Christmas Recap

I just love Christmas!  I love that we have the chance to celebrate the birth of Jesus and give presents and serve people.  I love Christmas music and movies.  And I love sharing all of this with my kids. 

We had Christmas with my Dad (Papa) and my step-mom (Nana) before they left for Tennessee.  We had an amazing dinner of salmon and salad and sweet potatoes and beer bread and my sister's famous pies.  Then we had Christmas with my mom and her husband on Christmas Eve.  We had a visit from Father Christmas at that gathering.  And then Chloe put on quite a show dancing to music.  I have not laughed so hard in a very long time.  We are certain she needs to start dance lessons soon.  We don't know where it came from, but she has some natural dancing talent in her.  And finally we spent the day with Dan's family on Christmas Day.  It was busy and wonderful all at the same time.  

One of the most enjoyable moments was on Christmas Eve.  A group of ladies in my Sunday School class decided to surprise one of our friends and bless her with presents late that night.  We showed up on her doorstep with a gift basket and a DVD with a video message from all of us.  It was precious to see her reaction and know that we made her Christmas a little happier and much less lonely.

The girls enjoyed having a white December!

Love this picture of Mya!  My brother in law took it at my mom's house.

Visit from Father Christmas.  Sweet Sara had no idea it was my mom's husband dressed up.  She was pretty shocked when she found out.

Sara and her present.

My seven year old doesn't look like a little girl anymore.

Chloe's famous dance.  Check out my mom in the background laughing hard.

 

Christmas with Dannyboy was precious.  He surprised me with a new dress on Christmas morning even though we agreed to not give each other presents. 

All in all it was such a good holiday.  I know that most people have New Year's resolutions and I don't usually do those, but I saw something neat on Facebook today.  I am one of those Facebook stalkers who just looks at everyone else's feeds instead of writing any of my own. So today I saw someone post about marriage.  There were 25 tips on how to show respect to your husband.  I read through them and picked out five that I could work on.  Because I am perfect in all of the other 20 areas...ha ha.  I thought that five was a doable number.  I wrote them down, put them on my mirror, told Dan about them and will attempt to work on these on a daily basis.  So here are my top 5 ways to improve showing respect in my marriage:

1.  Pray for him.

2.  Respond physically. (this means doing the little things like holding hands and responding when he initiates being close)

3.  Kiss him goodbye and hello every time he leaves the house and comes home. (we have gotten away from this since the kids have come along....I am usually occupied with them when he comes home and leaves)

4.  Cherish togetherness (even if we are working on different things, try to do it in the same room or sitting next to each other)

5.  Resist the urge to correct him (especially in front of others)

Proverbs 18:22
"He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

Quiet

I was given an hour and a half today....alone....all by myself....no kids....just me. What to do with myself? I could either exercise or go to the coffee shop and read. I chose the coffee shop. So here I am, sitting by myself, able to think and reflect and recharge. I got here at 9:00 and spent 45 minutes deciding which book to download on my Nook. And now that I decided it is taking another 15 minutes to download. Maybe it is time for an upgrade on our IPad? But since the book thing didn't work out yet I have had time to just sit here and think about life. This month we have had quite a lesson in trusting God. There seem to be so many uncertainties that we are facing. Dan is trying to get his business off the ground, which he is doing great at, but it is still challenging. We had a pay freeze because we were in between jobs. And just when I started to hold so tight to our money situation, God revealed how it would all work out. I get so tense when I don't know how things will work. But last week I went on a run in the afternoon and verbally gave all I was holding on to to God. I released and it was so freeing.  Hopefully no one was outside when I ran by their house saying loudly, "Yes God...I give it all to you!"  So this week we had enough for gas and groceries and some extra. And next week we get paid. Ironically enough, all the bills that are due are not due until the day of our big paycheck. Nothing is due any earlier than that, which is unusual. That is just how the month worked out. So why did I doubt God? Because I fear the uncertain. This morning I was reading in Matthew about Peter walking on the water. And God says, "Why did you doubt?" Ugh!....such a tough lesson to learn.

I am at a crossroads personally with trying to figure out what things might look like next year with the kids and with me. And I wonder about the future with me once the kids are older. There are about 5 different jobs that I have considered....some of them requiring some more schooling. If that is the case, when should I start that? So many questions....unanswered. Do you think God designed it that way? I mean, if I knew all the answers, why would I need Him? I wouldn't.....that is sad. So I continue to praise Him in the uncertain times. And I release my control on a daily basis. I am so glad I have a God who blesses me with grace on a regular basis!

Last night we had friends over for dinner. They were our friends in California during the last part of our stay there. Dan and Matt knew each other in high school. He is a pastor and we were so thankful to attend his church for a short time when we lived in Stockton. It was wonderful to reunite and our girls loved having more little girls to play with at our house.

Well....I now have 10 minutes left. I think my book has finally downloaded and I might read the first chapter. That will get me hooked so I can read more at nap time today.

My Best Friend Jim Brickman (google him in case you have no idea who he is.....which most of you won't)

Merry (early) Christmas!

Wow!

Today was one of those days!  You know the kind where absolutely everything goes right.  I just love those days.  It started with a morning quiet time because the kids slept in later.  Then we covered every single subject and finished at 2:00.  Lunchtime was smooth and nap time happened at a great time.  Dan was home for the morning working.  I have found such a difference in my contentment level with having him home.  I don't even need to see him, but knowing that someone else is in my house (an adult) is wonderful.  I don't feel lonely and I love having him around.  When I need to vent, I just peek my head in the office and quickly let it out.  He smiles and we both go on our merry way.  And today during schoolwork with the girls there was laughter.  Our hearts were fulfilled and I was able to take a moment and verbalize to the girls how much I enjoy being with them.  I thank God for days like this.

Once again....it was just one of those days!

My Buddy Jim

On Saturday I went to a concert to see one of my favorite pianists.....Jim Brickman.  It was an amazing time.  The music was breathtaking.  In college, when I lived in the sorority house, I found out quickly that I had to have classical music playing in my room when I studied.  It was the only way to eliminate the external noise so I could concentrate on my work.  And I couldn't study to anything with words.  So one day my mom sent me a CD in the mail of this guy named Jim Brickman.  I had no idea who he was, but I put the music in my CD player and fell in love.  I think I can thank him for my good grades.  This weekend I finally had the chance to see him LIVE and meet him.  Amazing!

Dan is entering his second week of his job and things are going very well.  He has fallen in love with this type of work.  He is the director of all of Ohio for a healthcare company.  He has been able to solidify some contracts already with other companies and should start seeing patients next week.  He has also hired on some PRN workers so they will be available when the patient load increases.  He likes the flexibility and challenge of the job.  He has caught on fast to the business and I have seen him grow in so many areas already.  I was happy to have him join the technology world with getting his own email, Iphone and wireless printer.  We moved Mya back upstairs with the other two girls and turned her old room into an office for Dan.  That set up has worked out very well for all of us.  I homeschool in the living room and he works in the back room.  The transition into this job has been quite smooth.

Lately I have been struggling with Mya and her obsession with sugar in her body.  At seven years old she worries about eating too much sugar.  I know that comes from me and what I am teaching the kids about eating healthy.  A big part of it is personality for her.  She is very black and white and has taken what she hears me say and magnifies it.  Dan and I had a talk about it tonight to see how we could restructure things to help her divert her attention to the negative side of sugar and just enjoy being a kid and eating it.  She needs to see me enjoying sweet treats.  She watches me.  She mirrors my attitude about things.  I have struggled because I think it is hard to find the balance between cutting processed foods in many ways, yet still eating some.  All of it is about moderation.  But moderation is not a natural thing for Mya to understand.  Either you eat sugar and it is good for you or you don't eat it because it is bad for you.  It seems like there is no in between for her.  So we decided that I really need to make some changes with enjoying sweet treats in front of her and verbalize how much it is okay to eat them.  I need to relax so she can relax. 

Parenting is tough!  I think it is hard when you see something you need to change as a parent and fix whatever you didn't do right.  As parents, we are in such a constant state of learning and rearranging and trial and error.  I guess I should embrace that process because that is what creates wisdom.  And that is when God really transforms our hearts and our lives.  Change is good!

I feel like I have blogged a lot about sweet Mya lately.  I think it is because she is at the age where she is learning and growing like crazy.  She is a wonderful young lady and I am so excited to watch her grow up.  I don't mean to leave out the other two.  Sara is enjoying school at home and really bonding with little Chloe.  They have taken to each other the last few months and get along well.  They are fun girls to have around and I am so thankful to be their mommy!

Ice Skating

I can't believe we have lived so close to an ice skating rank and have never gone to it before.  We joined the Classical Conversation group for ice skating this week and it was amazing.  I didn't take Chloe with me but I will next time.  I think she will love it!