Reflections on the Season

The Baby Jesus is not for throwing. Please don't chew on the Wise Men. Take that camel out of your mouth. Did you hit your brother with that angel?

These are just a few of the actual sentences I have uttered this year while teaching our sons the Christmas Story. Each evening after dinner we have told a small part of this eternal tale. We started with the prophecy, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given." Tonight we finished with God's care of Mary, Joseph and Jesus as He warned them to flee Herod and go to Egypt. Tomorrow night we will return to the stable for a review of the basics. Sometimes I feel like it is all falling on deaf ears. The cynic in me says, "They are so young. Why bother with it? Just let them open their presents on Christmas morning and save yourself the grief of trying to keep their attention for five minutes." And then I realize that none of this makes sense to me without the Story. Why give gifts? Why decorate my house? Why sing these songs that are way too high? Because the angels really did announce His birth. Because the Wise Men were there to worship. Because the Baby Jesus did not stay a baby. He grew up and gave His life willingly to pay for all our sin. Without these truths, Christmas is meaningless and empty to me. And I know that someday my boys will understand for themselves the beauty and mystery of this celebration. Until then, we will keep the glass ornaments out of reach and the plastic nativity set on the coffee table. At least next year nobody will be teething.

For Grandma

This post is for Grandma, who like many of us, is going a little stir crazy with the weather. Wish you were here or we were there or we were all together someplace warm. :-)





Sorry about the crazy over-exposure at the beginning of this next one.

Not A Common Sight

Erik had to run out to the van to grab something tonight. I followed him with the camera so as to get some perspective on this whole snow thing.

Where are this man's feet?

So, we are pretty much snowed in. It's not a bad thing. Erik is considering going to work tomorrow. I'm not sure what that will look like, but I am sure that the kids probably won't be going out to play. I'm thinking neither of them would be able to walk in this stuff. But I might try for another snow angel, with my shirt tucked in this time. :-)

Home Church

The real snow is here now. In our yard we have six inches with drifts that near two feet. It is wild. Our church needed to cancel services this morning due to the crazy amount of snow that has fallen on our fair city. Fortunately we are blessed to have two families on our street who attend the same church and contacted us about having home church this morning. Our neighbors trudged through the snow to our house because we have the piano. We held our service from 10:30 to 12:30. Both Luke and Paul were in attendance at various times. The major plus to having a church service in your home is that your kids can attend in their pajamas. And when they get bored they can leave the room and go to the playroom. :-) I also really enjoyed being able to include them in worship. Our neighbor Taryn read the passage from Luke about the angel visiting Mary. Our Luke listened intently and summarized every few lines. "That's the part where the angel talked to Mary." He was totally tuned in. It was a blessing to have these friends in our home and focus on the beauty and wonder of God come to Earth as a tiny baby. Our other reading was from God Came Near by Max Lucado, a beautiful devotional on the birth of Christ. I first read this book just months after committing my life to Jesus. Hearing from it again was very cool because I am such a different person now. I hear new insights and glean different teachings now that I am more mature.
This morning, early, before the day started, I prayed that our boys would be a blessing to our neighbors and we would be able to worship God together. God answered that prayer with boys that behaved beautiful, listening to the readings, hymns, and interacting appropriately with the adults. It didn't hurt that they are all in the beginning phase of grandparent-Land and don't mind talking about trucks, lions and farm animals. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness and for awesome neighbors.

My Favorite Picture Right Now

Thanks to my friend, Betsy, for these fabulous glasses. Whenever I look at this it reminds me of my English teacher from senior year, Old Man Taylor. Except Old Man usually wore ties, not construction equipment. Other than that, Paul looks exactly like him!

More Snow

It's still snowy here. That's a little crazy, but we are doing well. Yesterday morning I took Paul out and he lasted about seven minutes. It's just not his gig. Part of the problem is the boots. They are a touch too big, making it really difficult for him to walk. But he's still adorable. Luke, on the other hand, is really enjoying the snow. Yesterday he made snowballs and threw them at the fence, at the shed and at my back. I made a snow angel, thinking I might inspire Luke to do the same. Something about me jumping up and down afterward, hollering about snow being down my pants made him decide against it. Note to self: Tuck in shirt before making snow angel. BRRRR!
The snow has continued to fall today, but Luke decided to watch a video with Oma instead of go outside. Probably for the best. If he spends much more time outside with me, he will become the biggest snow wimp ever. Here are some pics from the past week, some of the snow, some just for fun.

Luke with snowball in hand...probably telling me that I should let him throw it at me!

Luke with his frog umbrella headed out for a walk. Our house in the snow!

Paul looking philosophical in the snow, but then...

He fell down. So...

Snow done Paul Style - inside on a warm, soft towel. This kid is no dummy.

SNOW!

It doesn't happen often in this part of the world, but we did get snow this weekend. Erik and I were actually in Sunriver at the time. Luke was with Grandma and Grandpa while Paul was home with Oma. Here are the pictures of Luke throwing snowballs off the balcony at G&G's place. Paul's pictures are still in the camera. Tomorrow. If I finish the Christmas cards. :-)

Learning to make a snowball from Grandpa.

Great action shots!

"Look out below!"

Advent Fun

We celebrate advent each night by opening a door on our fabulous three-dimensional advent calendar. Within each door is a small treat for each member of the family and a slip of paper with our Scripture reading and carol for the night. It has been so much fun telling the boys the story of Jesus' birth, beginning with God's promise to send a Savior King. Tonight we veered a bit from the norm because Grandma had left an advent gift today when she watched Paul. We reviewed all that we have learned thus far, from the promise to the angel visits to Mary and Joseph, followed by rousing renditions of "Mary Had a Baby" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Then the presents came. Mine was my very own hand-knit stocking, which perfectly matches the ones the boys and Erik have! Erik grew up with his and Lynne found the pattern for it for Luke's first Christmas and also made one for Paul. I LOVE having all of them matching. Not that I can actually hang them this year. Paul would just pull them down. Next year!
The boys also received little gifts - a little lion for each of them. It was especially cool because we shared with Luke that Jesus is also called the Lion of Judah. We have been slowly building our collection of animals since Luke's third birthday and these were an excellent addition. Paul was especially thrilled with his very own lion. Here are adorable pictures for your enjoyment!

Paul's face really says it all.

Luke's face is so precious. He's happy because Paul is tickled.

Roaring for the camera!