Fun memories from Christmas

Yes, I know this is late... but still fun to remember and enjoy!!

So, what to write about?? Some friends of mine all got together for out 2nd annual cookie bake... about 30 dozen cookies in 7 hours, not bad, hunh?? That was a lot of fun, I so treasure time with girl friends!! Of course, a big thank you to Todd who shared me for the day!!

I was able to do one of my favorite things for my birthday, on the 20th. The two days prior I was busy making dozens of cookies, and then Anna and Dillon and I went around town delivering our treats!!! So much fun, and a great way to spend my special day, with friends and bringing Christmas treats!!! We all had dinner later and opened gifts, of course, but the delivery was my favorite part!!


Yummy!! I was happy with how they came out... considering I did not have much time and was going to leave they next day for Northern California and then Portland!!! Yikes!! It was so worth it, and hopefully next year I will have time to make and deliver more cookies. Fun memories!!

Chistmas Eve

The Christmas eve service we attended (In Oregon, at my parents' church) was so beautiful. The Pastor challenged us to be God's messengers, sharing the good news with others who do not know. The most beautiful part came early in the service. The worship pastor called all the children up to sing a song and then hear the Christmas Story. Anna went up... she loves going on stage. Dillon chose to safely stay with mommy and daddy. Actually, Anna had already asked to go up on stage with the choir and sing!!! =)

So, after they sang a few verses of a fun Christmas tune, the worship pastor asked the children to share something about Christmas, and he would insert the lyrics into the song, so they could all sing a few new verses. So, out of the 50+ children that went up on stage, Anna raises her hand, and they give her the microphone.... what is she going to say??? At first, she is quiet. Maybe looking at the 500+ people in the audience in causing her to fall silent???

"What is your favorite part of Christmas?", the worship pastor prompts.

Then Anna, in a confident voice, says...

"Baby Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for our sins!"

I am stunned that this is what she choses to say, in front of all these people! I love it!!! Anna has definitely enjoyed the gift giving time of Christmas, and does delight in church and Jesus and all the stories of Christmas... yet the fact that this is what she choses to share fills me with joy. She is understanding all of what my heart longs for her to understand. Praise God!!!

December Highlights

I love December!! I wish it was two months long, instead of only 31 short days!!!

I have so much joy to share... but I am recovering from all the fun and busyness, so... here is the best one, and I will leave the rest for another day..

some thoughts from a tired mom...

Once again, fatigue prevents me from writing a lot. I just wanted to give you this one thought this evening. I started running again, yay!! It is hard to start back up again, not being at all where I wanted to be. I decided I would start, at least. What is exciting is that, if I keep up this discipline, then I will be able to do something (run farther, longer,with less fatigue) that I cannot do now!! As I run my route, I know that in a few weeks, I will run it faster and feel better!! And that gives me hope... not just in running, but in life too. I catch myself wondering how I can possibly parent a teenager... if I can barely handle the "keep-your-room-clean" and "do a good job of eating at the table now, so that you won't be hungry later" stage!!! Yet, I really feel that, in part, the same principle applies. If I keep up the discipline of consistently and calmly parenting Anna and Dillon, I will eventually be able to do what seems impossible now... parent them when I am working on the "get home by midnight, tell me where you are going and who you will be with and no dating until you are ready to think about marriage" stage. Yikes!!!

Of course, as is the case now, all my parenting is accomplished through relying on God's strength and wisdom, and by saying I can "do" parenting, I merely mean I have learned how to be the vehicle through which God can parent my children, I will better at letting go of the results, and giving those to God, and focus on glorifying Him in how I parent Anna and Dillon.

Hopefully you will catch a bit of this convoluted rambling... I did warn you I was tired and busy, as usual!!! =)

Thanks for listening!!!

tonight...

I am tired, I have lots of work still to do... and Todd wakes up tomorrow for a 5:30am Bible study... did I mention how thankful I am that he is in this study?? =)

So, no blogging tonight... hopefully tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Festivities!!

Oops!!

I guess I took too long putting Dillon to bed... because the by the time I got to Anna, who was waiting for me to do our bedtime routine (Daddy was gone tonight)... well, you see!!!

So sweet, and so sad!! I guess we can read stories, pray, and practice her sight words tomorrow!!! =)

Rock, Paper, Pencil?

When my mom was here visiting, we had so many fun times!!! While we were enjoying our last day at Disneyland, (having purchased 4 day passes back in May), we were waiting for the Christmas Parade. To pass the time Anna and my mom started to play "rock, paper, scissors". My mom paused and told Anna she couldn't make scissors with her hands (her struggle with an auto-immune disease has left her hands with limited mobility ). So Anna suggests, "you can use a pencil"!!! What a creative thinker!! I love it!! How precious!!

What I love even more, as I consider this story, is that Anna was so matter-of-fact about it. There was no emotion or sadness, that is just the way things are. To her, it is normal. Lots of things are normal to her. Pictures of some of her grandparents, and her Uncle J-J, remind her that some of her family that loved her dearly are not with us anymore. To her, this is normal. She occasionally will say that she "misses" Great-Grandma, or Uncle J-J, and seems sad for a few moments. The sadness is temporary, and not overwhelming.

This makes me wonder if we can learn from her attitude. Her expectations of life are different then ours, I think, she is more accepting of the things that we fight against... aging, death, illnesses. She gets that it is a sad thing, she is sad, and then moves on. So often my unmet expectations are so frustrating, it feels impossible... or at least, very difficult. Maybe that is part of "Paul's Secret", the secret of being content. Contentment, at some level, must mean to accept aging, illness, and dying as a part of life.... not to get upset that it is here, but accept its presence, fight against it when necessary, and realize that some battles will be lost, but the ultimate victory is a spiritual one, isn't it?? One day, we will shed these bodies that we struggle against, these, at times, inconvenient vessels, and appear in Glory with our Beloved, to spend eternity with Him!!!

I can't even imagine what that must be like.

A lot can happen in ten years!!!

I love my sister and miss her so much!! I am so happy for her, for them!!!

I am here!!!

Though not for long!! I was super grumpy for a few days, so I never blogged. Then I got out of the habit!! Yikes! Just like that!! Now you have missed so much... where do I start?? A fun weekend, learning new ways to celebrate the holidays, dinner with friends, a week of hanging out with my mom!! Such fun!!! And then, more family visiting... Todd's parents for a week!! Such fun around here. Thanksgiving was a blast... lots of good food and a fun and relaxing day. And, as if that is not enough, we squeezed in a day at Disneyland with Grammy and a trip to the aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa. A lot can happen in three weeks!!

So here is my dilemma... what to spend my time on??? I love to blog, yet my family has this need for clean clothes and a semi-clean house!! I want to also devote time to Bible study, helping Anna out with her homework and writing, papers to grade and lessons to plan for Biola, spending time in the evening with Todd and whomever happens to be visiting, playing with Dillon and experiencing life through his eyes... such a slower pace!! I also want to fit in time emailing friends and family and hanging out with my girlfriends at least once every two months!!!

This was all overwhelming, until I finally stopped to really listen to what God was telling me. I don't have to figure out how to make all this work.... any plan I make is just that, a plan. It will not happen according to My Plan, but according to His. Time can be so easily wasted by worrying about the next moment, and how to fit everything into the 16-18 hours I have each day.

I want to make a plan, and work on sticking to it, knowing that everything has its time. If the plan doesn't work, I just skip something for that day... no worries. The laundry will get done, eventually, the house cleaned, the blog written, the papers graded. I either stay up later, or put it off for another day. Why waste energy worrying about the to do list left undone???

I want to put my energy toward enjoying this wonderful life, family, home, friends, and job that I do have. I want to be able to pause and help Anna with her request, not continually tell her... just let mommy finish cleaning a little more....

In honor of Thanksgiving.... I am thankful for so many things.... here are a few...

1. Anna's cards and posters of her and her mommy together.
2. Dillon's smile when he sees me.
3. Todd's sacrifice in working at a job he doesn't always enjoy and in cooking/cleaning when he is also tired from a long day.
4. Dillon keeps asking for a Bible like Anna's
5. Anna loving Dillon and always saying that she is thankful for her "brother named Dillon" on every Thanksgiving craft.
6. Anna's new love of "journaling"

....so many more... but I promised to be off by 10.

What you can look forward to...
"Ten Years"
"Thanksgiving Feast"
"A Day at Disneyland"
"Rock, Paper, Pencil"
"Anna's Prayer"
"Victory"

until tomorrow... hopefully!!

What happened???

What happened to the writer of this blog? She has been replaced by this crazy, delusional women, who is desperately trying to stay up and finish all her work... catch up on all the laundry, grade all the tests, and iron a few shirts... just a few hours should do it. I can't wait until this crazy women goes away so I can take a rest... of course, then I will get behind...and that crazy women will return... how to find the balance??? Hmm....

Maybe tomorrow you will read a more interesting post... maybe it will be called "What a difference ten years make!" Stay tuned.... =)

What we did a week ago...

Happy Harvest Time!!

Fun with friends...









Happy Penguins!!!
I would have taken more pictures... but Todd stayed home and I was flying solo!! Wow, attending a Harvest Festival without Todd made me really appreciate Him!! What an exhausting evening, trying to keep track of my two penguins amongst a sea of dinosaurs, princesses, clowns, and various other animals and characters!! Yikes!!!

So, you will just have to imagine Anna and Dillon vainly trying to throw balls and bean bags and hoops through various holes and onto pegs. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, despite poor aim and limited success... thankfully they get candy just for their effort!! What a night!!!

Silence

I sit down to write, and I am met with silence. Today I have been tired... life just seems too much sometimes. Our church occasionally organizes a "soul care" day. That is what I need now. I guess I will have to settle for a soul care moment... maybe an hour, instead of an entire day. Silence is so refreshing... so I will sit here and pray, and think.

I am reminded of an illustration I heard yesterday. We are too often stuck in a digital world, the time right now is 8:46. God sees time as a clock, he sees life 5 minutes ago, 5 minutes from now... It is an interesting thought... do I get too caught up in the moment... too worried about how I feel right now... too burdened with all the things I want to accomplish right now??? Those things will get done, maybe it will take longer than I would like... but that is ok. And, above all else, God sees, He knows, and He provides the strength for what is now 8:49, and will provide the strength for the next 5 minutes, the next 5 years, and then next 50 years....

Hmmmmmm....................

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9

They are right about kindergarten!!!

We spent 45 minutes with Anna's teacher on Friday, and not once did she mention anything about her behavior!! It was all about... these are the results of Anna's testing, this is what she has been learning, this is what she will be learning. So academic!! I really feel that her teacher does a great job of incorporating all the standards into fun and engaging projects, and I am very thankful for that. Yet still, it does feel like a lot to expect out of a 5 year old.

Now she is starting to memorize sight words... it is requiring quite a bit of creativity to figure out how to present that in an engaging way to Anna... she does not enjoy simply flipping through flash cards!! I am wishing that I had taken a few elementary ed. classes along with my secondary ed. program at Biola!!! So, we are busy playing sight-word memory, and today I helped her write a story using her sight words. I feel like I am home-schooling her!!! We are having fun with it, and I am so glad I have friends who teach... they offer a great perspective and great ideas. Thanks guys!!!

Here is her book.

A word on Joshua 6

Hebrews 11:30: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down".

I love when the Bible gives us God's perspective on Biblical events!! I often think of Jericho and how it demonstrates God's power, how it reveals God as a promise keeping God. Yet here it is recorded as a testimony to the Israelites' faith!! This causes me to pause and think about what walls would fall down by my faith. Hmm... a weighty thought!!

As I studied Joshua 6, I began to see how it reveals that God is so not concerned with the physical... He is all about the spiritual. That is what He desires us to be aware of, to be intentional about. I am so often concerned about the physical aspects of life, keeping the house clean, cooking, getting to school on time. I think I can overlook and forget the spiritual. When I have a busy or tough day, I want to spend more time praying about it... not more time planning the perfect schedule that will enable me to cross everything off the list.

Join with me in pursuing the spiritual, and in being less concerned/stressed about the physical!

Health Update

I would not recommend getting the stomach flu as a weight loss plan... though it does work, temporarily at least. I also would not recommend getting sick in order to be able to lay around and DO NOTHING for two days!!! There are better and more interesting ways to take a break!!! Yes, that is what happened to our family. Todd is still having digestive issues and is on a very restricted diet, so Anna and Dillon and I decided to have sympathy on him, and we all got sick too!!!

Thankfully, we are feeling better.... though Todd is not yet fully recovered. Being that sick really helps me to appreciate my own health!!!! Yikes!!!

So, to catch up...

Friday: We had a fun party at Dillon's class!! We love his teacher, she is so creative and educational at the same time. A great combo!! Anna got to join us because she had the day off due to teacher conferences... more on that later. I will post pictures of our fun day soon!!

Saturday: Dillon was sick.

Sunday: We all were sick.

Monday: Anna and I were sick, poor Dillon was left to play by himself most of the day!!

Tuesday: We recovered, and celebrated Halloween at our fun carnival at church. We partied a bit too hard.... so....

Wednesday: Anna was sick again!!! Yikes!! Thankfully, God returned my strength so I could prepare for teaching Joshua 6 that night.

Thursday: Finds us recovering, and trying to get this crazy house in some sense of order again.

Friday: I have hope that I will have a chance to finish my weekly cleaning that has not happened in more than a week.... but if not, there is always tomorrow!!! =) =)

How are you all doing????

Not much to write about tonight... life feels very full at the moment. I have a test to finish writing... I am never satisfied with the test I wrote last year, I always want to improve... and that takes a long time!!!

I am also teaching on Joshua 6 next week... it is amazing to contemplate the battle of Jericho and to attempt to understand why God fought this particular battle in such an amazing way. Chapter 5 relates the story of their preparation before the battle... it was all spiritual preparation. When I think of major things I have prepared for in life... college, graduation, marriage, children... I wonder how much physical preparation I engaged in, and how much of the prep was spiritual. Why is it that the spiritual element is too often neglected???

Just a thought for tonight... until tomorrow!!!!!

No food until Saturday!!

This is the diagnosis for Todd's virus he seems to have contracted on his way home from China...Yikes!!! I can't imagine not eating anything for four days!!! Please pray for Todd!!!

On a happier note, while Todd was in China Anna and Dillon and I traveled up north to visit family and friends and had a FANTASTIC time!!! We treasure the times we spend with our family we so rarely get to see, and with special friends we haven't seen in a long time. Here are some fun pictures of our adventures to a pumpkin patch, fun times hanging out, and a fun park!!! Good times!!!

Wacky Anna!!

Anna is so hysterical!!! She rarely cares what she wears to school, but today was different, in fact, yesterday she said she didn't want to go to school because she didn't have anything wacky to wear. Today was "Wacky-Tacky" day, in honor of Red Ribbon week. I convinced her that she could find some wacky clothes... and here is what she came up with. She was so excited about the chance to wear different shoes, different socks, backwards shirt, and even came up with the idea of shorts on her head. It was so funny to see her this way, because usually she wears whatever she grabs first. The only piece of clothing she ever insists on wearing are her colorful socks she convinced me to buy for her from Costco. I love her!!! She always makes me laugh... just like her dad!! =) =)

tonight...

I am tired. The adrenaline is wearing off and fatigue is setting in!! Oh well... I will have to save some items on my list for tomorrow... and tomorrow's list grows longer!!

But on to more happier moments... we attended a "cowgirl" party yesterday... what fun!!! We made horses for Anna and Dillon to ride on... what a cute idea!!!

I thought I would include a few other photos... so you can appreciate the effort it takes to snap a good photo of my two angels!!! =)

just a short note...

...to keep up my new discipline of daily blogging!!

We had a guest speaker at church today... I wanted to give you the two minute version of what he shared.
"How does God transform us?"
1. Mentors/friends
2. Trials
3. His Word
See 2 Timothy for examples of this. Then the challenge... "Are you being transformed? Are you different this year than last?" If no, then check these three areas...
1. Are you avoiding/distancing yourself from mentors/friends?
2. Are you discontented with your circumstances (trials) instead of understanding that they can transform you?
3. Are you disconnected from God's word? Not really studying/reading?

This, of course, is extremely abbreviated... but thought I would share these thoughts to stimulate yours.

One more idea I really found interesting... God's word is described as cleansing. Hopefully, we all perform some sort of cleansing ritual on a daily basis... if not a shower everyday, then at least washing your hands and face and brushing your teeth. So, we need to have a "Spiritual Shower" everyday, to wash ourselves of the filth of the world. Hmm... interesting thought!!!

Daddy is home!!!

Yippee!! Daddy is home from a 10 day business trip to China. He is exhausted and a little sick, so we pray that he will be back to normal soon. =) =) Anna and Dillon were so excited to see him.... so sweet!!!

Anna's harvest festival was today... it was hot! hot! hot!!! Rather ironic given their costumes...penguins!!!

They won the prize for most creative... how fun!!!

The carnival type atmosphere and the hot sun made for some super tired kids... they should sleep well tonight!!!

The hunt and more stories.

So we missed our 8pm bedtime...4 stores (and a very considerate Sears employee) later we found the missing ingredient for Dillon's penguin costume... a black hooded sweatshirt. That hunt only took 2 hours!!! At least we found it... tune in tomorrow for a fun picture of the end result!!

Today was also filled with...

"Fall fun in the kitchen"

...and a special trip to the "pumpkin patch". (Yes, the carnival atmosphere to these pumpkin patches in the city are slightly odd to me... yet still fun!! )

Can you believe that Dillon eventually did this one himself???
I think mommy going with him a few times, and another friend that encouraged him, gave Dillon enough confidence to tackle the slides on his own. What a difference a year makes!!!

I love this close up.... I wish I could have captured his flying, tumbling finish!!!

Some pictures to brighten our day!!

Why I love to hike at Chantry Flat. Beautiful!!!!

Before...

...and after!!The end result of a fun day in the forest!! =)

Posing for pictures... thanks Grammy for the cute skirt!! =)

Dillon surprised me by "writing" his name... not bad for a 3 year old's inagural attempt!!!

Our artists!!! =) =) I love their creativity!!

A tough day...

Well, half of my goal is accomplished... they are in their bedrooms. I have yet to do story-prayer-song time... let's just say today did not go that well, and I want our last few minutes together to be happy and fun... and not filled with the frustration I currently feel. So, maybe sharing a few pictures of our fun adventures will lighten the mood. While you are enjoying the pictures... any good suggestions on how to encourage two young children to independently finish their morning and evening routines in 10-15 minutes??? Please share your great ideas!!! Is "independent" too high of an expectation? Is it "baby-ing" them if I help them???

A bit ambitious!!

No pictures tonight... Awana interferes with bedtime... Anna is still awake and Dillon just took quite a bit of convincing to fall asleep at 10:00!!! I never thought I would have to convince a three year old to go to sleep at 10!!!

So.... I am finishing up laundry... and going to sleep. Morning always seems to start at 6,. maybe 6:30... no matter how late they are up!!! Yikes!! Sleep is over-rated anyway, right?? =)

My new plan...

...kids in bed by 8, blog a little, catch up on email, and then it is on to all the unfinished business of the day... either that or procrastinate and have a nice relaxing evening.... depending on my mood and what I can get away with!! =)

So, here I am... our days have been full, adjusting to kindergarten five days a week, Biola two days, AWANA, helping out in Anna's classroom, and Dillon's mommy-and-me class. I am also co-teaching one of the women's Bible studies... on Joshua, that keeps me busy!! Everything does, really, but that is my favorite.... though Math is a close second. (besides family, friends... etc...)=)

We just returned from a fabulous visit with family and friends... we had such a great time!!! Yet, now I am struggling with "back to reality"... no one to chat with..Todd is in China on a business trip...I have to cook my own meals....something I love when visiting... (relief from that responsibility).... and wanting to get caught back up on laundry, email, Bible study, Biola... basically life!!

So I am happily fatigued.... and treasuring special memories made.

I am not even going to try to catch up on everything I have not blogged about the last month.... tomorrow maybe some pictures will tell the story!!

Thanks for continuing to check this blog... hopefully you will see more regular posts!!! =) =)

Love you all!!!