A Worthy Life

Merry Christmas

Before I began to write out the last of the Christmas cards, I was on my knees at the side of my daughter’s bed, clasping her fingers in mine as I wiped her tears away and kissed her goodnight. I whispered for her to close her eyes and her lids went shut while the eye inside kept up the rapid movement. She brought my fingers to her lips and kissed them with a smile, while making sure her lids stayed closed. I marveled as I looked at the sleepy face of our miracle, wondering at the perfection of her angelic face, taking in the slowing breaths of her heaving chest, smiling at the slight smirk that remained even as slumber took over.

 

Each day we wake to the same miracle, gazing into the eyes of life that was granted one day at a time to each of us.  Our lungs take in the breath of life, our heart works to deliver life to each cell of our body, and our individual gifts and talents give birth to our life’s calling and purpose. All that we are, everything that we have has been given to us by the Breath of Heaven.

 

This season we marvel at the miracle, immaculate conception, and our gift is the miracle. Nestled away in a manger His first breath brought hope, His last breath secured it for all eternity. The darkness of that holy night burst forth into the Light of the world. The silent night was broken with the sound of the angelic proclamation of Good News that continues to echo each time we open, hear, and remember the Holy Word. Bells were a’jingling as heaven’s chorus danced as the first sinner became the recipient of Jesus’ gift of new life. God continues to look and beckon from heaven, urging the faithful to come and remember, come and adore the Baby whose Life is the greatest Gift the world has ever known.

 

As a family we are remembering and looking to the heavens for His return. Our hearts cry out, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, come again and bring us to our eternal home that we may be eternally Home for Christmas.”

 

From our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and pray that you do more than consider or remember the reason for the season. We earnestly hope that you give the Babe who had no place to call His own a home in your heart, simply respond to His gift as your gift to Him this year. God’s Holy Word promises that when one lost soul turns to God, heaven throws a party. Do you hear it…? “Hark, the herald angels sing!”

 

God’s blessing to all of you!

The ghosts of Christmas

Christmas Past:

I was the second of five children and, at the time, a schoolgirl around eleven years of age. Though raised in a loving home with parents who wanted the very best for their children, our childhood was not without it's challenges and struggles. I always knew we weren't rich, I rarely remember going shopping for new clothes and can vividly recall one of my favorite fashion statements being free Keds that I gratefully took in exchange for the Payless no-namers they replaced. We never ate like kings; Salisbury steak from the microwave was a frequent guest at our dinner table, washed down with vanilla wafers (the no-name brand, of course). It wasn't until years later when I finally had a few spare dollars that I realized why I would pay the extra bit to upgrade my Aldi's brand cheese crackers to Cheez-Its. But I knew we weren't poor, I knew I had much to be grateful for. After all, we were going to a private school, thanks to Mom helping out as a gym teacher and Dad doing a few odds and ends to help meet tuition. We lived in a house that was bigger than most of my friends and, thanks to sleeping with a flannel nightgown and cuddling next to my sister, it was warm. Sure, we drove an old van given to us by a family friend but it too was always warm, thanks to an industrial heater my dad used before we drove away to compensate for a hardly working heater. But I had heard tales of people living in poverty and seen pictures of kids who were starving and I knew I was two loving parents far, far away from that.

Yet others knew our family situation perhaps better than I did. Not that I was oblivious. I knew times were tough but I knew little more than to just wait for the next meal to show up on the table. That Christmas a dear couple from our school delivered (secretly) bags full of groceries, of the name brand variety (you cannot imagine how wealthy I felt dipping into cookies and cereal that had a name!). Inside the paper bags were two Christmas ornaments, ones that were hung to remind us of what we would never forget. The irony was that the couple were not wealthy themselves. They lived within an inner city neighborhood and saw daily true poverty and faces that were neglected. Yet God softened their hearts toward us and in a season that when our need was great. We saw His love for us through the love of others.

Christmas Presents:

This year our family joined together with a few other families to bring God's love to others in need. In the same impoverished neighborhood where we play basketball with the kids, we asked about families that were experiencing especially hard times. Our friend within the community replied that the list was long but the first two names that came to mind were ones whose children were going into winter ill prepared without proper shoes and no socks. A friend and I met with the families to express our desire to bring something extra to their holiday this year. In one home, rabbits had free reign of the first floor, leaving food and waste in their wake. As we sat at the kitchen table with another mother, we saw cockroaches seemingly at home, roaming the walls. After a brief trek down stairs littered with laundry, we peeked in on 10 new puppies that left the entire basement littered with feces and puddles. After finding out the needs of the family, we pushed back into our boots in the foyer while the mom nonchalantly squashed and wiped a cockroach to the floor. Back in the car, my friend and I involuntarily shuddered at the sights and poverty of these families. My heart was especially sorrowful as I wondered if one special Christmas would change anything for these families and guilty because I knew that everything I would give would cost me no sacrifice because I could still go out and buy anything I needed the next day.

Scoring excellent deals at outlets in Toronto and securing deep discounts from generous managers at local stores we were able to stretch our budget beyond our initial intent. Armed with gifts and groceries and gift baskets, we hope to make this a Christmas to remember for the parents and children alike. Though our family fell upon difficult times due to different reasons and choices, I know that the desire of each parent is to give their children the best. Our hope is that they can see beyond the gifts and the giver and understand in a tangible way the love of God for them, that He sees them and knows their need and uses His people to extend hope.

Christmas Future:

The years ahead suggest hard times for more people and nothing promises that our own family won't fall upon them as well. We are making choices as an attempt to secure a better future but our hope is secure in knowing that God will provide all of our needs. When our hope is in another Place, for another time when there will be no more sorrow and tears, there is nothing for us to do but trust that the same God who as brought us this far, will continure to provide all our needs. As parents we want the best for our children and seek to give them good gifts. Our heavenly Father promises that He will give us every good and perfect gift. That is where our future and hope lies.

all's good!

My wireless is up again and I'm in heaven! Now I can get back to chronicling all the mundane details of my day. Like today, when we were awakened from our attempt at sleeping in by kids clamoring for breakfast and helping themselves to cereal and milk. Jacob came with a complaint against his sister:

"Yaya said I can't have cereal. I said I wanted Raisin Branches 'cause I like Raisin Branches and she said I couldn't. She said 'cause there are no branches in it."

Raisin Bran, dear boy. Raisin Bran!

Oh, and I can get back to posting pictures, like this one of the mama and the papa on our walk through the wintry wonderland:

I'm baaack!

we interrupt the interruption

...to bring you this. Pictures from our walk through the wintery woods.

It has taken me exactly 6.5 hours today to download, edit, save on external hard drive, open on computer #2, and download here. I was able to do this today because we were snowed in and I did literally nothing else all day. Except two loads of laundry, wipe a bum or two, clean up the kitchen, prepare dinner, and play with the kids. This is why I will be MIA in the picture department for awhile. Unless I have another snow day tomorrow when I can do nothing but sit on my duff. Plus I have to buy up my opportunities with Mr. Internet while my hubby doesn't need this work computer that I have hijacked. 

But when your kids are this cute, how can one help but want to immortalize their faces and our memories for all 3 of you to see?!

Needing some rest for my eyes now. Over and out.

Homie E

Eliana leading the way.

Jakes armed with a spear, in case of close encounters with the wild.

Josh and Dave, connected at the hip for the week.

 

Manu, with the best view and seat for the walk.

technical difficulties

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program with news of serious technical difficulties. My motherboard destroyed it's own wireless capabilities (thanks, hp) and has left me up a creek without a paddle, so to speak. I mean, sure...I could write about the activities of the week but words without pictures bores the beejeebies out of me. I hope to check in soon but in the interim please enjoy the special piped in sounds of soothing elevator music in my absence.

:o)

cold

The weather outside is frightful and only gonna get worse. Gearing up for the colder cold and the snowier snow!

PB wants to be like me?!

I don't really have a clue on how to decorate my house. What is my signature style, what do I want my house to say, what look can I achieve for my budget? I think I like a contemporary traditional look with a twist of personality and whimsy. I think.

I'm even worse when it comes to decorating for the holidays. I refuse to pay tons of money for frivolous and temporary doo-dads. So I vow to shop the after Christmas sales but by then I am too worn out and revving up for Boxing Day sales that I think, forget about it.

But what I lack in inherent design knowledge I make up for in stacks of home catalogs and decor magazines. One stack for the downstairs toilet, one for the master bedroom bathtub, and one for my night stand. Just in case I get stuck at either locale for more than a few minutes.

Pottery Barn is my old standby. Love their style, love their colors, hate their prices. I mean, really, who really has $3,000 for a kid's trundle bed that wouldn't be better served going towards the poor kid's college fund?! I have unashamedly copied and borrowed ideas from their catalogs for years now but didn't think they had any ideas to offer for the holidays.

Until they stole mine.

Check out these two pictures below...

This is a scene from our holiday decor:

This is a scene from within the pages of Pottery Barn Teen catalog:

Pay extra close attention to the left side of the picture. See any resemblances between the two? That's right! The frame wrapped in lights. My idea. The ornaments hanging in the middle? Yep, my one original idea. Have a PBTeens catalog at home? Check page 87...they too hung ornaments from a frame.

My last online order was through PB Teens and so I received their new catalog with my goods, after I'd planned my holiday decor mind you. I lay in bed thumbing through the pages to let inspiration jump out and hit me between the eyeballs. Thunk! Inspiration, all right. MINE. That they stole!

But it's alright. I've stolen exactly 683 ideas from them so I think I'll let them have this one!

Oh, and the silhouettes of my kids that I plan on eventually putting up on my cheap Ikea plates seen in the top picture? Also, within the pages of PB. But that one I stole from another inspiration site. I guess we both did. So, it's all good!

I'll still have a happy holiday. And it'll be a lot cheaper than the PB original!

Superwoman to Supermodel

I shuffled in late to squeeze in next to my hubby and toddler after checking in on the other kids next door in Sunday School. We exchanged silent greetings and then Josh pointed out a national newspaper clipping a friend had handed him earlier. I unfolded the paper and felt my head swell in the millisecond it took to read the headline: Still Queen of the Supermodels.

Me?! Well, gawrsh! Without taking the time to peruse the article, I made the assumption that the headline spoke a thousand words and no more were needed to inform me that this friend was making a kind gesture to express her compliments to me.

After the last song had been sung and prayer had been prayed, I rushed to her side to envelope her in an appreciatory hug. I gushed out my thanks for the meaning she conveyed without a word through her act of kindness.

She laughed, as I knew she would. We laughed together at the potential confusion and then we turned over the clipping to discuss the article on the backside, the intended topic for discussion: The ABC's of C-H-O-R-E-S.

Because, really...the article was about the return of the supermodel. I knew all along the article had nothing to do with me. After all, I never left. ;o)

gussied up

I gussied up to make my way through the howling winds and blowing snow to Sunday service yesterday. Wearing your Sunday best has always been a tradition in our family. Jeans and a sweatshirt would have earned you the evil eye from Mom until you went back to your room to change into something more appropriate. Ever since I was a little girl it used to mean skirts/dresses, 'hose, and dress shoes.

Living here in the Great White North has changed that just a bit for me. Yesterday I wore nice dress slacks (trust me, the extra insulation around the inner thigh makes a big difference) and leather dress boots with thick soles (seems like an oxymoron, I know).

As I drove I clenched the steering wheel from within my fleece lined wool mittens and sifted repeatedly in my seat to get comfy. Maybe it was the fact that my boots always remind me of equestrian gear or maybe it was the fact that I kept sifting to get my hiney situated. Or maybe it was 'cause I was thinking so hard on the fact that I'm thrilled the day of woman's true liberation came on the day pants became acceptable garb for us gals.

Whichever it was, I got the funny thought, "How glad am I that I don't have to drive this thing into church sidesaddle!"

'Cause when your booty's frozen and your car greets you with a layer of ice an inch thick covering every window you have to do what you can to find the funny in an otherwise gray day. That or say, "Honey, I worked and loved and lived with you here now for 7 years. We'll be packing up to live the next 7 in, I don't know, let's say...a horse ranch in Mexico!"

'Cause you know, without the shoveling and the ice chipping and the salt laying, gussying up is all there'd be left to do there!