First Week of Advent

Today is the first Sunday of the Advent season. I love Advent as it helps me to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. With all the advertisements, sales, and hustle of Christmas it is necessary to take a step back and remember what we are celebrating.

We are not celebrating being able to get a $25 toy for $15, or the fact that we have the most christmas presents under the tree. We are not celebrating the fact that our tree is the prettiest or that we have the nicest decorations. We are celebrating the birth of a Savior. What does that really mean? When one sits down and ponder this it can do nothing less than humble a greedy heart. God, the creator of the Universe, the all knowing, all mighty King of the ages humbled himself and became lower than a servant, and why? To save this broken sinful world, and why? Because he loves us. C.S Lewis once said that if it is hard for you to understand what it was like for the God of all creation to come and be a man think about what it would be for you to give up everything you have and become a slug, only worse!

Jesus Christ, the God of everything was born as a baby, he nursed, wore diapers, cried at night, cut teeth, learned to walk, fell and skinned his knee, had bumps and bruises, learned to talk, learned to feed himself, dress himself, he grew in wisdom and knowledge. On that blessed Christmas morning the God of the universe put his life into the hands of two teenagers. He trusted them to care for his every need. He allowed human hands to dictate what he did. He gave up all his power and glory to be born into a sinful world, and then in the end die for this world. Take a minute to ponder what this really means. Christmas is so much more than most people allow it to be. Christmas is the beginning of the greatest story ever told.

The song I have posted on here is a great song of worship. Here are the lyrics.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there! The risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless, Righteousness
The Great unchangeable I AM
The King of Glory and of Grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God

Thanksgiving

Today we had a good Thanksgiving with our family. We put up our Christmas tree and got it all decorated. We bought this tree on Craigslist and I really love it. This picture does not do it justice. I am sorry these two are sidewise, I corrected it but it did not download right and I do not have time to fix it.


Yes I prepared this meal all by myself and I am very proud of it!

Providence Children's Museum

On the Friday night we went to the Children's Museum. To your delight it was Metlife Family Night so it was free for all of us to get in! The kids had a lot of fun. It was a very nice museum.

This was Daniel's favorite things to do at the museum. These were vacuums and when you put a ball in it it would sick it up through the tubes and then shoot it out at out from the top.
Monica's favorite was this water toy. She would put a ball on there and watch it go back to the bottom. She did this


This is one of the scariest chairs I have ever seen in my life. This picture does not do justice to how scary it is, however my daughter LOVED it. She played in this chair for a long time.
Here is Daniel dressed up in the construction area fixing a broken bridge. He was very serious about it, and he did a great job!

Our Trip to the East Coast

Last week we went to a ETS conference that was in Providence RI. We had a good time out on the East Coast. Here are a few pictures of Boston. This is the Old State House.

This is City Hall.

This is Feneuil Hall.


The Appalachian Mountains were very beautiful to drive through.
We went to Plymouth and saw Plymouth rock and got to Tour the Mayflower II. No one really knows what happened to the original Mayflower. In the 1950s they rebuilt the boat and sailed it from Plymouth England to Plymouth Massachusetts. This is a picture of Daniel sitting at the table in the captain quarters.

This is one of the cots that were down under the deck. There were only a couple dozen of these. I cannot believe this boat held over 100 people!
This is the Mayflower II.

This is where plymouth rock is.
This is a picture of Plymouth rock. When we told Daniel we were going to see a rock he said "Mom is it a BIG BIG rock." I said "No", he said "Is it a pretty rock?" I said "no" he said "is it a rock from outer space?" I said "no" he said "then why do we want to go see a rock?" I tried to explain to him the significance of this rock, but I am not sure he understood it. So here is the rock, it is not pretty, big or from outer space, but it is a symbol of our begins here.

Not me Monday

My sister got the idea of a not me Monday from a friend of hers. Hers always make me laugh and so I thought I would try one myself. This is written mainly for her, because I know that she would like to read my not me monday. So Andrea enjoy.

"This morning I did not go out to drop my son off at school with soaking wet hair in 30 degree weather. No way I always have time to do my hair before I leave the house! Of course I would never walk around the grocery store with my sweatshirt hood up because I would never be embarrassed that I did not even comb my hair. After picking Daniel up from school I did not feel just a little bit embarrassed when I went with Daniel to drop off his shoe box and the lady who pulled in seconds before me was dropping off more than 50 boxes! I would never feel the need to compare myself to others, no way not me! I did not take my children to the most unhealthy place to eat for lunch today. No way I never eat at Mcdonalds, and I would NEVER let them have chicken nuggets. Oh and of course then after not eating Mcdonalds for lunch I would NEVER take them back out to eat chicken nuggets from Wendys for dinner. No way not me, I always cook good wholesome meals for my children. I would never forget to give my children baths and then realize that they have not had one in a week! No way not me. I would never give my children seconds on chocolate cake after dinner. Nope not me, my kids do not eat sweets!"

The Kids

This is a picture of Daniel being silly. On one of those long days where daddy leaves in the morning and does not come home until after the kids go to bed I find that I have to be very creative to pass the time and stay sane. A couple of days ago I decided to make a tent in the living room, give the kids a flashlight and had them pretend they were in a dark forest. The kids loved playing in the tent and it passed about an hour of time.

Puzzle

With every new stage my heart leaps with pride, but cries in the fact that my son is growing up! A couple of days ago Daniel was in the mood to do a puzzle. He went into the puzzle drawer and got this clifford puzzle that has 24 pieces. He sat down on the floor and concentrated trying to figure out how the pieces went when all of a sudden his very sweet but curious sister came along and destroyed all his efforts. Very sad and a little angry Daniel was about to give up on his efforts when I suggested he sit at the table where she cannot reach him. So he gathered up his pieces and went and sat at the table. Ten minutes went by and then I heard a voice of excitement "MOMMY I DID IT!!!' I came over and expressed how I was equally as proud of him. What a big boy!!!

Operation Christmas Child

Shoe Box- $0
Enough stuff to fill it- $30
Changing a child's life- Priceless

Brandon and I are always looking for ways to teach our children compassion and love for others. With the Christmas season coming up it is easy to be so focused on ourselves and on our own wants. This morning we took Daniel out to learn what it feels like to give to others. There is a program called Operation Christmas Child that is organized through Samaritan's purse. What they do is they ask people to get a standard size shoe box, and fill it with items for either a boy or a girl in a specific age range of your choice. We chose a boy in the age range of 2-4 since because that is the same age range as Daniel. Then you fill the shoes box with things that a child overseas would want or need and they distribute these Christmas boxes all over the world. Before giving them out they place a booklet about Jesus Christ in each one, and after giving them out they present the gospel message to the children. I watched a video this morning of a young lady telling her story. As a child she lived in Bosnia. It was a war torn country, which left her living in fear. She was scared to even leave her house because of all the land mines around her village. As time went on the government refused to let aide into the country, and slowly her family ran out of food. The hunger that she felt aches all the way to her soul. One morning she went to put on her shoes to go to school. She only had one pair of shoes and they had so many holes in them her feet froze in the cold. She was so heart broken, so hungry, and so cold that she wanted to fun away and never come back. She had these thoughts all the way to school. When she arrived at school she saw people there giving out shoe boxes. She did not know why she needed an empty shoe box so she did not go over and get one, instead she stood by the wall. One of the men handing out the boxes called her over and handed her a box. Much to her surprise it was not empty. She opened the box and inside was a brand new pair of tennis shoes. Tears started flowing down her face. She went up the man and asked "Who gave me these shoes, who sent these to me?" The man then started to tell her about Jesus Christ. She was so moved by this because in her mind only God would be able to know how much she desired a new pair of shoes, and that day she became a Christian. It was because of that box, and the compassion of others that she gave her life to the Lord. Today she is married and has two children. The Lord has blessed her and she is now living in the United States. Every year her family packs boxes to give to children and they pray for the children who will receive their box that they to will accept Christ. Brandon, Daniel and I are also praying for the little boy who will receive our box. When a small, hungry, broken boy opens our Christmas box he will find a new pair of shoes, a pair of pants and a shirt, underware, socks, 2 toothbrushes, toothpaste, 2 combs, a wash cloth, soap, pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, crayons, a coloring book, toy cars, a slinky, tootsie pops,, and most importantly I pray he finds Jesus Christ. I encourage you to get involved. Take your child and let them help you shop to fill a shoe box. You can click here and find out more information about this ministry. You can change a life and teach your children about the true meaning of Christmas.

Daniel and Monica Dancing.

Here is Daniel and Monica dancing. Yes, Monica lifting her leg up high in the air is her idea of dancing. Daniel on the other hand prefers more of a hip hop style dance. Nevertheless they are both very cute when they get out on the dance floor! Enjoy!

Daniel

Mom: Daniel it is time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed.
Daniel: Oh mom I don't want to brush my teeth!
Mom: Daniel if you do not brush your teeth your teeth will fall out!
(At this point I figured out that Daniel really needed to go to the bathroom so I asked him to please go to the bathroom. A few minutes later he calls me in there.)
Daniel: Mom I am all done, but not all my poopy came out.
Mom: Daniel you have time to finish before bed.
Daniel: (looking very worried) But mom I do not want my teeth to fall out while I do it!

Monica playing around

I thought that this video might help you get a small glimpse into Monica's personality. She is just a very fun loving child. The video is of her thinking that it was very funny to try to hand me a pencil and then take it away. She is so much fun to play with!



PS A story about Daniel from this morning.

Mom: Daniel you need to go and get dressed for school.
Dad: Boy Daniel you really need a hair cut
Daniel: (Dressed in spiderman Pajamas) "Daddy Spiderman does not have hair to cut.
Dad: Yes he does and he gets his hair cut all the time.
Daniel: No dad the REAL spiderman does not have hair and does not need hair cuts
Dad: The REAL Daniel better go and do what his REAL mommy told him to do!