Callie - Our Foster Puppy

Christmas 2009

Christmas was wonderful this year. It is such a treasure to spend Christmas with my husband and daughter. We were pretty low key this year. Icy weather kept us from braving the cold to attend the Christ,as Eve service, like we usually do. But, we had fun staying in and playing cards with my mother-in-law and eating lots of yummy food. This year I made ham, turkey, stuffing with dried cherries, toasted pecans and sweet sausage, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, glazed apples with dried fruit, a peanut butter and chocolate dessert, fudge, and Happy Birthday Jesus cupcakes.

On Christmas day, we slept in and Derek made me breakfast. What a treat! He even got up with Faith, and let me sleep in extra late. His mom came over for lunch and after Faith's nap, she opened presents. We decided to not wrap anything this year, as the concept is beyond her. We put all of her new toys under the tree, and she made a beeline as soon as she spotted them. We were very good about staying within our budget. We spent a hundred dollars on Faith (she is our one and only right now) and we each had fifty dollars to spend on the other. God really blessed that fifty dollars. Derek was given a gift card from work, and he used that with his money to buy me a really, really nice MP3 player.

I went on E-Bay and I bought him a new to us Wii system. It cam with two regular remotes, two numchucks, two games, and a barely used system. I also got him a remote charger station, and two extra games (buy one, get one half off). I spent way over my budget (although I got a phenomenal deal), and figured we could pay it off over the next couple of months. Derek really, really, really wanted that Wii. And, I really, really, really wanted to give it to him. He deserves something special for being such a great husband and hard worker.

Here's the blessing: Two very special family members gave us unexpected amounts of Christmas money to use on a family present. Once I took out their gift money from the total that I spent on Derek, it ended up that I only spent 50 bucks. Tell me that isn't a blessing from above. And, thank you M and J!

Christmas is NOT about presents, food, or playing games. It is about celebrating Christ's birth, which brought us everlasting life. However, I do thank God for the ability to give presents to my loved ones, cook them good food, and enjoy their sweet company. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

(She had just spied that snazzy looking drum set)

(Wait....there are more instruments inside?)

(Talking on her new cell-phone.)

(Finally discovering the basket of toys. She got a dump truck, baby doll that can go in the tub, farm animals that make noise, adoption story book, and cars to name a few.)

(Bit, the drum was her favorite gift!)

(Her other favorite gift was her new, blue sled. She sat in it for a looooonnnngggg time. She'd get up, get a toy, and go sit in her sled. It was very cute.)

(Did I mention Nana's gift? She got a little wagon that game with Duplo blocks. Faith has been enjoying making towers with the blocks.)

(Where'd Baby Faith go? Now, we have this adorable toddler in her place.)

(She's so smart too. We got her a magnetic fishing puzzle. I showed her how to do it once, and she got it right away. She'll sit and fish over and over. She also got Praise Baby dvd's and c.d.s from her C.G. She really enjoys listening to the music.)

New Baby's Life Verse?

I have been thinking about our new little baby that we are praying to join our family. I have been praying for her and my thoughts are never far from her. I got to thinking about what would be a good life verse for her. We picked a life verse for Faith, and will pick one for each of our children. We see a child's life verse as a special little prayer just for that child which focuses on something specific we desire for that child. Faith's is about living a life of grace - both giving it and receiving it.

Yesterday, I was thinking that a verse on wisdom would be really appropriate for this little girl (more on why later). I googled Bible verses on wisdom, but nothing really caught my eye. I went about my day, and later that evening, I sat down to read from my Bible. I opened it randomly, not sure what book I wanted to read from. I scanned the page I had opened to, and much to my delight realized that I had opened to Proverbs 4, "Wisdom Is Important."

Verses 8-9 really stood out to me as being so appropriate for a little girl. The Lord is so good. He answered my unspoken prayer for guidance on the right verse for our new little girl. He answers prayers both great and small. Oh, how I pray and long for this child. Faith is going to make an excellent big sister!

Proverbs 4:8-9

"Treasure wisdom, and it will make you great; hold on to it, and it will bring you honor. It will be like flowers in your hair and like a beautiful crown on your head."

God's Promise

Psalm 113:4-9

(The Message)


God is higher than anything and anyone,
outshining everything you can see in the skies.
Who can compare with God, our God,
so majestically enthroned,
Surveying his magnificent
heavens and earth?
He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,
rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash,
Seats them among the honored guests,
a place of honor among the brightest and best.
He gives childless couples a family,
gives them joy as the parents of children.
Hallelujah!

What a blessed feeling to know that God fulfilled this promise in OUR family. Truly, we have great joy in our lives through our daughter and are childless no more, even though we are unable to conceive. What a miracle!

Big Girl Room - Take Two

I am starting to think about Faith's big girl room again. Really, when you think about it, it won't be that long until she transitions out of her crib and into a twin bed. Plus, it is SO much fun to plan. She'll probably move into her new room sometime this summer. Her big girl room will be what it now Derek's office. It is painted green, and we're going to keep it that color. My mom is helping me to decorate, and we've decided on a shabby-chic nature theme that's fun and whimsical.

We're going to use the bedding set pictured above. I love the owls and trees. I have my eye on those butterfly mirrors too. And, oh my gosh, did you ever see such a cute tree branch lamp? I can already picture Faith in that bed. Can you love a bedding set?

We're going to paint a tree on Faith's wall where her pretend play (a kitchen set and table with chairs) area will be. Something similar to the picture below. The trunk and branches will be pink. The leaves will be in shades of pink, blue, and green. I think. I've contacted a local artist to get an estimate on how much it would cost to have the tree (and maybe an owl or two) custom painted in her room.


Faith's play kitchen. We're getting her this for her second birthday. Shhh....don't tell her.

I am on the lookout for a small used table and chair set that I could paint to match Faith's room. Make believe playtime...I can already picture Faithie having tea parties and "cooking" in her kitchen.

I am keeping the furniture in Faith's big girl room to a minimum so that she'll have plenty of play space. She'll have her bed, nightstand, kitchen set, and table set. In her closet, I will put storage for all her other toys and clothes. I can't wait to get started on this project next year!!

Why Santa Won't be Visiting Our Home...

Do you remember being a kid around Christmastime? That sense of anticipation that hung in the air so thick you could almost cut it with a butter knife? That unparalleled giddiness you had waking up on Christmas morning? The rush to get to the Christmas tree where mounds of presents lay waiting for you that had not been there the night before? Oh, sweet Santa!

Yeah, I remember that too. But, we have decided to not include the traditional teaching of Santa Clause as a living, breathing, magical being in our family Christmas celebrations.

~Gasp~

I know. It's kind of a revolutionary idea as I'm finding out by people's reactions when I tell them. People give you a funny look, their mouths hang open for a moment as they try to wrap their minds around a Christmas without a "real" Santa Clause visiting my poor, deprived child(ren). They quickly regroup and then present arguments about why that is absurd and we clearly have gone off the deep end. Oh, yes, our culture's ties to the man in the big red suit run very deep indeed.

But, this is an idea/ideal that we started toying around with before our firstborn ever came along. I was expecting strong reactions from certain people in our family, people who always have strong reactions to everything, but was taken aback by the strong reactions we got from some of our Christian friends. And, as seems to be par for the course in parenthood, complete strangers even feel the right to interject their thoughts on the subject.

Our initial reasoning were some that you might expect or have heard before from other people that have gone down the Santaless road:

~ We don't want to lie to our children. Not just lie, but create elaborate plans to help our children believe the lie.

~ We feel that some of the "truths" children are taught about Santa such as knowing all, being an invisible being who is real, etc conflict with eternal truths that we are teaching our children at the same exact time about their Lord and Saviour.

~ Santa is about generosity personified. But, in our day and culture, we live in a time of giveme, giveme, giveme...I want, I want, I want. We feel that Santa is used to perpetuate that mindset in children. He is afterall, an advertiser's dream.

~ Santa outshines the birthday boy. Christmas is a religious holiday and observation which celebrates the birth of Christ the Messiah. Santa has become an idol of sorts. Don't believe me? Check out the Santa line at the mall the next time you are there.

~ If Santa gives gifts to all good boys and girls, what about children who don't receive gifts for reasons like poverty? Doesn't that make them naughty children?

But, it goes deeper than that. We've really been reflecting on this decision lately. How do you explain not doing Santa as a Christian family when so many other Christian families do. We have family and friends who are not Christians, so being able to really thoughtfully answer their questions/arguments on the subject is really important. They are watching what we do, what other Christians are doing, and are comparing that to what they do and the world that they are apart of is doing.

Obviously, lots of families, both Christian and pagan all over celebrate Christmas with an inclusion of the traditional Santa Clause teaching. Lots of children, upon learning of their parents and the world's deceit on the subject do not lose faith in their families. Nor do they consider them liars. Lots of children raised on Santa do go on to have strong, vibrant relationships with Christ.

So, why is it such a big deal for our family? The conclusion that my husband and I have come to, is that it is a lesson in obedience. God has laid this Santaless conviction on BOTH of our hearts. The question is, will we obey? Will we lay at our Father's feet all of our parenting decisions, both great and small?

Because, to be honest, it would be easier for us to shrug this conviction off. To say, well we were raised with Santa and turned out fine. To say, everyone else we know does Santa...they'll think we're weird or over-religious and self-righteous. To say, I don't want to risk our kids spilling the beans to their playmates, so lets have them believe in it as well. To just be like everyone else. But, we aren't like everyone else. We are aliens in this world. So, it's okay to do things differently.

God doesn't call all Christian parents to let go of Santa. But, He has called this parent and her spouse to let him go. That's the distinction. It's not about us, it's about God. It's about being obedient to Him. If we can't lay at the Lord's feet these small and seemingly insignificant parental decisions, how will we be prepared to hand over decisions that are a literal matter of eternal life and death?

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible."

~ Proverbs 24:12

P.S. The Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy are out too.

Let it snow...

We went outside tonight to enjoy some fun in the snow, before Blizzard Allison hits in full force. Faith LOVED the snow. I think we will have to get a sled this winter :-)