends) about him!!!"

Mommy to self . . . oh boy . . .

anxious

I am feeling anxious about a lot right now.

These verses helped me in my devotions this morning, maybe they will help you, too.

“But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands.

Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.” Psalm 31:14-15

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33-34

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

1 Chronicles 16:34

Before I forget . . .

Although Thanksgiving is about a week away, I am yet to post a Halloween picture of the girls.

Not a huge fan of the day, and I certainly was not creative this year, but, they looked awfully cute as Jesse from Toy Story and Tinkerbell.

my clean little secret

Well, it's not really a secret if you have ever visited my house on any day of the week. . . or weekend.

My 6 laundry baskets (some are buckets) are perpetually filled, even overflowing, with clothes. Most of the time they are clean, but once they make it upstairs, they take refuge in the living room and any member of the family can be found rummaging through them in the dark morning hours looking for underwear and socks.

Travel a little ways into the hallway, and you will find 3 rooms. Each has a dirty laundry basket which is usually filled more times than empty. Residing close by in each of these rooms, you are also likely to find a basket of clean, folded laundry that is begging to be put away.

Travel down the stairs to the basement and chances are you will hear the washer running, usually more so than the dryer because the load I did 3 days ago that has now sat in the washer too long needs to be washed again.

On a good day, you might find me in the middle of my living room, surrounded by piles of clean, folded laundry, awaiting to take refuge in a basket, holding out hope that the laundry fairy will come and put them in their proper places.

My secret is out.

By the way, if you see that laundry fairy, could you remind her of my address? I think she has forgotten where I live.

Kirsten

Dear Kirsten,

Mommy and Daddy had a meeting with your teacher tonight. We sat in your pretty classroom and got to hear about all the great things you are doing! Mrs. Bushman told us you are a butterfly . . . do you remember what kind of butterfly she called you? A social butterfly! =) She told us you are so special and cute. We think so too! You are learning to be a good girl and to listen to your teachers. She told us you play nicely and listen pretty good. You are busy working on your numbers and your letters. You are learning so much! She showed us some of your coloring and your pictures, they are beautiful!

We love you so very much, and we love your bubbly personality and your laugh. When you laugh it is hard not for us to laugh. You asked Daddy to put you to bed tonight, and he got a chance to snuggle with you because usually that is Mommy's job. We are so proud of you, and we know you are going to keep growing and learning. Remember to always love Jesus first, and that He is always with you.

You are precious. We love you!

Jenny

Dear Jenny,

Wow! You are a busy 1st grader! Tonight we had your conference with Miss Gallagher. You are so lucky to have such a good teacher! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and all you have accomplished so far. You are really good at math, and your writing is so neatly done. Miss Gallagher told us how you make sure you take your time and are extra careful. We loved sitting in your classroom and hearing about all the neat things going on. You are learning so much so quickly! She showed us the numbers you wrote today, 1 to 100, and none of them were backwards! She also showed us your dictation from today with very few mistakes. You are getting better and better the more you practice. Do you know that you have gotten all of your Bible memory work this year all correct? Yikes! That is awesome!

Mommy and Daddy love you so much, and we are so thankful that you love your teacher, your friends, and your school. Keep trusting in God, seeking truth, and always trying your best. It is okay to make mistakes because that is how we learn. You told Miss Gallagher you think you are a good friend, and we think you are a really good Jenny! =)

As Mommy tucked you in tonight and we talked about all the things going on at school, you fell asleep with a smile. Mommy said a prayer thanking God for you. Love you always!

Merry . . . I mean . . . Happy Halloween!

I had big plans for today.

After a crazy busy week, my house was a disaster, laundry all over the place, the dust is unmentionable, I have to wear flip flops or slippers because my floors are gross, I can't remember the last time our sheets were washed, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, and then there is that schoolwork . . . .

Today was going to be a day to get all that done . . . to pack away the summer clothes, take down the fall/winter clothes, go to Jenny's last soccer game, leisurely food shop, bake some apple cakes . . .

But it didn't happen. At about 11am, the flakes began to fall, and here at 9pm, the flakes continue to fall! Today became a day to play. So the only things I hauled out of the attic were the next size up in snow boots, and whatever snow pants and jackets I could find that seemed to fit.

Cheers to my messy house, my dirty bathroom, my unfolded laundry . . . I played with my girls in this October snow storm.

Instead, today, I chose to play!

trick or treat =)

grow in grace

¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned,

be on your guard

so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless

and fall from your secure position.

¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To him be glory both now and forever!

Amen.

Today was a good day to worship.

Everyday should be a good day to worship, but I am not going to lie about my apathy the past months when it comes to worship and all things church related (besides youth group).

At church today we celebrated 25 years of the merger of PP CRC and 2nd Reformed CRC. Pastor Paul De Vries, who was a seminary intern when I was in 4th grade, and then pastor for 11 years after that (before taking a call to Michigan in 2001), was back today to help us celebrate and to preach. I spent a lot of time with Paul and Diane, but more time with their 2 oldest daughters whom I babysat just about every weekend and during the week, for free (Dad would never let me take money from them!). I was able to spend some time with Kayla this summer, and have been texting with her quite a bit . . . crazy that she continues to hold so many memories from those Friday and Saturday nights long, long ago! This family had quite an impact on my life.

It was so good to have them in church, and although I would have loved to spend more time with them, hearing Paul preach was such a blessing today. Matt and I listen to his sermons all the time in the car on our ipod, especially when we are driving home from the lake on a Sunday morning. When he got up in front of church, it seemed so oddly normal for him to be there. I think though it was his message that hit me the most. Like I said, I have been apathetic towards a lot lately; personally and spiritually. I certainly have not been growing in grace, it has been too hard.

On our cornerstone is the above verses, and we now have a beautiful new cross in front of church handcrafted out of steel by one of our members, to remind us that Unity, or more so the people that make up Unity, have faced challenges, are facing challenges, and will continue to face challenges . . . but grace comes when we put apathy aside, put ourselves aside, put our bitterness aside, and yearn to grow only in the knowledge of Christ.

Will be learning to do this better, I will fail no doubt time and time again, but these verses are speaking to me a bit more clearly today . . . "my dear friends, grow in grace. . ."

She's lucky she's cute!

This phrase is common in our house . . . "You are lucky you are cute!"

Kirsten has been hearing this a lot lately!

Although we have been blessed with 2 beautiful, healthy girls, their personalities are quite different, and we already can tell who is going to be the one that will give us the most gray hairs, and possibly cause her school to have our number on speed dial.

Yesterday I sat down to check my e-mail, and as usual, Kirsten was climbing on me trying to get my attention. She slid into her normal spot behind me on the kitchen chair and was tapping my back, in normal Kirsten style, just to let me know she was there.

This went on for a little while, and I soon realized that she was staying in one spot for entirely too long.

When I turned around and was now nose to nose with her, she had "that smile" on her face, and then I looked at her hands proudly holding up a blue marker. Put two and two together, and Picasso was "dot" painting my white shirt.

"Oops, sorry Mommy." Can you sense the sincerity? So, off to time out she went, laughing all the way.

She's 4 . . . and for now she's darn lucky she's cute!

Eman

Thinking about and praying for our favorite cousin and nephew today, Ethan.

Praying that his surgery goes well.

Praying that the doctors can help him breathe a bit easier.

Praying for peace for Sarah and Jeff

Praying for patience and healing for Ethan.

Praying for a cure for CF.

Matt . . . or Jesus?

After church today, while I was making lunch, Matt was in the living room with the girls. Jenny gathered her materials, and told Daddy not to move from the couch. No argument there! Jenny was feverishly drawing, something she loves to do.

So here was her first draft . . .

If you can't tell, it is a portrait of Matt, complete with salmon fishing ready "scratchies" (beard . . . no comment on that one!). After some giggling, she decided his ears were too big and went back to the drawing board . . . enter draft #2 . . . .

"It's Jesus!" I exclaimed.

colors of fall

Fall is finally in the air. I love this change of season, especially when we get to enjoy it with friends away from our typical routines. So, this weekend we headed up to BML for the fall festivities at the ADK museum.

Rain, 38 degrees, windy, cozy, the smells of a fire burning in the woodstove, pumpkins, laughter, friends, pretty wet leaves, comfort . . . .

. . . notice that my "good" words outweigh the not so good.

On Saturday at the museum, the girls spent time under tents painting pumpkins, "jumping" in leaves, and we even managed to squeeze a leisurely hayride in-between raindrops.

So fun to share our weekend with these cowgirls!

Evenings were spent by the woodstove, doing things everyone does in the ADK's . . . i-pads, i-phones, and i-pod touch's! Gotta love that Kirsten at age 4 didn't even need instructions for the i-pad!

A great weekend away, with awesome friends. Thank you Rick and Liesl for sharing your family with us. We love you and are so blessed by your friendship! We'll get out on that boat eventually!!!

Until next time . . .

Paper Jenny

As a teacher, there are certain things you expect when you send long term projects home with your students.

One of those things is hands-off your kids projects!! Nothing annoys us teachers more than when kids come into school with beautiful, perfectly completed projects done solely by the student. Uh-huh, sure.

Now I am a mom of a 1st grader. And a teacher.

Jenny's first long-term project, a "paper Jenny." Thankfully my daughter has my attention to detail, get it right attitude, and LOVES crafts. Although we made the trip to Michael's together, and spent a lot of time on this, she designed, worked diligently and perfected her "paper Jenny" mostly by herself. She was very proud of this, and I was too.

Let's see if I am still thankful that she and I share these similar qualities when the next project comes home!

Ode to our pool

your blue waters sparkle no more,

the hum of your engine is now quiet.

a green blanket enfolds you,

no more little creatures lives will you take.

your water level lowered,

we said goodbye to you dear friend.

the palm tree dips in sadness,

wishing you would come out and play again.

your diving board is still,

the tubes have been deflated.

the margaritas are all gone,

the pool snacks a memory.

so here's to you, oh pool,

you held lots of fun this year.

first dives, cannonballs, giggles and games,

little girls and boys first swims.

flippers and masks,

hours of laughter and friends.

popsicles by your edge,

never an empty fridge.

so thanks to you, oh pool,

you kept the neighborhood cool on many hot days.

thanks to you, oh pool,

you brought many friends over to play.

we'll watch over you through the winter,

and wait expectantly until next spring.

anticipating lots more memories,

and thankful for the good times you will bring.

September 11

Today was the 10th anniversary of September 11.

When I used to teach the WWII and Holocaust Unit to my 6th graders, over and over I emphasized we learn about this so that we never forget and so that it never happens again. Today I was listening and watching countless interviews and reflections and I heard a 9/11 photographer say he is thankful to have captured the images he had so that people will never forget and won't let it happen again.

It was ominous watching and listening to the stories and seeing the images. I got to a point today when I didn't want to watch any more. 10 years ago, we were coming out of chapel and with a brief memo, were left with a classroom of kids to explain what was going on. I remember sitting with the Science teacher on our prep and watching in complete silence what was unfolding in front of us. I remember the harried parents running in and taking their children out of the building. I remember students wanting to know if their parents were in the city that day. Our current head of school, fortunately, was on a business trip that day, otherwise would have been in the trade center buildings. I remember feeling scared. I remember seeing the smoke from my 2nd floor apartment that overlooked the city. I remember the prayer service at our church. I remember driving home from work that day, and everyone being so "nice" on the road. Mostly, I remember praying with my students. What would I have done if I was unable to do that?

This is the first anniversary Jenny has really taken an "interest" in 9/11. We let her watch some of the footage and hear the names being read. We explained the memorial to her. We talked about why people hurt others. She asked some questions, but we realized that this will be history to her, but important for her to understand the impact this day had on her future.

It's scary to be bringing up kids in this world, sounds so cliche', but it is. So thankful Jenny looked at me in church during communion today and told me she loves Jesus. Our world is broken, but Christ offers eternal life with Him. Christ offers hope.

first days

It's finally official. After a few unexpected extra days of summer vacation thanks to hurricane Irene, the 2011-2012 school year has begun. Matt and I feel blessed to be able to send our kids to Eastern Christian because in our minds, our children are our most precious gift, and we know they will learn and have access to quality academics, but more importantly, they will become world changers and understand what it means to be God fearing women.

Jenny

Jenny is our big 1st grader. This is the first time for full day school for her, and she was not only exhausted but ravenous when she came home yesterday. She broke into tears at the dinner table because all she wanted to do was go to bed. Earlier in the day though, she got on the bus like no big deal, and came back to the middle school with barely a hello as she rushed in with Elizabeth, apparently in search of candy. She was all smiles and loves her teacher, Miss Gallagher.

Thank you to Elizabeth for being such a great friend and

for looking out for Jenny! She loves you!

Mommy's first day too . . . love, love, love these girls

Kirsten

Today Kirsten had her first day. Last night she was telling me how "nevous" (working on our r's) she was, and in the next sentence how she couldn't wait to go to sleep so she could go to school quicker. I was in a bit of denial as I dropped her off, because I felt a sense of wanting to freeze both my girls, just for a year or so. Mrs. Bushman got her out of the car like she did Jenny 2 years ago, and Kirsten marched into preschool to begin her big girl career. As I drove my empty car away, thinking about both my girls in school, I had a tear or two, but I think they were tears of thankfulness, thankful that I have been entrusted to be their mom.

notice the matching pink cons, very important . . .

So . . . here we go.

just a quote

"All the GOOD that you will do will not COME FROM you

but from the fact that you have ALLOWED yourself,

in the obedience of FAITH,

to be used by God's LOVE . . .

The REAL hope then is not in SOMETHING we think we can do,

but in GOD

who is making something GOOD out of it

in some WAY we cannot see."

-Thomas Merton

a little beach and a little earthquake

It was the perfect beach day . . . .

The girls have been asking all summer to go to the ocean. I try to make at least one day trip just because we can. I loathe the Parkway, but in the middle of the week, it is not unbearable.

So yesterday, a picture perfect day, we packed up a few bags (probably the least amount of stuff I have ever made a day trip with!) and we headed to Lavallette, NJ to a teacher friend's beach house.

The girls had a blast. It was the first time Jenny really swam in the ocean, and rode her first wave! After her first knock down and sandy head she was timid, but by the afternoon she was swimming with Elizabeth and Greta with no problem! Kirsten did a great job in the water too, laughing and spitting out the "icky" salt water.

A little after 1, Cathy, Liesl and I were talking in our beach chairs watching the girls playing in the sand. All of the sudden, we were swaying! At first we thought the wind and waves had played with our equilibrium, until we realized what was really happening, an earthquake!! It was crazy! It went on long enough that we were able to take notice and really feel what was happening beneath us! Everyone around us noticed, too. Some moms got nervous and called their kids out of the water. I just thought it was so neat we had experienced an earthquake! Of course in just a matter of minutes thanks to technology, we learned that not everybody on the east coast thought it was "so cool."

Obviously, life is better at the beach, even during an earthquake!

happy birthday . . . . again and again . . . .

My birthday is in March.

But how many people have friends who give them birthday gifts for 6 months? I do! Thought this was such a cute, incredibly thoughtful idea that I wanted to share it in case anyone else needed the idea (I believe originally stemming from my friend's super sister!).

For the past 6 months I have had gifts of delicious treats and beautiful flowers delivered to me by one of my favorite people. She is not a high maintenance friend, and we do not have a high maintenance friendship. She is grounded, real, matter of fact, compassionate, a great listener, and "gets" me. We can drink a glass of wine together, or we can play Wii Dance with our kids. She makes me smile and laugh, and she makes me cry. She tells me she is praying for me, often.

I continue to be so incredibly thankful for her and the influence she has had in my life (and for her delicious home-made chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches).

Looking forward to my next birthday present!

It's been a while, I know.

So let's pick up where I left off. Live It 2011. Last night the youth group came over to help me film for a DVD for church. We had a chance to catch up on this week of service, worship and fellowship that seems like an eternity ago.

In answer to a question in my previous post . . . why do we do this? . . . of course God did not disappoint! We already are ready to go to Live It 2013, Pittsburgh.

Hopefully some of the pictures can relay the craziness of our drive, our activities, our service, and our worship. What an amazing group of high schoolers!

lots of hours on this bus . . . . but SOOOO thankful for it!

Each day consisted of kids going out on different tracks.

I got to be with the Do It track for a day. There was

a Habitat House going on, a clean-up in a government owned low-income housing

development, park clean-up, and downtown Marion curb painting

weeding and planting going on.

Did I forget to mention how HOT it was???

it's amazing how many kids showed up when this hose came out!

At night we had our Pull It Together sessions. Worship and some

amazing speakers. Our kids would wait for an hour to make

sure they had front row seats. Also, we were always on stage.

Nothing like New Jersey people making a name for themselves!

Raven, Alyssa, Bianca and Randi all took part in the Create It track.

They had the opportunity to sing and dance for everyone.

Sherri and I had tears in our eyes.

I think this was Du and Sherri's 17th convention as leaders.

We are so thankful for the influence they have had in our lives and that

we can call them dear friends. A bit crazy that their daughter came on convention

this year as a freshman. They were teasing us about how many years

until Jenny is on convention with us!

Once again, our group on stage with praise band, and the MC's