Fun Christmas Activities

No deep musings today. Here are some of the fun things we've been up to in December:

Getting a tree from the tree farm. I got to pick it out!

We observed much snow at our house.

I made these crafts through the tutelage of my friends Kara and Lindsay:

The chocolate cupcake rolled in coconut snowman and the folded magazine tree. I enjoyed both of these.

We've been baking/cooking with my mom a lot this week: Muddy Buddies, White Chocolate Trail Mix, Gingerbread Cookies, Pot-O-Chili, Sugar Cookies, and Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels so far. I had to wrap up the rest of the M&Ms in a bowl in plastic wrap to help us control our snacking! Yum yum.

I'm pretty sure this was a Hershey's kiss on Joel. Noelle sorted the chocolates by color of wrapper, but she ate several in the process, unwrapping them even as she said, "I'm not eating them." How I understand. Joel wanted to bake too. It worked pretty well as long as we had one person as spotter and Noelle didn't try to shove Joel off. It left one hand for stirring, ha. So baking proceeded at a less-than-efficient process. With these sugar cookies, Noelle insisted on helping with the Piglet and Tree cookie cutter, placing it directly in the middle of the entire piece of rolled-out dough rather than on the edge, then taking up all the other dough as scrap. I got a little exasperated, but my mom kept laughing and saying, "It's the experience." I let her oversee the sprinkle dumping and eating because I just couldn't do it. While they worked on that, Joel reminded me of how yummy the sugar cookie dough is!

After the kids go to bed, I've been working on meal planning and grocery-listing for January and following--as far as I get. Trying to strike a nice balance each week among super-healthy/regular healthy; meat/veggie entrees; super-cheap/regular cheap (haha); new/tried; super-easy/regular easy. Ope! Now I have revealed my entire meal planning strategy to you--healthy, cheap, and mostly easy.

I hope to employ a similar strategy with planning a little something intentional to do with the kids each day--not necessarily a lesson, but something. Craft, song, particular story book. This is part of testing the homeschool waters, but also wanting to make sure I'm intentionally present with these precious wee ones at some point every day and not just running around being self-absorbed or constantly distracted. We'll see how this "pilot program" goes, or if I can even come up with any ideas.

Hope you are having fun, too!

Yay for My Husband

Mark is off on a research trip this week, so I'm holding down the fort and re-remembering how much I am glad that I DON'T have to hold it down most of the time. I can't believe it took me five years of marriage to really start to appreciate Mark on his own terms. Five years to not just selflessly care about him and what he has to offer rather than brood about what I think he should offer or the way he offers it. I guess I'm just glad that it didn't take longer--it would have been a long rest of my life.

I'm thankful for his persistent assistance, his desire to do what is right, his tirelessness, his integrity, his protection and husbanding of me against the world, his tender care with the kids, his service, his passionate eccentricity (I maintain all profs are either obsessed or insane or both--he's becoming nicely balanced in this :D ), and his doing of the dishes!

Our wedding anniversary is in August, but I just remembered that this week marks another (sort of silly) anniversary that I don't commemorate but just noted. I'm thankful I didn't dump him this week back in 2001 even though I completely meant to. Talk about how this decade would have been different for me....wow. So glad God has a plan.

So thanks, Mark. I know you don't read this blog, but I say: I'm glad you left a message on the answering machine for me eight years ago. You're a good guy and a fine husband. I appreciate and respect you. And I'm thankful for you.

Too little, too late

I was picking up the kids from the gym just now and there was a little old lady sittimg there. She watched me kneel om the carpet as I tried to get each one out of the wagon, get their coats on, keep each one from entirely sprinting away on feet or knees while I fussed with the other, get my own coat on...

"Please don't go now," she says. Is she talking to me? Or just to Joel, who is about to bolt again?

"You're lucky to have a girl," she told me. I nodded and she began to say something about her daughter-in-law. I think she might have said she wanted to put her in a nursing home, but she told her son she didn't want to go. I didn't really hear her, but I didn't ask.

"You want to come to me?" She asked Joel and held out her arms to him. I saw she wanted to hold him and lifted him up to her.

As she holds him, she says, "He is so beautiful," and starts ...tearing up? Is she crying, or are her eyes just watering? I don't know, but I feel bad as I take Joel back. Whoa! Noelle, come back here away from the automatic door!

"You're lucky to have one of each," she says. I nod and say, "Yes, they're pretty special." Well, we're ready to go now...

"I haven't held (or had?) a baby in eighteen years. They're all grown up...You going home now?" She takes out a tissue for her eyes.

"Yes," I say. "Well, we're here most days so hopefully we'll see you again." Okay, gathering the bags. "Well, you have a merry Christmas," I say with a smile.

"I hope so," she responds.

I head out the door feeling bad, wondering what else there is to say. I'm not five feet out the door before I hear in my head, Go back and talk to her. She is sad. I keep walking.

'Yes, yes. She is sad. That is sad. Maybe I will see her again and talk to her longer."

No, go now and let her hold the kids and ask her what's going on...
Oh! It's You, Lord, isn't it. Of course it is. But we're going out to the car. Still walking.

"That would be nice, huh. Too bad we're already outside walking in this direction."

What else do you have to do? Nothing. Go love on that lady. She is sad!

"Oh....oh...snap! Am I going to obey? Am I? Am I?" We just reached the car. It's only been a minute or two. "Aah! Yes! Just do it!" I look down at Noelle. "Sweetie, that lady is sad. Jesus wants us to go and talk to her and try to make her happy, okay? You want to do that with me?"

"Make her happy? Yeah!"

We turn around and go back in. "Okay, God. I'll just do it. Go in there and hand her Joel. I hope she's still there. It's only been a minute. Sorry, I should have done this faster. I knew it was You."

She was gone.

Obedience. Too little, too late.

Every day, I tell Noelle how I expect her to obey me the first time, every time. Now I have to explain to her why we're turning around again, because Mommy heard Jesus tell her to go be nice to the lady, but Mommy didn't obey fast enough. Mommy's head is full of scriptures right now about what she should have done, and why. And Mommy is sorry.

I really am.

Celebrating Christmas

Here are a few things we've been up to lately as we celebrate Christmas:

We made a couple shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Noelle really got into this and kept saying she wanted to go to the other country to give the kids her present.

We did a little cookie exchange at church...yum!

It snowed here on Saturday, so Mark and I went out and played for a little while! He helped Noelle make a big snow fort. Family time--yes.
I made these little ornaments out of cinnamon sticks, a couple of cloves, and some fabric! I was proud.

Lindsay had this idea first, but I made a little Christmas Countdown for the playroom window. We've enjoyed taking the numbers off each day and writing down in a little notebook what we've done to celebrate together.

We made these cookie lollipops together. Noelle ate this "factory seconds" one.

While visiting Mark's family in Akron, we went to their tree festival. Lots of creatively decorated trees!

I've also enjoyed hearing Mark tell Noelle the Christmas story and telling it to the kids myself. It really is an amazing story, and it's so good to be reminded. Praise God for His ultimate Gift!